About Walter Sisulu
Get in touch
Email Address:
Contact Numbers:
Mthatha: 047 502 2100
Butterworth: 047 401 6000
East London: 043 702 9200
Potsdam: 043 708 5200
Chiselhurst: 043 709 4000
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
iYunivesithi Walter Sisulu plays a pivotal role in driving sustainable regional development, urban resilience, spatial planning, and cultural heritage preservation across the Eastern Cape. Operating across multiple campuses and delivery sites situated in both urban centers (such as East London and Mthatha) and rural contexts, the university serves as a living laboratory for community-responsive innovation, municipal policy support, and climate disaster mitigation.
Support & Preservation of Arts, Cultural Heritage, and Public Access
- Xhamela Cultural Festival. Read the story. Launched during Heritage Month by the Student Governance and Leadership Development (SGLD) unit at Potsdam Campus in honour of Tatu Walter Sisulu (Xhamela). Celebrates institutional identity, indigenous art, traditional dance, spoken-word poetry, and choral performances, bringing together campus communities and regional public audiences.
- Public Access to University Libraries & Knowledge Repositories. Walter Sisulu provides public access to its campus library facilities, digital research repositories (such as the FigShare portal and open online catalogues), and archival materials for external researchers and community members upon application.
- Spirituality and African Cultural Heritage (Itshoba Nesidanga). Organised by the Residence Life and Co-Curricular Unit to integrate Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), traditional customs, and spiritual heritage into mainstream campus culture and student leadership programs.
- Public Lectures & Community Heritage Events. Hosts public intellectual events such as the Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Annual Lecture to promote public dialogue on ethics, social justice, and national heritage.
Local Authority Collaboration, Urban Planning & Sustainable Built Environment
- 1st CBE / Walter Sisulu International Conference for Sustainable Construction. Read the story. Co-hosted at the Potsdam Site alongside the Council for the Built Environment (CBE), bringing together municipal officials, industry leaders, and academic researchers. Keynote address delivered by South Africa's Deputy Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala, focusing on flood-resilient infrastructure, sustainable building materials (such as hempcrete), solar/wind energy integration, and climate disaster mitigation across the Eastern Cape.
- National Public Works & Infrastructure Ministerial Review Panel. The Head of the Built Environment Department at Walter Sisulu was appointed to the Public Works and Infrastructure Ministerial Review Panel, providing academic leadership and technical advice to shape national infrastructure and spatial planning policies.
- "Adopt-a-District" Partnership (Nyandeni Local Municipality & Kingdom). Read the story. Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nyandeni Local Municipality and the Nyandeni Royal Kingdom under the "Adopt-a-District" Community Engaged Scholarship Programme. Leverages university technical and academic resources to assist local government in addressing priority infrastructure, social cohesion, and municipal service delivery needs.
- Eastern Cape Department of Transport (ECDOT) Strategic MoU. Maintained a strategic partnership with ECDOT focusing on joint transport research, rural- urban mobility planning, infrastructure evaluation, and provincial transport policy development.
- Municipal Development Agency Collaborations. Partnered with the Buffalo City Metro Development Agency and the Alfred Nzo Development Agency on local economic development, urban planning, and community- based spatial research.
Disaster Resilience: Campus Infrastructure & Emergency Community Relief
- Sustainable Building Standards & Campus Infrastructure Renewal. Through its long-term infrastructure modernisation program, Walter Sisulu integrates environmental performance controls and energy/water-conscious building standards into new developments, such as the Technopark Engineering Building.
- Affordable Student Housing & Spatial Expansion. University Council and Convocation actively drive student accommodation access and campus development plans, including campus expansion initiatives in Komani and Bizana to widen regional higher education access.
- Emergency Community Disaster Response & Flood Relief. Read the story. Following severe flooding in the Mthatha region that displaced thousands of community members and destroyed homes: SAAPAM Student Flood Relief Drive: The Student Chapter of the South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAAPAM) launched an emergency donation drive, collecting and delivering food, clothing, and blankets to displaced families in Mthatha West's Slovo informal settlement. "Welcome Back to Care" Public Health Outreach: The Department of Public Health, in partnership with the Civic Centre Clinic, established medical outreach centers at Northcrest Community Hall to provide emergency health services and reconnect displaced flood victims with chronic medical care.
Research on Sustainable Cities, Indigenous Resilience & Climate Adaptation
- Indigenous Livelihoods & Municipal Resilience (Walter Sisulu & UFS Partnership). Joint research initiative with the University of the Free State exploring socio-economic resilience and climate adaptation strategies in the former Transkei. Co-developed solutions with local communities through Imbizo and Lekgotla platforms, producing policy briefs for municipal authorities to integrate indigenous knowledge into local economic development (LED) and urban/rural spatial planning
This account is drawn from the iYunivesithi Walter Sisulu Sustainability Impact Progress Report, prepared against the Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Ratings methodology.
The Sustainable Development Goals icons are United Nations marks, used here for information. The content of this publication has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States. Read the Sustainable Development Goals.
