What does environmentalism look like through the lens of African higher education?

Join us at the TJD Africa Conference 2025, and explore the meaning of environmentalism from African perspectives and how Africa’s universities and research communities are reshaping environmentalism to reflect their own histories, challenges and aspirations.

Too often, environmentalism is defined by external metrics, carbon, conservation and technology, which often do not reflect African realities. This session invites a reframing of environmental thought rooted in land justice, indigenous knowledge, cultural continuity, youth leadership and community transformation. 

The speakers:

• Lesley Green, Co-founder & Director of Environmental Humanities South and Professor of Earth Politics in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town
• Anselmo Matusse, Lecturer and research officer at Environmental Humanities South, University of Cape Town (UCT)
• Hugo ka Canham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Black Planetary Studies at the Institute for Social and Health Science, University of South Africa (UNISA)

They will explore how higher education in Africa is advancing new paradigms of ecological knowledge and leadership, approaches that are decolonial, locally grounded and globally relevant. The session aims to highlight the role of African institutions as sites of intellectual innovation and social transformation. 

This is a 2-day conference. Please note that our session is happening on 11 November 2025, 13:15 – 14:15 CET.

Link to the program here.

Link to the event here.

This event marks the launch of The Fifth Element webinar series ‘Africa, climate and education’ with Lesley Green. The series reframes environmentalism through African epistemologies and positions African scholars and practitioners at the heart of redefining global sustainability thinking.