The Rise Africa Festival 2025 takes place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 25-29 May. An annual event held around Africa Day, Rise Africa expresses and celebrates multiple perspectives, cultures, visions and actions for creating inclusive and vibrant African cities.   

As part of Rise Africa 2025, CDKN will be co-convening a two-day workshop on 29 and 30 May to explore human rights-based approaches (HRBA) for biodiversity and climate action in cities. It will bring together sub-national officials from cities participating in the Urban Natural Assets for Africa (UNA) programme and various other African sub-national actors, researchers and practitioners. 

CDKN’s immersive two-day experience 

CDKN, together with BESNet, SwedBio, Soka Gakkai International, and Focali, has co-convened a year-long multi-actor dialogue to explore human-rights based approaches for ecosystem-based adaptation towards the goal of integrating biodiversity and climate action.  

This dynamic and interactive workshop will build on this dialogue within the urban context. Exploring urban futures, human rights and nature in a changing climate, the workshop will uncover how to ensure urban nature is accessible, inclusive and central to resilient city futures, creating space for dialogue, reflection and co-creation. 

Day 1: Seeing cities through new lenses  

Place: Homecoming Centre, District Six 

The opening day aims to inspire new ways of seeing and experiencing the urban environment. Participants will embark on a guided heritage tour of District Six, an iconic site of resilience and memory of a vibrant mixed-race community forcibly removed under South Africa’s apartheid era, combined with a participatory photovoice experience. Through this creative methodology, participants will capture and share personal and collective narratives about the intersections of biodiversity, climate action and human rights in our cities. These visual stories will set the stage for deeper conversations on how urban nature contributes to justice, equity and well-being. 

Day 2: Deep dive into action and policy 

Place:  SouthSouthNorth, Salt River 

The second day will focus on translating learning into action to: 

• Strengthen the integration of HRBA in existing policy frameworks: Leveraging upcoming policy processes and events, we will discuss pathways for embedding human rights principles in urban biodiversity and climate strategies across scales. 

• Support sub-national governments: We will explore how cities can increase the area, quality, and connectivity of green and blue spaces, ensuring biodiversity-inclusive urban planning and enhancing human-nature relationships. 

• Unpack synergies between HRBA and other approaches for building equitable resilience: By drawing on case studies and best practices, we will examine how integrating human rights can strengthen urban resilience and social inclusion. 

• Co-create practical guidance and resources: Building on insights from the multi-actor dialogue, we will develop actionable tools to support HRBA implementation at multiple governance levels. 

This participatory session will equip city officials and urban practitioners with the knowledge and networks to champion human rights-based biodiversity and climate action. Learn about the outcomes of this vital conversation by following the partners online and help shape more just, inclusive, and biodiverse cities for the future!