Date

December 01-02-2026

Location

Johannesburg/ South Africa

Limited Seats

100 Tickets

Speakers

About the Forum

The #AfrikaHeritage Forum is a Rendzo Network Africa initiative advancing Africa’s leadership in cultural and Indigenous tourism, and fostering collaboration among policymakers, community leaders, scholars, traditional knowledge holders, and tourism innovators.

The inaugural Forum, held in Johannesburg in September 2025 in partnership with the National Heritage Council and the Joburg Convention Bureau, brought together 75 delegates from across the continent and beyond. It combined immersive heritage site visits with a day and a half of keynotes, panels, and case studies — culminating in a shared framework for positioning heritage not as a relic of the past, but as a living foundation for Africa’s sustainable tourism future.

Forum II carries that work forward: turning the ideas, partnerships, and recommendations from the first gathering into concrete action across the continent.

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WHY / #AfrikaHeritage Forum II

Forum I closed with a clear mandate. Delegates called for a pan-African framework for Indigenous tourism, institutionalised cultural protocols, a continental Indigenous Tourism Observatory, and training and certification pathways for community-based operators — alongside a stronger push on digital heritage innovation, climate resilience, and women- and youth-led enterprise.

Forum II is where that mandate gets tested and built out. Hosted in hybrid format to widen participation across the continent, it will track progress since 2025, deepen the partnerships formed in Johannesburg, and prepare African voices and case studies for the 5th World Indigenous Tourism Summit in Johannesburg (22–24 April 2027).

Format & Schedule

Detailed programme to follow. Forum I combined a half-day of immersive heritage experiences with a day and a half of plenaries, keynotes, and breakaway sessions — expect a similar rhythm of experience and deliberation, adapted for hybrid delegates.

Forum Partners

Organised by: Rendzo Network Africa

Founding Partners: National Heritage Council of South Africa · Joburg Convention Bureau

More partners to be announced.

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Voices From Forum I

Forum II Speakers

Speaker list coming soon. Forum II will again bring together leading cultural heritage and Indigenous tourism practitioners from across Africa and the world — building on contributors from Forum I including the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance, the National Museum of Ireland, Namibia University of Science and Technology, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

See Forum I speakers

A quick look at where the conversation is headed:

  • Pan-African Indigenous Tourism Observatory — a proposed platform for continental collaboration and shared learning.
  • Cultural protocols, institutionalised — embedding Indigenous protocols into national and continental tourism policy.
  • Training & certification — new pathways for community-based and Indigenous tourism operators.
  • Digital heritage innovation — AI, 3D mapping, and virtual archives in service of preservation and storytelling.
  • Climate-resilient heritage — integrating cultural resilience into climate adaptation and sustainable tourism planning.
  • Women- and youth-led enterprise — expanding inclusive, community-owned tourism entrepreneurship.

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Why Attend

It is a chance to engage directly with the leaders, practitioners, and innovators shaping the future of heritage, cultural, and Indigenous tourism on the continent.

Delegates will:

  • Get an update on progress against Forum I's recommendations, including the proposed pan-African Indigenous Tourism Observatory and certification programmes for community-based operators.
  • Engage with international good-practice on Indigenous tourism, cultural protocols, and intellectual property protection, alongside African case studies.
  • Explore the intersection of heritage with climate resilience, digital innovation (AI, 3D mapping, virtual archives), and astro-tourism.
  • Connect with policymakers, traditional knowledge holders, tourism entrepreneurs, academics, and community leaders from across Africa and beyond, in a hybrid format that lowers the barrier to participation.
  • Help shape Africa's contribution to the 2027 World Indigenous Tourism Summit in Johannesburg.

FORUM I PHOTOS

Event Location

Johannesburg
South Africa
+27 11 024 4730

connect@rendzonetwork.africa

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