Pan Afrikan Design Week 2026

About Event

**Pan Afrikan Design Week 2026** 21-24 October V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa "How Do We Design to Thrive?" Join this urgent agenda to help shape a thriving future for Afrika. We explore one of the most pressing questions in the world of design today: **How do we build trust, tell our stories, cultivate future-fit skills and design the systems and solutions that truly help people, communities, cities and nature across Afrika to thrive?** Pan Afrikan Design Week 2026 is a hybrid Pan-Afrikan gathering that brings together designers, innovators, entrepreneurs, educators, students, young people, thought leaders, policymakers, business leaders, cultural practitioners, changemakers and future-builders from across Afrika and the diaspora. **This is not a conventional design conference.** It is a space for people across sectors who think differently, connect meaningfully and contribute to a more thriving future. **Event Details** **Main conference dates:** Wednesday 21–Friday 23 October **Venue:** Workshop17, Watershed, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa **Format:** Hybrid-in-person conference, selected livestream access, practical workshops, networking and community-linked learning experiences **In-person conference capacity:** Limited to approximately 180 delegates per day **Afternoon Workshop capacity:** Limited to 40 participants per workshop **Networking Event:** Friday 23 October, 18:00–21:00 **Community / Cultural Learning Experience:** Saturday 24 October, **9:00 - 13:00**, hosted by **Uthando South Africa**. **Collection (9:00)** and **drop-off (latest 13:00)** at Workshop17. **Why attend** Across Afrika and the world, we are living through **a time of profound social, economic, environmental **and** technological change.** **We are all navigating uncertainty.** Young people need **future-fit skills**. Cities need more **human-centred **and** ecologically sustainable ways** to grow. Education systems need to become **more creative **and** relevant.** Businesses, governments, communities and institutions need **new ways to build trust and work together.** At the same time, **Afrika holds extraordinary cultural knowledge**, creative intelligence, **community wisdom**, impactful entrepreneurial energy and the **potential to shape the future.** Pan Afrikan Design Week 2026 creates a shared space to explore what thriving really looks like in an Afrikan context, and how we can design the conditions that make it possible to thrive across sectors, in government, in communities and through future-fit education. **Programme Overview & Speaker Line-up** Across three days, the programme moves from big-picture Afrikan futures and identity, to the ripple effects of design-led innovation across sectors and ecosystems, and finally to future-fit education, Creative Intelligence and human development. Delegates will hear from and engage with designers, educators, researchers, cultural thinkers, social-impact leaders, entrepreneurs, community builders and future-makers from across Afrika and beyond through keynotes, dialogue sessions, case studies, provocations and practical learning spaces. **Please download the Programme** **For the full programme, please scroll down and download. ** **Early Bird Ticket Call-Out** **Early Bird Tickets Available Until 31 July 2026** Early Bird tickets are limited and available until **31 July 2026**, or until sold out. A total of **60 Early Bird tickets** are available across the two Early Bird options **Important Notes** - **Programme details,** speaker line-up and time may be **subject to change.** - **Student tickets** require a **valid student card or proof** of current registration at the door. - **Workshop tickets** are limited and **should be booked early**. - The **Saturday Uthando South Africa experience** has **limited capacity** and **should be booked early.** - Access to the **Friday evening Networking Event** is **included in 3-Day Conference Passes** and **Full Experience Passes**. - **Online tickets provide livestream access **to main conference sessions only and do not include workshops, networking or community experiences. - **Quicket booking fees** may apply and will be shown during checkout. **Convening and Partner Organisations** **[Pan Afrikan Design Institute (PADI](https://thepadi.org/))** Pan Afrikan Design Week 2026 is convened by the Pan Afrikan Design Institute, a continental design body and platform committed to strengthening Pan-Afrikan design networks, visibility, collaboration and design leadership. **[Open Design Afrika (ODA](https://opendesignafrika.org/))** Open Design Afrika serves as the Local Host and Coordinating Partner for Pan Afrikan Design Week 2026. ODA leads the local coordination, programme development, storytelling, event experience, design-for-impact framing, local networks and host-city delivery. **[Uthando South Africa](https://www.uthandosa.org/)** Uthando South Africa joins the programme as cultural and community partner, helping connect the event to Cape Town’s lived community realities through community-linked experiences, cultural activation, regenerative tourism and social-impact learning.