Proposed NCRST URL: https://ncrst.na/initiatives/climate-change-and-futures-conference-series
From 29 October to 1 November 2025, Windhoek, Namibia will host the Climate Change and Futures in Africa Conference under the theme “Risk in Time and Space.” This year’s edition spotlights Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)—an approach that empowers local communities to take part in risk assessment, decision-making and the design of adaptive strategies grounded in local knowledge.
The programme will convene experts in climate change, disaster risk reduction, public policy and community practice for interactive panels, workshops and case-study sessions. More than 100 delegates are expected from Namibia, South Africa, Canada, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Kenya, Algeria, Japan, Greece and Germany. Discussions will span risk analysis and assessment, disaster risk management, risk perception, communication and governance, sectoral risk mitigation, monitoring real-world risk, ethics, and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big-data analytics to natural hazards.
The conference will be officially opened by The Right Honourable Dr Elijah Ngurare, Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia, alongside Honourable Dino Ballotti, Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture. Keynote speakers include Professor Ranjan Datta (Mount Royal University, Canada), Dr Olivia Kunguma(University of the Free State, South Africa) and Professor Ioannis Pitas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece).
The 3rd edition is jointly organised by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa in collaboration with Namibia’s National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST), the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), the National Research Foundation (NRF), the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), Santam South Africa, the Department of Cooperative Governance, the University of Fort Hare, Walter Sisulu University, Midlands State University, the University of the Free State, Future Earth, the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Zimbabwe.Learn more:https://hsrc.ac.za/dces-flagship-climate-change-and-futures-conference-series/
