International Conference 2026

The defining challenge of the 21st century is not merely the existence of climate change, environmental degradation,or stark inequality, but the complex entanglement of these crises. This reality is felt most acutely across the Global South, a region bearing the disproportionate brunt of climate impacts while navigating the urgent pressures of development, urbanization, and technological transformation. The quest for a sustainable future here cannot be a linear path; it demands a radical and integrative approach. “Sustainable Futures: Bridging Technology, Policy, and Culture in the Global South” emerges from the conviction that siloed solutions are destined to fail. True resilience and progress will be forged at the critical intersection of technological innovation, visionary policy, and deep-rooted cultural wisdom.
Traditionally, the discourse has been fragmented. Technocentric models, often imported without adaptation, overlook local contexts and governance capacities. Policy frameworks, drafted in isolation, can remain unimplemented without the enabling force of appropriate technology or community buy-in. Meanwhile, invaluable indigenous knowledge and cultural practices regarding land, water, and conservation are frequently sidelined as archaic, rather than seen as essential pillars of systemic sustainability. This disconnect is a luxury the world can no longer afford. The Global South, with its dynamism, demographic youth, and urgent needs, presents a unique laboratory not for imitation, but for the co-creation of new, integrated models of development.

This exploration is organized around three indispensable, interwoven pillars. Technology serves as a catalyst, from decentralized renewable energy grids and precision agriculture to digital platforms for disaster resilience and environmental monitoring. Yet, innovation must be contextual leveraging mobile penetration to leapfrog legacy systems, while managing new challenges like e-waste. Policy provides the necessary scaffolding, directing innovation toward the public good through frameworks for green finance, inclusive urbanization, and equitable energy access.
Policy shapes markets, protects rights, and builds the infrastructure for a circular economy. Finally, Culture is the foundational bedrock. It encompasses the community practices, indigenous knowledge systems, and cultural values that determine a solution’s adoption and longevity. Sustainable solutions that ignore local identity, heritage, and social structures are unsustainable by definition.

This journey is about bridging: connecting the lab to the legislature, the startup to the village elder, the global climate goal to the local livelihood. By engaging in dialogue with one another, we aim to chart a course for a future that is not only sustainable in environmental terms but also equitable, resilient, and rooted in the rich cultural tapestry of the Global South. This is the essential, integrated work of our time. Hence, the urgent need to develop initiatives and solutions that will enhance sustainable futures in global south by convening a gathering of academics, researchers, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, governments, international organisations, and other stakeholders to contribute to the discourse through, but not limited to, the following subthemes:

CONFERENCE CONVENERS

Prof Mudau T. J. Head, Institute of Gender & Youth Studies, University of Venda, South Africa:
Prof Kayode Eesuola, Institute of African & Diaspora Studies, University of Lagos, Nigeria
Prof Innocent Simphiwe Nojiyeza, Durban University of Technology, South Africa
Prof Phemelo Marumo, North West University, Mafikeng, South Africa
Prof Phano Mashau, Durban University of Technology, South Africa
Dr Eunice Chesa, North West University, Mafikeng, South Africa