challenges &

opportunities in

southern Africa

#orangeknowledge

#hollandalumni

Linking Knowledge Worldwide

Welcome

Dear Holland Alumni,

On behalf of Nuffic, the Dutch organisation for

internationalisation in education, I would like to

welcome you to Pretoria for the first ever Orange

Knowledge exchange series. It is a true honor to be the

host of such a diverse group of Holland Alumni from

Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, and

Tanzania.

This week you do not only represent your country and

your organisation, but you also represent the link you

have with the Netherlands through programmes like the

Netherlands Fellowship Programme, NICHE and the

Orange Knowledge Programme. These programmes are

funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by Nuffic, and are all

aimed at capacity development through education and training. We are curious to hear

from you what the impact has been of your time in the Netherlands, how it has influenced

your professional and personal growth, and the development of your organisation.

The Water-Energy-Food nexus has been chosen as the theme for this edition of the Orange

Knowledge exchange series. We will pay attention to challenges and opportunities, and

look forward to hearing from your local and national contexts. Looking at our shared water

resources, sustainable energy sources, and food security, it is also a theme that ties this

region together. We look forward to discussing with all of you how the region can contribute

to related sustainable development goals.

As you will realise when talking to your fellow alumni from other African countries, the

Holland Alumni network is diverse and ever expanding. At the moment of writing we have

around 70,000 alumni registered on our platform www.hollandalumni.nl.

We are very excited to have you here and hope you will feel inspired and even better

connected after the event. On behalf of all my Nuffic colleagues, I wish you an excellent

Orange Knowledge exchange series!

Mervin Bakker

Regional Director

Thematic area

Nexus between water, energy and food security

The Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) aims to

b u i l d s u s t a i n a b l e r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n

stakeholders from education, government, and

business through a triple helix model of

international collaboration for capacity and

knowledge development. This Programme is funded

by the ministry of foreign affairs. The three main

instruments used for these interventions are institutional

collaboration projects, short training interventions and

scholarships. Engagement with alumni is an

underpinning principle and key element of

sustainability. At the same time, alumni are also

important stakeholders to showcase the impact of

Nuffic activities and interventions.

One of the strategic considerations for Nuffic Neso

South Afr ica is to develop a more

regional approach to increase impact and

develop a strong Africa presence for the

organization. This also extends to alumni of the region.

The alumni event takes this background into consideration to promote a regional alumni

intervention that would incorporate further training and skills development,

networking and identifying future opportunities.

Aims and objectives

To create a regional platform to develop capacity in selected thematic areas

(related to Orange Knowledge programme)

- To foster networking between alumni, sector specific stakeholders and knowledge

institutions.

- To identify new opportunities for collaboration between alumni and stakeholders

- To create links between role-players in the Higher Education sector and Government

What is the Orange Knowledge exchange series?

Who are we?

Vicky Weits

Vicky Weits is a programme administrator alumni at Nuffic.

She has been working at Nuffic for 6 years now, holding sev-

eral positions during this period. As a programme administra-

tor alumni, Vicky is responsible for both policy making on

alumni relations as well as organising alumni events to con-

nect alumni worldwide. Her main focus are the alumni of

the Orange Knowledge Programme and its predecessors

(NFP, NICHE, NPT).

Nuffic’s tagline is ‘Meet the world’ and that’s exactly what

Vicky likes to do. She likes to connect people through edu-

cational events, as it is her vast belief that education is at

the root of all development. Vicky lives in The Hague, where she spends her time walking

the dog, gardening and swimming. She is always open to receive good reading tips.

Karen de Man

Karen works as a communications advisor at Nuffic. She has

held this position since starting at Nuffic 4 years ago. Her main

focus is creating and sustaining engagement between inter-

national students and alumni as well as Dutch representations

across the globe. She also creates content and new

functionalities for the online alumni platform.

Most of her professional life was spent in international educa-

tion with an interlude of five years in recruitment services. Con-

tributing to the development of students and professionals has

always been a driving force in her career. Karen is also a fre-

quent panellist and speaker at alumni events and

conferences and likes to share her knowledge on these topics.

In her spare time Karen likes to organise events in the neigh-

bourhood of her hometown, Rotterdam, and enjoys to plan and organise trips for herself

and friends and family. She also works as a volunteer at an animal rescue centre and sanc-

tuary. Singing, dancing and cooking also gives her great pleasure! So if you have some

good local dance moves, songs or recipes to share with her, she will be happy to learn

from you.

Who are we?

Nuffic Neso South Africa Team

The Netherlands Education Support Office (Nuffic Neso South Africa) is a non-profit

organisation funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education. Nuffic Neso South Africa is a

representative office of Nuffic, the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in

education. Neso is the official representative in South Africa for all matters concerning Dutch

higher education and promotes and provides information on more than 2,100 study

programme taught in English in the Netherlands. Neso also initiates and facilitates institutional

cooperation between South African and Dutch universities and works together with South

Africa on capacity development through the Orange Knowledge Programme.

Nuffic Neso South Africa focuses on the following activities:

• Promote Dutch higher education and increase student and staff mobility between

South Africa and the Netherlands.

• Support students from the Netherlands to come to South Africa for study, research

and internships.

• Intensify ties with the Holland Alumni network in Southern Africa.

• Initiate and coordinate (triple helix) partnerships

(e.g. NRF-Nuffic PhD programme, Living Labs).

• Capacity building: implementation of the Orange Knowledge Programme in the region.

Back Row: Huba Boshoff, Jade Bailey, Mervin Bakker

Front Row: Tshegofatso Gasealahwe, Vhutshilo Makananise, Meghan Rossouw

Programme

Programme

Orange Knowledge exchange series:

The nexus between water, energy and food security - challenges and opportunities

3 - 5 September 2019, Pretoria, South Africa

Monday, 2 September 2019 (Future Africa Campus)

16:00 Early registration until 18.00hrs

Tuesday, 3 September 2019 (Future Africa Campus)

11:00 Registration and lunch

13:30 Opening and welcome

Messages embassies from the region

Deputy Head of Mission South Africa - Jan Huesken

Regional Director Nuffic Neso South Africa - Mervin Bakker

14:15 Opening keynote (via skype) – Frugal Innovation in Africa - Dr. Elsie Onsongo,

Director: Centre for Frugal Innovations, Africa Hub

15:00 Setting the scene – thematic introductions

15:30 Group picture followed by refreshment break

16.00 Meet your peers – guided networking session

17:00 Orange Knowledge programme in the region Huba Boshoff/project coordinators

18:00 Alumni Soapbox session

19:00 Welcome braai

Wednesday, 4 September (Future Africa Campus)

08:30 Arrival

09:00 Panel discussion – Circular economy

(perspectives from business, government, knowledge institutions)

10:30 Refreshment break

11:00 The politics of the water, food and energy nexus - Prof. Adriano Nuvunga

12:00 Lunch

13:00 Parallel workshops Entrepreneurship and WEF & Youth Employment and WEF

15:00 Refreshment break

15:30 Plenary workshop Personal branding - Deirdré van Zyl Smit

16:00 Plenary workshop optimising your social media presence - Janneke de Vos

17:00 Holland Alumni network – connections created and continued

Vicky Weits & Karen de Man

17:30 Closing of the day

18:00 Africa meets the world hosted by the Holland Alumni Association of South Africa

Thursday, 5 September (hosted at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

09:00 Arrival

09:30 Keynote - The SDGs: How far have we come? Perspectives from the region

Prof. Willem Fourie, SDG Hub, University of Pretoria

10:30 Masterclass in Science Communication

12:30 Lunch

13:30 Alumni panel discussion (selected alumni presenters)

15:00 Alumni reflections by alumni (25 min: 5 countries – 5 min each)

15.30 Closing statements

16:00 Closing cocktail

Getting to know our Keynote Speakers

Dr. Elsie Onsongo

Dr. Elsie is the hub manger, based in Kenya. She has completed a PhD in

'Economics of Innovative Change', a programme jointly offered by

Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Max Planck Institute of

Economics in Jena, Germany. She has worked at Strathmore University in

Kenya in various teaching, research and administrative capacities, and

was a visiting fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), Universi-

ty of Sussex, UK.

Her research focuses on:

- Information technology investments in the Kenyan commercial bank-

ing sector;

- The sources, drivers and dynamics of societal transformations associated with mobile money inno-

vation in Kenya, on which she wrote her PhD dissertation

entitled “Inclusive Innovation and Institutional Change’;

- The frugal and inclusive business models designed and deployed in base of the pyramid markets,

which she explored in the context of the Frugal Innovations and Responsible

Entrepreneurship: Case Studies in the Water and Health Sectors in East Africa project funded by the

Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research Responsible Innovation programme.

Prof. Adriano Alfredo Nuvunga, (Ph.D.)

Prof. Adriano is a scholar and leading civil society activist in

Mozambique. He is the director of the Centro para a Democracia e

Desenvolvimento (CDD). Until May 2018, Prof. Nuvunga led the

Centre for Public integrity (CIP) the reputable anticorruption civil

society organisation in Mozambique. Prof. Nuvunga teaches political

science at the Department of Political Science and Public

administration, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Mondlane

Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique. He has published in

scholarly article journals. His next book with Nicholas Awortwi

examines governance variances in Africa. He is a member of IN-

CLUDE, the Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development Policies,

Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Prof Willem Fourie

Prof Willem Fourie is Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria. He has

written widely in the public media on South Africa’s attainment of the

SDGs, and has been invited to speak on the topic in South Africa and

abroad. Since 2011, Willem has acted as expert advisor the African Un-

ion’s NEPAD Agency on issues related to development effectiveness. He

was the lead author of the Africa Union Transformative Leadership Pro-

gramme (AU-TLP), and he was closely involved with drafting the Africa

Action Plan on Development Effectiveness.

Willem has published close to thirty peer-reviewed articles and chapters,

and he authored a peer-reviewed monograph and edited a peer-

reviewed collection of essays. He has received a number of research

awards, notably an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship.

He also acts as Programme Director of the newly established Master’s in Development Practice.

This innovative new postgraduate qualification is the first to equip participants with the multidisci-

plinary competences needed to implement complex development agendas such as the SDGs.

The Holland Alumni network aims to facilitate an international network of Holland alumni,

future alumni, Holland Alumni associations, Dutch higher education institutions, Dutch

embassies and relevant organisations.

South Africa has its own alumni association. The Holland Alumni Association South Africa

(HAASA) aims to be viewed a key stakeholder in igniting possibilities for alumni by alumni.

The benefits

Holland Alumni are invited to join the network to:

• stay in touch with fellow Holland Alumni

• join existing communities or establish new ones

• stay informed about upcoming alumni activities across the globe

• find refresher courses, news & trends in your area of expertise

• share experiences with prospective international students

• browse and share internship and job vacancies

The Alumni Network

www.hollandalumni.nl

Food for thought

Water

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene is a human right and crucial for health, dignity and

gender equality. Improved water management enhances water security and safety, which

are both essential for other development goals, such as poverty reduction, food security,

reduced inequality and a sustainable living environment. In 2018, we provided 2.2 million

people with safe drinking water and 3.6 million people with improved sanitation. Some 2.4

million people benefited from improved water management.

Food and nutrition security

In the reporting period, the Netherlands made an important contribution to the elimination

of malnutrition and the development of small-scale food farming. Millions of children

received better nutrition and more than a million small-scale farms benefited from

improved production methods, new technologies, better access to markets and more

sustainable production practices. We also contributed to better land tenure rights and the

strengthening of the position of women in agriculture. Our contribution to SDG 2 is

proceeding on schedule.

Clean, sustainable energy

The Dutch government is investing in programmes that make clean and sustainable energy

available. One is the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions in developing countries. Another is the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves,

which fosters the adoption of environmentally clean energy for cooking. The Netherlands

also stimulates private sector investment in climate financing, such as Climate Investor One

(CIO) for sustainable energy in developing countries.