Get ready to experience the heart and soul of Cape Town before the official start of the IFA 17th Global Conference on Ageing!
Experience Discovery Day on 8th September 2025—a unique chance to explore the vibrant city of Cape Town through a range of full and half-day community engagement tours designed to connect you with its culture, heritage, and age-friendly initiatives.
Whether you’re drawn to intergenerational storytelling in historic District Six, inspired by the empowering work of local NGOs, or eager to know more about the natural beauty of the winelands, each activity offers a meaningful encounter with the people and places shaping the future of ageing in South Africa.
* Spaces are limited, and participants may select only one event.
* If adequate tour participation is not reached, IFA reserves the right to cancel/modify the tour. Refunds and/or tour reassignment will be available should this occur
Half-day Community Engagement Tours
Please click on each box to view detailed information about the tour.
Cape Town Society for the Blind
Tour Details:
| Date | 8th September 2025 | |
| Time | 08:30 – 14:00, Half-day | |
| Departure Point | CTICC 2 – Entrance 7 | |
| Cost | USD 105.00 per person | |
About the tour
What they do: Supports visually impaired older persons with independent living skills, social programs, and rehabilitation.
Website: https://capetownsocietyfortheblind.co.za
The Cape Town Society for the Blind was founded in 1929 by a group of women from Cape Town who identified the need to provide training and employment opportunities for blind and visually impaired persons within a secure and supportive environment. The Society has remained true to its mission for over 90 years and has become a beacon of hope to individuals who need to navigate the complex world without sight.
Their vision is to continuously expand training, education and development programmes, thereby aligning the skills of the blind and visually impaired people with enhanced employment opportunities within the corporate sector.
The delegates will be split up into smaller groups to tour the facilities where they produce basket weave work and produce textile bags on material looms. Delegates will be encouraged to have a “hands-on” experience by weaving baskets and using a loom to interlace warp and weft threads, creating fabric, in small groups.
After the tour of the facilities and workshop, CTSB will host a one-of-a-kind two course lunch experience, “Dining in the Dark”, which will introduce the delegates to another perspective of being blind or visually impaired.
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Duration
Half Day
Vehicle
Air-conditioned coach to suite group size.
Included
Transportation, sightseeing as per itinerary.
Excluded
Meals not mentioned, gratuities, items of a personal nature, drinks, any additional extras.
Activity Level
Low.
Learn about inclusive and accessible ageing programs for visually impaired seniors.
Intergenerational Dialogue and Storytelling Tour
Tour Details:
| Date | 8th September 2025 | |
| Time | 08:30 – 12:00, Half-day | |
| Departure Point | CTICC 2 – Entrance 7 | |
| Cost | USD 85.00 per person, excludes entrance fee. | |
About the tour
District Six, before its destruction under Apartheid, was a community representative of diversity on several levels – language, religion, economic class, geographical area of origin – and became a living example of how diversity need not be feared and could be a strengthening characteristic of a community. It was a vibrant community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers, and immigrants in proximity to the port. It represented the opposite of what the Apartheid government, inaugurated by the National Party coming into power in 1948, needed people to believe and internalise.
District Six was designated a white area under the Group Areas Act in 1966, leading to the forced removal of over 60,000 residents by 1982. Their homes were demolished, and the community was relocated to the Cape Flats.
The guided tour will start at 09:30 and will end at 11:45. The tour will be broken up into various parts. The first part will take delegates through an orientation about the history of apartheid, memories and the trauma of loss, the history of District Six, forced removals and work with an ageing population to keep memory alive. The next part will involve splitting into smaller groups and will be accompanied by elders to visit the museum and to go on a site walk.
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Duration
Half Day
Vehicle
Air-conditioned coach to suite group size.
Included
Transportation, sightseeing as per itinerary.
Excluded
Meals, gratuities, items of a personal nature, drinks, any additional extras.
Activity Level
Low.
Comments
A dialogue between youth and elders on history, resilience, and cultural heritage.
Full-day Community Engagement Tours
Please click on each box to view detailed information about the tour.
Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (NOAH) (SOLD OUT)
Tour Details:
| Date | 8th September 2025 | |
| Time | 08:30 – 18:00, Full-day | |
| Departure Point | CTICC 2 – Entrance 7 | |
| Cost | USD 110.00 per person | |
About the tour
Why Visit? Delegates can learn about sustainable senior living models and visit NOAH’s social enterprises run by older persons.
Delegates can learn about sustainable senior living models and visit NOAH’s social enterprises, run by older persons in one of their Community Centres located in Khayelitsha B and learn what this community has been able to achieve.
NOAH co-creates a thriving, interdependent community where elders live with a sense of purpose, belonging, contribution and hope. Offering access to communal housing, health services, community-building and enterprise development, elders live with a greater sense of freedom and purpose can accept their rightful roles in society. These stories will be shared with the group by the elders.
NOAH is an integral part of the lives of social pensioners in the community. NOAH seeks to develop its members’ knowledge, attitudes, values, and skills, enabling them to bring about the changes they feel are necessary to create a better life for themselves and their families. Prospective residents often come from chilling circumstances: inter-generational conflict, abusive relationships, crippling rentals, isolation, neglect, etc. NOAH is innovating new approaches to ageing and ensuring that those who have suffered most have an opportunity for self-discovery, healing, inclusion, and participation in society.
On leaving the NOAH Community Centre, we’ll travel along Baden Powell Drive through Muizenberg and stop off a “Kalky’s” at the Kalk Bay Harbour, for a seafood meal freshly caught by local fisherman, before proceeding to Chapman’s Peak Drive, affectionately known as “Chappies” on the Atlantic Coast. The road winds its way on the south-western tip of the Cape Peninsula and is one of the most spectacular marine drives in the world.
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Duration
Full Day
Vehicle
Air-conditioned coach to suite group size.
Included
Transportation, sightseeing as per itinerary.
Excluded
Meals, gratuities, items of a personal nature, drinks, any additional extras.
Activity Level
Low.
Comments
NOAH co-creates a thriving, interdependent community where elders live with a sense of purpose, belonging, contribution and hope.
Golden Oldies Senior Centre, Hout Bay (SOLD OUT)
Tour Details:
| Date | 8th September 2025 | |
| Time | 08:30 – 18:00, Full-day | |
| Departure Point | CTICC 2 – Entrance 7 | |
| Cost | USD 125.00 per person | |
About the tour
Hangberg Dreams NPC is a community organisation in Hangberg, near the Hout Bay Harbour, which focuses on supporting vulnerable seniors with events, home visits, and outreach programs.
They host annual events to entertain, spoil, and educate seniors. These events include activities such as song and dance, exercise, massages, snacks, lunch, and gifts. A lively group of older persons will share their stories on history, resilience, and cultural heritage.
On leaving Hangberg Community Hall we will make our way to the Hout Bay Harbour for a seafood lunch at “Snoekies”, freshly caught by local fisherman, before proceeding to Chapman’s Peak Drive on our way to visit the penguins at Boulders Beach in Simonstown. Affectionately known as “Chappies” on the Atlantic Coast – the road winds its way on the south-western tip of Cape Peninsula and is one of the most spectacular marine drives in the world.
To gain entrance to SANParks, please bring your passports or SA ID cards on the trip.
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Duration
Full Day
Vehicle
Air-conditioned coach to suite group size.
Included
Transportation, sightseeing as per itinerary.
Excluded
Meals, gratuities, items of a personal nature, drinks, any additional extras.
Activity Level
Low.
Comments
A lively group of older persons: stories on history, resilience, and cultural heritage.
A Visit to Two Lifestyle Retirement Villages
Tour Details:
| Date | 8th September 2025 | |
| Time | 08:00 – 18:00, Full-day | |
| Departure Point | CTICC 2 – Entrance 7 | |
| Cost | USD 85.00 per person | |
About the tour
Evergreen Lifestyle Village, Noordhoek
www.evergreenlifestylevillage.co.za
Located within the heart of the deep south in the Cape Peninsula, it is one of South Africa’s safest retirement villages. With an intense sense of community and inspiration drawn from the natural beauty that surrounds it, this retirement village offers secure and welcoming living reminiscent of days gone by.
Evergreen Noordhoek promises a laid-back retirement lifestyle, with the freedom to remain physically and mentally active, healthy, and socially engaged. Village life unfolds against the backdrop of the village’s lifestyle centre where several social clubs, special-interest groups, activities, and outings take place regularly.
On leaving Noordhoek Village, on our way to Great Oaks in Constantia, we will travel along Chapman’s Peak Drive, affectionately known as “Chappies” on the Atlantic Coast between Noordhoek and Constantia. – the road winds its way on the south-western tip of the Cape Peninsula and is one of the most spectacular marine drives in the world.
Great Oaks Retirement Village, Constantia Valley
Steeped in heritage and beauty, Great Oaks retirement village lies in the heart of the established Constantia Valley. Unique in its intelligent, thoughtful design and underpinned by an “Age-in-Place” philosophy, it offers the ultimate in lifestyle convenience and well-being for all residents, through every stage of their lives.
Great Oaks’ facilities have been designed around holistic wellness and a social lifestyle for its residents. It has a state-of-the-art Lifestyle Centre, an a la carte restaurant, lounge and café, ladies bar and function room that offers a wealth of opportunities to connect with other residents. The adjoining Wellness Centre & Spa, with its heated ozone pool, gymnasium and therapy rooms also offers a variety of fitness options and treatments.
Lunch will be offered in the a la carte restaurant while small groups do a walkabout of the village, wellness centre and medical centre.
Thereafter, the group will depart for an afternoon wine tasting in the Constantia Valley, before returning to their hotel.
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Duration
Full Day
Vehicle
Air-conditioned coach to suite group size.
Included
Transportation, sightseeing as per itinerary.
Excluded
Meals, gratuities, items of a personal nature, drinks, any additional extras.
Activity Level
Low.
Comments
A visit to see the extreme disparities of the South African retirement living communities combined with a day trip to the Winelands.