Global Design Thinking Alliance Launches Afrika Chapter to Strengthen Continental Collaboration

Rather than a traditional conference format, the Convening was designed as a space for collective reflection and shared knowledge-building - with keynote talks, dialogues, fireside chats, interactive studios and daily sense-making moments. Guided by five reflective lenses - Remember, Reframe, Rethink, Resolve, and Regenerate - participants explored questions of contextual practice, leadership and complexity, innovation and entrepreneurial futures, and Afrika’s place in the global design thinking conversation.

Across the programme, speakers and contributors returned to a consistent thread: design thinking practice becomes more relevant and more responsible when it is grounded in real contexts, lived experience, and relationships - not imported frameworks.

As one keynote contributor, and design thinking specialist, Jewel Thompson (Ashesi University, Ghana) put it: “We want to teach students to ask: who am I, who are we together, and how do we build solutions to what other people are suffering from?” In the same dialogue on entrepreneurial futures Dr. Solange Rosa (Director at the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UCT) reflected that “The entrepreneurial mindset starts with the question: what is your contribution to society and community, and how can you use that to solve some of the key challenges of humanity?” - reinforcing a view of innovation as deeply connected to social purpose, community, and responsibility.

A key moment of the Convening was the launch of the Afrika Chapter of the Global Design Thinking Alliance (GDTA), connecting design thinking institutions across the continent and strengthening Afrikan visibility, collaboration and contribution within global design thinking communities. This sits in partnership with the Afrikan Design Thinking Network - a growing collaborative community of individuals and organisations across Afrika focused on teaching and learning design thinking for our contexts. The Network’s purpose is to build Afrikan design thinking capacity and leadership on the continent, with local impact and global influence - grounded in an Ubuntu ethos that recognises that no one institution can do this work alone.

Several sessions also surfaced the importance of language, power and context in how design thinking is taught and practised. Babalwa Ngcongolo (d-school Afrika Coach) noted: “Language is not a neutral vessel; it communicates power and identity… we must challenge these frames and ask: Whose knowledge is this, and who was it made for?” In a similar spirit, Dr. Rael Futerman (Senior researcher, d-school Afrika) reflected: “We need to consider: how do we build design thinking into where we are, the context we are in, and the challenges we face?”

The Convening also highlighted the role of storytelling and format innovation in teaching and learning. Jenni van Niekerk (Convenor, Afrikan Collaboration Network) shared: “We set out to do an experiment: to use Afrikan storytelling narratives and support co-creative discussions… ensuring we are inclusive of multiple formats and not just traditional case studies.” And as (Design Thinking Specialist, Machakos University) reminded participants, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” - grounding conversations about practice, responsibility and futures in an intergenerational frame.

The Convening closed with a clear sense of momentum: a strengthened community of practice, deeper relationships across institutions and countries, and renewed commitment to making design thinking more contextually relevant, ethically grounded and responsive to Afrikan realities - while also contributing to global discourse on innovation, education and systems change.

A post-Convening report reflecting key insights and themes will be developed as part of the Convening’s documentation, to support ongoing learning and knowledge-sharing beyond the three-day gathering.