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Register for free online participation in our convening
Hosted by the Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika
at the University of Cape Town (UCT)
Marking 10 years of d-school Afrika, this Convening is a moment to pause and reflect together — bringing educators, leaders, practitioners, and emerging voices into dialogue on design thinking practice grounded in Afrikan contexts and connected to wider global conversations.
The Convening will take place in a hybrid format. Online registration is now open, with a curated virtual experience designed for meaningful participation from wherever you are.
As we mark 10 years of d-school Afrika — the continent’s first dedicated school of design thinking, based at UCT and supported by the Hasso Plattner Foundation — we are gathering to reflect on what has been learned, what questions remain, and what practice demands next.
Over this decade, the school has grown into a thriving, purpose-designed home on UCT’s Middle Campus and engaged a wide community of participants across programmes and partnerships. This milestone is held with humility: it is both a celebration and a moment to learn, ask better questions, and shape what comes next — together.
This gathering uses a hybrid, interactive convening format that prioritises collective reflection and shared knowledge-building. Keynote talks, dialogues and fireside chats with a range of expert speakers spark our thought for facilitated dialogues and deep-dive studios to harness the wisdom and will of all participants across the space.
Participants are invited to bring their questions, experiences, and tensions into conversation — across disciplines, institutions, generations, and regions.
While selected guests from d-school’s ecosystem will gather in-person in the building, we are offering a rich online experience to join from anywhere in the world. Virtual participants can expect selected live-streamed sessions and facilitated participation moments, with opportunities to engage through interactive tools and guided online dialogue.
Under the banner Reflect, the Convening creates space to look back with honesty, make meaning together in the present, and orient toward thriving futures. Reflection is understood here as a communal process grounded in place, purpose, practice, and people — not only an analytical exercise.
These lenses guide shared inquiry: remembering roots and stories; reframing design thinking through Afrikan narratives; rethinking assumptions, practice, and leadership; resolving commitments and real-world challenges through attention to impact and evidence; and regenerating futures grounded in care, continuity, and renewal.
How might design thinking pedagogy and practice be informed by indigenous wisdom, lived experience, and everyday ingenuity?
How might design-led mindsets inform adaptive, practice-based leadership able to engage complexity, uncertainty, and systemic challenges?
How might design thinking mindsets drive and strengthen human-centred innovation and entrepreneurship on the continent?
What does it look like for Afrika to shape and contribute to global design thinking discourse, including through platforms such as the Global Design Thinking Alliance?
A key moment within the Convening will be the launch of the Afrikan Chapter of the Global Design Thinking Alliance (GDTA) — a step toward strengthening Afrikan visibility, collaboration, and contribution within global design thinking communities.
The virtual experience across 1–3 June will include:
Block off the days and participate in the whole experience. Or join for the sessions that suit your interests and availability.
Follow on your own, or gather your colleagues and students and experience it together. Even schedule this into your teaching and learning time.
Limited in-person tickets are reserved for select partners from d-school’s ecosystem and are now full.
For enquiries, please email convening@dschool.org.za.
Copyright 2026 Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika*
