ABOUT
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 2026
Venue: Workshop17, Watershed, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa
Networking Event: Friday 23 October 2026, 18:00–21:00
Community / Cultural Learning Experience: Saturday 24 October 2026, hosted by Uthando 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 200 delegates per day
Workshop capacity: Limited to 60 participants per workshop
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 Overview & Speaker Line-Up PDF
For the full programme journey, speaker line-up, workshop details and ticket information.
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 timings may be subject to change.
- Student tickets require a valid student card or proof of current registration.
- 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
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 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 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.
SPEAKER LINEUP
Please CLICK HERE to view or download the speaker line up.