Jan27

Making Friends & Family

Categories // News, Academic News

An Account by Berry Wessels

Being part of the Enkanini Community Engagement Group of the Sustainability Institute, ethnography through the method of participant observation can land one in odd positions. Since most people from the informal settlement of Enkanini in Stellenbosch come from the Eastern Cape or former homeland Transkei, I decided to spend December there in the village of Nqunqhu, to get a feel for the rural/urban difference.
Dec16

Graduation, December 2011

Categories // News

New Masters and Doctoral research

At a Stellenbosch University Graduation Ceremony that took place on Wednesday 7 December at 17h30, 36 BPhil students, 6 Mphil students and 1 Phd student formally graduated. They were amongst the nearly 700 students who graduated from the Faculty of Economic and Management Science on that day. But they were noticed by all because they clapped, shouted and whistled as each one walked up to the stage to be capped by the Chancellor, Johan Rupert. The Masters and Phd students have courageously explored new and challenging questions in the wider sustainability field.

Nov12

Learning for Sustainability

Categories // News

Capacity building for sustainable human settlements

Learning for Sustainability, a section 21 company, operating as a Further Education and Training (FET) college, has been set up by the Sustainability Institute. It has emerged out of the SI's Sustainable Neighbourhood Programme that was funded by the National Department of Human Settlements. This is an ambitious, three year, country-wide capacity development project, which aimed to operationalise South Africa’s National Housing policy Breaking New Ground (BNG), with a focus on Integrated Sustainable Human Settlements.

Oct25

Local Government and Sustainability

Categories // News

SI drafts keynote for conference on Urban Environmental Accords

Dr. Camaren Peter is appointed as an Extra-Ordinary Senior Lecturer in the School of Public Leadership and works as a researcher in SI Projects, our new unit that manages contract research. He attended the recent summit for the Urban Environmental Accords held in Gwangju, South Korea, between 11-13 October 2011. The event was attended by a large range of city mayors and governments, most of whom were from developing world contexts. The event served more as an awareness building exercise than an opportunity for negotiation, and while it received heavy media coverage within South Korea, it largely went unnoticed by the international press. Camaren Peter and Mark Swilling drafted the background discussion paper for the conference which was then used as a basis for the keynote address delivered by UNEP's Arab Habollah.
Oct12

Welcome Umzi Wethu!

Categories // News

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3smThe full moon, huge bonfire and Lynedoch EcoVillage welcomed last night the first group of 11 Umzi Wethu students who arrived to live in our Farmhouse for the next year. A project in partnership with the Wilderness Foundation focusing on an intensive learning programme involving employment on successful completion of accredited hospitality training, 4 five-day nature trails, ongoing mentorship and participation in living sustainably as well as internship as chefs at Spier, we celebrated beginning this journey with our new arrivals. Courageous and full of enthusiasm, the participants spoke to us of their dreams for success...talented, from very poor homes without possibility for further education, they were selected from 45 applicants through a rigorous interviewing process - including a 3 day hike on Table Mountain!

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