The Sustainability Institute, nestled in the heart of Lynedoch Valley in Stellenbosch, is thrilled to announce its recognition as the Most Transformative Learning & Social Innovation Organisation 2024 – South Africa by Corporate Vision Magazine. This prestigious award celebrates the Institute’s unwavering commitment to reimagining education and fostering positive change through innovative educational programmes and immersive experiences.
Corporate Vision Magazine, a leading publication highlighting exceptional businesses and individuals across the globe, acknowledged the Sustainability Institute’s pioneering approach to education. By blending experiential learning with a deep focus on social and environmental justice, the Institute has become a beacon of transformative education in South Africa.
For over two decades, the Sustainability Institute has championed a holistic approach to learning, offering a diverse range of short courses and immersive programmes that equip individuals with the knowledge, skills, and values needed to navigate complex challenges and create a more sustainable future. Through its innovative pedagogies and commitment to community engagement, the Institute has empowered countless individuals to become agents of change.
Our various activities and programmes strive to realise sustainability through learning, exploring, and applying ways of being that are restorative and generative. Our focus on transformative learning and social innovation is embedded through our research, teaching, and practice.
Within the Lynedoch valley, we strive to ensure all children in our community have access to quality education – made possible through funder investments – through the educational programmes we offer and by participating in a network of collaborative partnerships. Our aim is to ensure our children graduate from our programmes as successful, self-actualised adults that are generative citizens making a positive impact in their community.
We also design and implement transformative learning experiences for adults that experiment with more just and generative ways of living, working, and being. This inspires and equips learners with the skills, knowledge, and mindset to activate change for sustainability within their own respective contexts.
All our learning programmes unfold within the beautiful Lynedoch Ecovillage – an intentional community working over the past twenty years to explore, innovate and practice ecologically regenerative and socially just ways of being in the world.
Here, we live our learning philosophy daily. Our learning philosophy incorporates place-based, action-oriented learning that is embedded in nature and activates mind, body and soul. We also incorporate reflective practices and the approaches are community led.
Our campus consists of five educational buildings, extensive indigenous gardens and a permaculture food garden, recycling systems and waste-water recycling systems. We do not conform to conventional methods of learning, but provide a safe space where young and old can explore, question and engage with imagination, problems and different futures in a way that opens up new possibilities.
We acknowledge that every person has inherent knowledge that needs to be unleashed and nourished. We recognise the importance of bringing nature into every classroom and discussion. We are all part of a larger complex system that requires a different mindset. We provide space for the unknown to come forth.
This award is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion of the Institute’s staff, learners and partners. It reaffirms the transformative power of education and reinforces the importance of investing in solutions that address the interconnected social and environmental issues of our time.
Vanessa von der Heyde, the Director of the SI had this to say: “We are deeply honoured to be recognised as South Africa’s Most Transformative Learning & Social Innovation Organisation. This award is a testament to our commitment to reimagining education and empowering individuals to become agents of change in their communities. Together, we are fostering a more regenerative and just world through innovative learning experiences that connect people to themselves, to their communities, and to the natural environment.”
The Sustainability Institute remains committed to its mission of fostering a more just and sustainable world through transformative learning. This recognition by Corporate Vision further strengthens the Institute’s resolve to continue innovating and leading the way in social and environmental education. To view the announcement of all the winners for 2024, please click here. To view the directory of winners, click here.
About Corporate Vision Magazine: Corporate Vision was launched in December 2014. Since then, the magazine has been published monthly to a global circulation of 155,000 business leaders, managers, recruiters and experts. It provides a platform for businesses and individuals to share their success stories and inspire others. The magazine’s annual awards recognise outstanding achievements in different fields, including education, sustainability, and social innovation.