In 2024, the University of Cape Town strengthened its role as a convener of dialogue and research collaboration on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, fostering partnerships across academia, government, civil society, and industry. Through a series of high-impact conferences, workshops, and policy forums, UCT researchers and institutes contributed to advancing evidence-based solutions to some of South Africa’s most urgent developmental challenges.
UCT’s Centre for Environmental and Sustainability Science (CESS) played a key role in engaging with the City of Cape Town and national stakeholders around climate resilience and just energy transition policy, aligning its research with the City’s 2024 Climate Action Plan. The African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) hosted several regional workshops focused on SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), bringing together researchers and policymakers to share insights on adaptation, renewable energy, and sustainability metrics.
Similarly, the Children’s Institute and Health Economics Unit at UCT continued to drive national discussions on social and health equity, notably through the South African Child Gauge 2024 and policy dialogues on SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). The Department of Health and Rehabilitation Services contributed to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) through its inclusive entrepreneurship programmes and knowledge exchanges with small business development agencies.
These initiatives reflect UCT’s Vision 2030 commitment to “unleashing human potential for a fair and just society,” by linking world-class research with practical policy pathways and innovation ecosystems.
1. Inclusive Practices Africa Symposium, hosted by the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Services
The Inclusive Practices Africa Symposium, held on 28 and 29 November 2024, brought together thought leaders, academics, policymakers, and disability advocates. Themed “Let’s Talk Work: Towards Inclusive Economies through Intersectoral Collaboration”, this inaugural symposium included discourses on dismantling barriers and encouraging inclusive employment systems for persons with disabilities.
The symposium’s urgency stemmed from stark realities: in South Africa, while disability prevalence is estimated at 16%, only 1.2% of the national workforce comprises persons with disabilities, according to the national Department of Labour. It was hosted by the Inclusive Practices Africa team within the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Services in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Notable attendees included Dr Marlene le Roux, the chief executive of Artscape, who is a person living with a disability; Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Phumzile Mgcina; and Shanaaz Majiet, UCT alumnus and former national advocacy manager for Disabled People South Africa. The deputy minister has committed to partner with Inclusive Practices Africa to monitor and implement inclusive employment.
2. World Intellectual Property Organization - World Trade Organization Colloquium for Intellectual Property Teachers and Researchers in Africa, hosted by the Faculty of Law
With less than six years to go until 2030, D-day for the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals agreed upon by member nations as essential to peace, prosperity and climate change mitigation, are intellectual property rights and the power of the patent hampering Africa’s ability to access environmentally friendly technologies and respond to climate change?
This was the issue tackled by one of the panels that gathered in the first week of August 2024 for the World Intellectual Property Organization – World Trade Organization Colloquium for Intellectual Property Teachers and Researchers in Africa.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)– World Trade Organization (WTO) Colloquium for Intellectual Property Teachers and Researchers in Africa was hosted by UCT’s Faculty of Law and organised in collaboration with the UN WTO’s Intellectual Property, Government Procurement & Competition Division (IPD) and the WIPO Academy. It drew 88 participants from universities and IP offices and organisations from across the continent, and as far afield as the United States, India, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand.
3. South Africa Circular Economy Hotspot 2025, hosted by the Hasso Platner d-school Afrika
In collaboration with the Suomi Finland, Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, UCT’s d-school hosted the Circular Economy Hotspot conference on 19 & 20 September 2024. UCT Prof Hanri Mostert was a speaker at this event, and UCT is an acknowledged partner of the event.
Initiated in 2016, the Circular Economy Hotspot (CEH) is hosted annually in alternating cities and regions across the globe. These hotspot events aim to spotlight native circular economy solutions, initiatives, and innovation and demonstrate best practices through exhibitions and field trips, while facilitating culturally and politically diverse multi-stakeholder exchange and discussions. South Africa was selected as 1 of the 4 countries to host the Circular Economy Hotspot in 2024 along with Brazil, Canada, and Wales. Sessions included
- Water and Industrial Symbiosis
- Digitalisation and Innovation
- Agriculture and Food Systems
- Circular Mining and Energy
- Sustainable Tourism
- South Africa National Plastics Action Plan
- Circular Textile and Fashion
- Circular Entrepreneurship
- Circular Economy Tools
- Embedding Circularity and Compliance
4. Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the UCT Graduate School of Business
Multiple cross-sector social interaction events convened business, civil society and public sector actors on sustainability policy.
“Power and Inclusion in Cross-Sector Social Interactions” (3–6 April 2024)
The Cross-Sector Social Interactions (CSSI) symposium was hosted by the UCT GSB in April 2024 and explicitly aimed to bring together scholars, practitioners and policy makers working on cross-sector collaboration for sustainable development. The programme included learning journeys, a doctoral consortium, interactive sessions and panels addressing power, inclusion and governance - topics central to sustainability policy and practice. Sponsors and participants came from academia, NGOs, government and the private sector, and the conference report summarises learning for cross-sector partnering to advance SDG-aligned goals.
CSSI is designed as a practitioner-oriented forum - its Cape Town iteration centered cross-sector exchange (business + civil society + public sector) and generated practical outputs and networks for collaborative policy work on socio-ecological issues (water, livelihoods, inclusion, natural-resource governance).
5. UCT Graduate School of Business “Business Tomorrow” Conference - AI & Sustainability (5 July 2024)
The GSB hosted the Business Tomorrow: AI and Sustainability conference in July 2024 at the GSB Conference Centre - an event that gathered corporate representatives, civil-society speakers and public-sector delegates to explore how AI can be harnessed for sustainable development and policy outcomes.