Taking place every two years, the Adaptation Network Colloquium is an opportunity to bring different kinds of people together! Penelope Price, coordinator of the event, said the colloquium provides a platform for academic members to present their research and for policymakers and civil society to engage with it. Government members are included as they are recognised as key stakeholders in adaptation.
The Adaptation Network, formed in 2009 in South Africa, describes itself as a multi-stakeholder network aimed at knowledge-sharing, capacity building, policy engagement and collective learning around climate adaptation and resilience.
This year, the network’s colloquium was held in Cape Town and included research from a government of Flanders-funded programme.
The event specifically targeted smaller universities in South Africa, aiming for a more equitable distribution of resources, as part of a bid to expand the current circuit of participants and presenters who traditionally come from KwaZulu-Natal, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The colloquium took place from Sunday 14th July to Wednesday 17th. I arrived on the Saturday night, together with individuals from other organisations. We spent most of the car ride from the airport talking about how grateful each of us was for the opportunity and promising not to let it go to waste.
From the get-go, there was an intentional targeting of a youth-based audience, “given the vulnerability and climate-related challenges faced by young people in South Africa,” said Mrs Price. She emphasised the importance of fostering connections and engagement across government, academia, and civil society, as these relationships are crucial for the Adaptation Network’s work. As a SaveAct representative, part of my job at the colloquium was to network with as many organisations possible, and to elevate my media and communications creativity relevant to my job. I was, however, not alone in representing SaveAct’s interests. Thabang Phago, one of our board members, was also in attendance. He gave a presentation on the work of the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on climate change adaptation, that includes work on the Climate Change Act.
Mr Phago also had his board member hat on and emphasised the role of the Adaptation Network in linking civil society, government, the private sector and communities. “SaveAct could benefit from the engagements led by the network”, he said, and had the opportunity to forge further partnerships arising from the event.
Mrs Price spoke of the importance of relationships and support networks within the adaptation community, highlighting their role in both personal and professional development. An example of this was the Adaptation Network’s partnership this year with the Mycelium Media Collab, a creative media network focusing on regenerative work. The media partner offered a series of masterclasses, ranging from creative writing and group artwork to website creation. There were also sessions on ‘Mobile journalism’ and the use of Canva for work purposes.
“We saw the event as an important way of creating a platform for diverse voices and ways of communication; [we] prioritised underrepresented voices, including community-based organizations, individuals from other provinces, and government and academics,” said Mrs Price. She said the colloquium “aimed to move beyond traditional academic presentations and instead focus on creative expression, which has been transformative, especially for underrepresented communities.”
The presentations focused on the topics of adaptation; climate change; monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) tools; and Just Transition. The most relevant presentations for SaveAct were those that offered solutions and best practice we could bring back to savings groups with agricultural enterprises – how to best use agroecology not only to grow better produce, but to further their farming businesses in unstable climates.
Mrs Price highlighted the importance of community saving schemes in building financial resilience and resource pools, and how SaveAct could be “fundamental to climate change responses in South Africa” because of this.
Zak Essa, a programme analyst in the Private Office of the President of the Republic of South Africa (seconded by DG Murray Trust), presented a paper on “Public Employment in the Climate Crisis: How publicly-funded employment opportunities can augment climate adaptation and build more resilient livelihoods.” (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1w4qz-YR46–V7AWlFzkNhKa2TIfvpC_L). This was a presentation that resonated with SaveAct’s work.
SaveAct Director Anton Krone said the organisation was “appreciative of the support from the government of Flanders in supporting climate adaptation work which SaveAct has been able to participate in across different projects”. He added that the exposure of SaveAct staff to adaptation developments in and around South Africa had opened their minds to new possibilities.
Mrs Price said the colloquium had “exceeded expectations”, citing the high levels of participation and energy from attendees, and support from the network’s media partner.
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