Dr. Mulako Kabisa, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, attended the inaugural Pan-African Biennale in Nairobi, Kenya from 7^th to 11^th September 2026.

The Pan-African Biennale is the first continental institution dedicated to architecture, urbanism, and spatial practice on the African continent. It is a platform of continental authorship, rooted in African realities, knowledge systems, and spatial intelligence.

She hosted a workshop on 10^th September with 13 participants under the theme of the day, Imagining Otherwise. Her workshop was entitled “Imagining other stories of urban design, African Indigenous Knowledge and sustainability.” The participants developed two Futures Wheels and narratives on alternative futures of urban cities. The event was marked by insightful discussions on how urban design and planning could change if Indigenous and Local Knowledge were at the heart of the practice.

Figure 1: The workshop participants

Figure 2: Discussions on “What If” scenarios

The Future Ecosystems for Africa commissioned book, “Africa Phambili”, was launched at the workshop. The books were distributed to the workshop participants, female panelists from the talk “Carried by Women: Traditional Spatial Knowledge and Collective Life”, the Biennale organising team, and other participants Mulako engaged with.

Figure 3: Africa Phambili at the Pan-African Biennale