Futurecasting Cape Town: Building resilience at all scales- from global geopolitics to the neighbourhood

Conversations to visualise the future
Friday, 27 May 2022
10:00 – 11:30am

A pedestrian makes her way to work along George Blake street in Stellenbosch. Credit: Ashraf Hendricks

The impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and ensuing conflict on global food and energy supplies has highlighted the impact of global events on South Africa, particularly in terms of food security and energy. Such events are beyond our control, yet local governments, the private sector and civil society across our cities must find ways to prepare for similar crises.

This conversation will convene experts in international relations, economics and urban resilience to explore the short-term impact of such events with a view to anticipating and preparing for similar future shocks.

The panel will address the interconnectedness of global events generally and specifically, the dependencies to which Cape Town is vulnerable. Questions will include: How can the city build resilience in local supply chains? How can we explore a few policy options for future-proofing the city and the province from shocks and in enhancing a developmental and redistributive agenda in the context of contemporary geo-politics?  And what can residents do to help build resilient systems at their neighbourhood level, having learnt from experiences such as the recent drought?

Facilitator: Nchimunya Chipo Hamukoma, Research Manager, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator

Panelists:
Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development, University of Oxford and author
Ebrahim Fakir, Director of Programmes, AUWAL Socio-economic Research Institute (ASRI)
Wrenelle Stander, CEO, Wesgro

About the Futurecasting Cape Town series

Futurecasting is a well-established approach to model the future and anticipate changes in a sector or society in the coming 10 to 15 years. It combines past patterns and trends with current insights and includes futures thinking to help shape the future and mitigate any possible risks.

The Futurecasting Cape Town series, convened by the City of Cape Town’s Resilience Department with support from the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership (EDP) provides an opportunity to model the future around critical issues facing Cape Town and influence decisions that will reflect shared values and drive innovation. The series underscores a key element of the City of Cape Town’s Resilience Strategy towards collaborative partnering with business to support resilience. Speakers from across sectors are invited to share insights and ideas for a common inclusive and resilient future.