Please save the date and see the links above for our free Creative Exchange stream online, live on YouTube and Facebook.
Wednesday, 20 April 2022
14:00 – 15:30
As we continue to barrel into a future which is undeniably increasingly impacted by climate change caused by humans, there is great urgency to bring attention to the critical state of water. Especially with a recent United Nations report observing the fact that half a billion people in Africa are water insecure.
The Craft + Design Institute (CDI) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa (#cocreateSANL) have therefore decided to tackle the topic of blue-green city solutions for all as this year’s theme for the #cocreateDESIGN FESTIVAL. We will also be hosting a series of monthly events – to share knowledge and create the space to form a broader community that breaks down professional silos, and opens the floodgates to collaborative thinking that can inspire water sensitive design.
We call on you to join us for the first in our 2022 Creative Exchange (CX) series, where we will look at the big picture of water in our country, its management, some of the good and the bad processes at work, particularly in our urban environments; and where the opportunities for collaboration and new solutions may be found. As we continue into the year, we’ll dive deeper into the topic, looking at particular focus areas.
How might we design better processes, systems and products that can lead to a more water secure future, particularly in an African context?
During the CX series, we’ll bring together people from the water sector and our design and innovation communities, to discuss, engage, learn and spark new ideas – we need it. The future of our planet’s natural ecosystem has never been more dependent on the design of better solutions by our human ecosystem of policy-makers, government officials, water engineers and practitioners, the private sector and civil society. In South Africa, the challenges are exacerbated by the need to address unequal access, and the state of our infrastructure.
We’ve all heard about green solutions, but we’re shifting the narrative: what we really need are blue-green solutions. Join us to find out more!
Your links to join us at the Creative Exchange:
Click here for free streamed event via Youtube: 20 April at 14:00
Click here for free streamed event via Facebook: 20 April at 14:00
"Dealing with the risk of increased droughts requires a critical rethink of our water planning and management in the region, especially in urban settings and given the rising competition for limited water resources among users.”
- Prof Francois Engelbrecht, a distinguished professor of climatology at the University of Witwatersrand’s Global Change Institute. Engelbrecht is one of the lead authors of the UN’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), described as a ‘code red for humanity’.
“Without water there is no life. Do we all really, really understand the import of this? This year’s series of Creative Exchanges will unpack the fundamental issues and, in the process, we hope unlock new thinking, innovation and cross-pollinations of ideas. You need to join us!” – Erica Elk, Group CEO of CDI
Meet our MC for the Creative Exchange 2022
More on the CDI and #COCREATESANL
The CDI has hosted the Creative Exchange series for over 20 years, and this 2022 iteration has been made possible thanks to the Netherlands Consulate General in Cape Town.
The Netherlands’ #cocreateSANL platform has for over ten years been bringing diverse people to the table to exchange ideas and innovations for a sustainable future.
