NRF Participates in the WEF Nexus Festival

Following the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus Stakeholders’ Meeting that was held from 29 February to 01 March 2024 in South Africa (https://www.nrf.ac.za/nrf-hosts-water-energy-food-nexus-workshop/), the NRF participated in the WEF Nexus Science Festival in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape from 11-15 March 2024. The festival was organised by the NRF-NWO consortia project currently funded under the SA-NL WEF Nexus programme led by both the University of Fort Hare (UFH) and North-West University (NWU) under the theme Water-Energy-Food Communities in South Africa: Multi-actor nexus governance for social justice. The universities also worked with their partner NGO, Environmental and Rural Solutions (ERS), https://enviros.co.za/, in putting this festival together.

The aim of the festival was to showcase and share the project’s work with the Matatiele and Alice communities in the Eastern Cape. It also aimed to popularise, promote, educate and actively engage the communities on the importance and relevance of the WEF Nexus. The festival activities included panel discussions, exhibitions, live demonstrations of WEF-related activities, workshops, and guided tours to key infrastructure and projects including spring protection, climate smart gardens, alien plants, and waste issues.  It was attended by a diverse group of stakeholders from the local municipality and traditional leaders to school learners, postgraduate students and postdoctoral Fellows.

Further information on the NRF-NWO WEF Nexuses Programme please contact, Mr. Teuns Phahlamohlaka on T.Phahlamohlaka@risa.nrf.ac.za.