16th ISSBD African Regional Workshop

Dr Linet Imbosa Muhati-Nyakundi – Convenor, 16th ISSBD ARW 2025

Dear research scholars, colleagues and students,

It is my greatest delight to welcome you all to South Africa’s city of Tshwane for the 16^th International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD) African Regional Workshop (ARW) themed “Cultural Resilience and Responsive Interventions: Bridging Modernity and Indigenous Wisdom in Addressing Africa’s Challenges.”

Interventions which are rooted in African cultures, marinated in traditional knowledge systems and responsive to challenging human experiences are believed to be effective in bringing positive changes and realising resilience and social justice in our shared humanity in Africa.

There is no doubt that Africa faces unique disruptive challenges that affect developmental progression of her people, increasing vulnerability in women, children, and youth in diverse contexts. Perpetual wars, forced migration, effects of climate change, youth unemployment, violation of rights, ill-health and malnutrition, educational difficulties, and inappropriate governance to name a few, are challenges which require active integration of Indigenous cultural knowledges, policies reforms and interventions that target children’s and youth daily developmental experiences.

It is when we seriously engage such challenges through sound theoretical foundations, backed in science that cares, while remaining true to culturally responsive interventions, that we can make meaningful contribution towards lasting solutions in the continent.

Therefore, the coming together of early, middle and senior career scholars/researchers in this workshop to share and discuss research outcomes and experiences, brings with it insights in some uncharted territories, and reinvigorates our enthusiasm of research and hopefully will foster novelty into our developmental science as understood in our African contexts.

This year’s workshop includes esteemed senior scholars from India, Europe, Australia, USA, Africa, and early career researchers from 14 African countries.

The world is waiting to hear from our wonderful research engagements, discussions, and contributions towards improving human experiences through responsive interventions in our shared humanity in the spirit of “Ubuntu” (Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu / mtu ni watu / I am because you are).

This is a wonderful opportunity to collaborate outside our silos, bridge gaps, tap into each other’s resourcefulness, as well as enjoy the immense experiences that South Africa will offers us in this workshop.

We thank the ISSBD for enabling us to hold the 16^th ARW 2025.

Welcome to the city of Tshwane. Welcome to South Africa!

Linet Imbosa Muhati-Nyakundi (PhD)
University of Mpumalanga
Convenor 16^th ISSBD ARW- 2025

Dear Colleagues, Students, and Friends,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 16^th African Regional Workshop 2025 of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD)…

Dear Colleagues, Students, and Friends,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 16^th African Regional Workshop 2025 of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD).

This year’s theme is “Cultural Resilience and Responsive Interventions: Bridging Modernity and Indigenous Wisdom in Addressing Africa’s Challenges.” Culturally sensitive interventions and an appreciation of the specificity of each context and community are essential for the next generation of intervention research aimed at promoting flourishing and healthy pathways of human development.

We can be part of this exciting future by sharing research, discussing current trends, and exploring new directions in the fields of cultural resilience, diversity, and intervention research across different contexts and communities. By investing our expertise in understanding and promoting human development now, our work has the chance to contribute to a better society tomorrow and in the future.

This is especially the case for early career researchers, whose journeys and impacts are just beginning. By providing training opportunities for early career scholars to inform, develop, conduct, and evaluate culturally responsive interventions, this African Regional Workshop represents an important step towards research-informed solutions for Africa and beyond.

With such a rich program and group of participants, I am confident that this workshop will be intellectually stimulating, socially engaging, and directly applicable to future intervention work. I encourage you to connect with colleagues, learn from each other, and carry this valuable experience forward into your research and applied work.

I look forward to welcoming you here in Pretoria and to a productive and engaging workshop.

With warm wishes,

Prof. Tina Malti, Ph.D.
President, ISSBD

Dr Jacomina Mokgadi Christine Motitswe
Chair of the Department of Inclusive Education (CEDU), University of South Africa (UNISA)

Dear Esteemed Scholars, Early Career and Emerging Scholars,
As the Chair of the Department of Inclusive Education in the College of Education, at the University of South Africa (UNISA), it is both an honour and a privilege to warmly welcome you to the 16th African Regional Workshop (ARW) of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD)….