Prof Maano Ramutsindela
Professor Maano Ramutsindela is the UP-UCT Future Africa Research Chair : Sustainability Transformations effective from 1 April 2024. Prof Ramutsindela also serves as a Professor of Human Geography in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town (UCT). A Canon Collins Scholar, Ramutsindela holds a PhD in Geography from Royal Holloway College, University of London, and a Master’s degree in Geography from the University of the North (Turfloop). He is the immediate past Dean of the Faculty of Science at UCT. Nationally, he is a recipient of the NRF President’s Award (P rating) and the NRF Award for the Transformation of the Science Cohort, a Fellow of the Society of South African Geographers, an elected Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. Internationally, he is a recipient of the International Visitor Award of the African Studies Association, held the Distinguished Hubert H. Humphrey Visiting Chair at Macalester College, Mandela Fellow of the W.E.B Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University, Inaugural Guest Professor of the African Studies Programme of the Global Studies Institute at the University of Geneva, Visiting Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Western Australia, and Fellow of the Forrest Research Foundation in Australia.
Prof Ramutsindela’s current research is on socioecological relations and the political ecology of peace parks. He is author of Transfrontier Conservation in Africa: At the Confluence of Capital, Politics and Nature. His recent books include Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals (edited with David Mickler, Springer 2020); The Violence of Conservation in Africa: State, Militarization and Alternatives (edited with Frank Matose and Tafadzwa Mushonga, Edward Elgar 2022); and Routledge Handbook of Development and Environment (edited with Brent McCusker, Waquar Ahmed, and Patricia Solís, Routledge 2022).
Our Challenge Domains
Future Africa’s Research Chairs lead comprehensive programmes of work within our Challenge Domains. They work at a pan-African level and with global partners to set African agendas, build African capacities, create African networks of expertise and influence, and co-design and deliver high-impact research in and for Africa.
Activities Spotlight
The Future Africa Research Leader Fellowship (FAR-LeaF) is a two-year research-oriented fellowship programme, focussed on developing transdisciplinary research and leadership skills, to address the complex, inter-linked challenges of health, well-being, and environmental risks in Africa. The FAR-LeaF programme recognises the value of creating a long-term network of future-focussed science leaders with transdisciplinary research skills, who can address the challenges of a post-Covid-19 society.
Read MoreAnticipation is fundamental to the world that surrounds us – from human beings that plan for the future, to the anticipatory instincts of basic biological systems underpinning the living universe. Human beings and the social systems we create continuously make use of the future to frame our actions, choices, and therefore our agency in the present. Often our framework for the future is based on tacit assumptions about how the future could or should look. Futures Literacy is concerned with revealing the Anticipatory Assumptions that inform our vision of the future, moving from tacit to explicit, and building up the capability to imagine different kinds of future including those that are not necessarily desirable or probable. In doing this, Futures Literacy enables a more robust imagining of the later-than-now and develops an ability to understand and use novelty and complexity in framing our present choices.
Read MoreThe University of Pretoria is proud to host the biennial Africa Week, a prestigious event that brings together the greatest minds in science leadership. This year's event, in partnership with the Department of Science and Innovation and the National Research Foundation, will convene the leadership of prominent African and global scientific networks and international, transdisciplinary initiatives. The theme for Africa Week 2023 is Open Africa, Open Science, which will feature topical dialogues on the importance of open science as a global public good and its relevance for the continent.
Read MoreOur Impact Dialogues is a series that is intended to stimulate bold thinking and debate on important issues that affect African science. The series is open to all –the general public, students, lecturers, researchers, policy makers, and so on. The goal is to have an open, informed conversation about some of the more pressing issues we face as a world today. So far, we have held seminars on Futures Literacy in Africa, lessons from the Open Science movement in Europe, as well as mis -and dis-information on social media.
Read MoreThe African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems (formerly ACoE in Food Security) was established in 2018 as a partnership between the host institution
- University of Pretoria
- and collaborating partner institutions
- University of Ghana and University of Nairobi.
The ARUA-SFS aims to create an engaging global network of talented researchers to move institutions forward in pursuit of a common goal. It is recognised that finding solutions to the food security and nutritional challenges in Africa is a huge and daunting task, and there are many local and internationally based organisations working in the African food and agriculture domain. The aim of the ARUA-SFS is not to duplicate efforts, but to create a critical mass of talented researchers working synergistically to maximise complementarity.
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2024-09-26
Foster science leadership to advance sustainability
At the SRI 2024 Africa Satellite event, Professor Maano Ramutsindela highlighted the need for visionary leadership and regional collaboration to address Africa’s challenges in climate, food security, and water management.
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Future Africa’s Robotics and Coding Initiative Empowers Youth at Bokamoso High School
Future Africa’s FACE One Health programme, led by Dr Tedson Nkoana, introduced a Robotics and Coding course at Bokamoso High School, Hammanskraal. T...
2024-09-16 -
Protecting Communities: The Importance of Rabies Prevention Through One Health
Rabies is a deadly but preventable disease that threatens both humans and animals. As part of Rabies Month, commemorated every September, the Future A...
2024-09-09 -
Dialogue on the Transformative Impact of Transdisciplinary Research
On 28 August 2024, Future Africa hosted the third installment of its Transdisciplinary (TD) Dialogue series, titled The Transformative Impact of Trans...
2024-09-03 -
Future Africa Secures Two ARUA Collaborative PhD Programmes to Build Research Capacity in Africa
Future Africa (FA) has been awarded two Collaborative PhD Programmes by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA). These programmes, funded by...
2024-08-30