Mbombela, Friday, 6 March 2026 — The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in partnership with the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) and other partners will host the 2026 Africa Young Graduates and Scholars (AYGS) Conference, celebrating two decades of African research excellence and youth empowerment.

The conference themed, “Driving Sustainable Development: Innovation Through Technological Transformation” will take place at UMP Mbombela Campus from 11–12 March 2026.

The theme emphasises the importance of harnessing scientific evidence, technological capabilities, and youth-led innovations to design African solutions to African problems. It calls for bold thinking, practical insights, and collaborative research that will influence policy, transform systems, and deliver meaningful impact.

The milestone event brings together master’s students, doctoral candidates, recent PhD graduates, policymakers, and practitioners to address Africa’s pressing development priorities. These early-career researchers from across Africa – including South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Benin, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya, Eswatini, Rwanda, Malawi, Uganda, Mauritius, Senegal, and Ethiopia – will gather in Mpumalanga, South Africa, to reimagine Africa’s future, focusing on technological innovation, sustainability, and inclusive development.

According to the conference convener, HSRC’s Dr Nomcebo Ubisi, the historic AYGS conference seeks to inspire scholars to interrogate Africa’s position in the global knowledge economy and to explore how innovation can serve as a bridge between aspiration and action.

“In line with Agenda 2063, the AYGS recognises Africa’s youth not only as beneficiaries but as architects of development, equipped to shape inclusive and resilient futures.

“We are proud to witness that over the years, AYGS has transformed to become more than a conference and is now a community of knowledge builders, change agents, and critical thinkers committed to Africa’s transformation. As we commemorate 20 years of AYGS, the 2026 edition will reflect on past progress while charting new frontiers for youth-led scholarship in development,” added Dr Ubisi.

Aligning with Africa’s development blueprints and the HSRC’s strategic research priorities, the conference will feature sub-themes on innovation and climate action; inclusive economic growth and employment; youth empowerment and education for development; health and wellbeing for all; good governance and institutional development; and trade, tariffs, and the new world order.

The conference is hosted by the HSRC, in partnership with the UMP, National Research Foundation (NRF) Future Earth Africa Hub Leadership Centre, the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS), and other key academic and policy stakeholders.

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Notes to the editor

About the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

The HSRC was established in 1968 as South Africa’s statutory research agency and has grown to become the largest dedicated research institute in the social sciences and humanities on the African continent, doing cutting-edge public research in areas that are crucial to development.

Our mandate is to inform the effective formulation and monitoring of government policy; to evaluate policy implementation; to stimulate public debate through the effective dissemination of research-based data and fact-based research results; to foster research collaboration; and to help build research capacity and infrastructure for the human sciences.

The Council conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific research for public sector users, non-governmental organisations and international development agencies. Its research activities and structures are closely aligned with South Africa’s national development priorities.

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