EcoSUN Green Village team contributed to the Conference on Sustainable urbanization through research, innovations and partnerships, held on May 6, 2019, at SUSAF Satellite Symposium in Port Elizabeth.
The EcoSUN team recently published a paper titled A definition and application of a community based and user-oriented innovation and sustainability model to achieve smart and green human settlements within the context of South African rural communities: The case study of Ekuphumleni EcoSun Green Village project.
The presentation was part of a Symposium that was held at May 6, at the Nelson Mandela University, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Human Settlements, the Mandela Bay Development Agency, the Nelson Mandela Bay City, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa together with Swedish universities. It was organized by the Chair on Research in Human Settlements, Prof. Sijekula Mbanga, as a Satellite event of the South Africa-Sweden Universities Forum (SUSAF).
The Satellite events, consisting of smaller workshops, seminars, symposia, guest lectures, project site visits, industry collaboration etc., were organized by individual researchers, universities or other organizations linked to research, education or innovation. These events include students, researchers, industry, NGOs, university management or other relevant groups. Satellite events were taking take place across South Africa.
The event presented a platform for researchers, professionals and general public to share multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary research outputs and innovative case study projects aimed at systematically responding to the urbanization challenge through innovations, technology transfer and partnerships under the Theme: ‘Sustainable urbanization through research, innovations and partnerships’.
The symposium made clear that an inter-disciplinary effort is necessary for a transformation of existing structures towards sustainable and environmentally friendly climate oriented cities and other human settlements. Its theme invites immediate action from all role players through providing tangible solutions to pressing questions that confront cities, town and villages everywhere in the world including South Africa. The theme puts emphasis on the significance of partnership in generating knowledge and innovations aimed at providing sustainable solutions that cities may explore in their endeavor to respond to rapid urbanization and climate change. The Symposium was more inclined towards viewing the urbanization phenomenon as presenting both challenges to be mitigated and opportunities to be explored by Cities of today to realize their medium and long-term prosperity and sustainability goals.
Subsidiary focus areas were: Citizen hope and universal happiness, Technology and innovation projects driven through partnership, Sustainable peri-urban and rural development, Urban renewal and re-design, Urban economy and business development, Curriculum enhancement and system-wide capacity building, Nutrition and food security, Public spaces and social inclusivity.
The Abstract book of the papers can be downloaded under https://sasuf2019.mandela.ac.za
The paper prepared by Tshepang Mosiea, Sijekula Mbanga, Precious Lukhele, Konrad Soyez, Barbara Mohren and Nonhlanhla Mkhize can be found under No 68 and will be published later. Details of the project see www.ecosun.com.de.
Sijekula Mbanga and Konrad Soyez
Published at: June, 13th 2019
