Date 30-Jan-2023 to 02-Feb-2023 |
Location Bloemfontein Campus , UFS, South Africa |
Format International |
Dr. Rajesh Tandon spoke at the opening session as well as a workshop under the theme of The Sustainable Implementation Space: Innovation, Institutions, and Imagination. The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), in partnership with the University of the Free State (UFS), hosted the 5th National Global Change Conference.
The National Conferences on Global Change have been held biennially under the banner of the Global Change Grand Challenge (GCGC), one of the focus areas known as grand challenges in the Ten-Year Innovation Plan (TYIP) of the DSI since 2012. These conferences are aimed at providing a platform for networking and knowledge sharing among global change stakeholders to share and debate the latest research and innovations accelerating transformation. Active participation by early career researchers is strongly encouraged. The conference offers a unique opportunity for multi-stakeholder dialogue on topical global change issues.
Conference Theme- The central theme of the 5th National Global Change Conference is:
“Research and Innovation Accelerating transformations to global sustainability”
What could be the possible impact of research and science for our planet and all its people to thrive? How could all our scientific and innovation efforts be implemented to sustainably address the most pressing challenges we currently face? And how do these challenges allow new opportunities for the youth, scientists, industry, and governments to engage creatively and impactfully to lead to positive change all over the globe? In short, how do we think and react to these complex phenomena to truly engage in a process Knowledge for Change”?
For too long, an intransigent dichotomy has characterised our thinking about societal and ecological issues. During this conference, we will aim to re-think these Manichean assumptions to pave the way for new ways of engaging with and imagining our shared future, especially as it relates to ecological and equity complexity. We, therefore, want potential participants to think “glocally” – where we embrace, translate and oppose global theory, knowledge, and practices to our local realities and needs. We welcome robust discussion, debate, and contestation, to grapple with complex issues by supporting systems thinking that are focused on the following broad themes (although we also invite exchanges between these):
For more details, read here.