UCT champions a new vision for child-friendly African cities

The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) African Centre for Cities (ACC) has partnered with the Urban95 Academy leadership programme to reach and support a growing network of urban leaders who want to make their cities better for babies, toddlers and their caregivers throughout Africa.

The Urban95 Academy – an executive education programme for municipal leaders worldwide to learn and develop strategies to make cities better for babies, toddlers and their caregivers – was launched in 2021 by the London School of Economics (LSE) and Political Science and the Van Leer Foundation.

To date, over 1 500 municipal leaders representing nearly 500 cities from 84 countries have participated in the academy, all with the shared goal of gaining tools to develop and deliver more care and child-centred cities.

Over 300 urban leaders from 100 city teams from Africa have taken part in the programme so far, including teams representing Lusaka (Zambia), Lagos (Nigeria) Kampala (Uganda), Mombasa (Kenya) and Cape Town (South Africa). Participation from city teams from Africa has consistently shown enthusiasm and a demand for knowledge around child-centred urban policy and planning, as well as a desire to connect with other municipalities that share common goals.

 

“We are glad to support the Urban95 Academy programme and continue growing the network of cities who are adopting a proactive stance to develop infrastructures of care.”

Through the Urban95 Academy Africa programme, the ACC, the Van Leer Foundation and LSE Cities will deliver a tailored learning experience for city leaders in Africa with region-specific case studies, local faculty, knowledge and technical partners.

“The ACC is proud to partner with the Van Leer Foundation and LSE Cities to bring this programme to city leaders whose work addresses the inequities stemming from dysfunctional urbanisation trends on the African continent. These challenges are felt most acutely by children whose needs are often given scant attention in current, usually reactive planning processes,” said Professor Edgar Pieterse, director of the ACC.

“The Urban95 Academy seeks to change this through its focus on the needs of children and their caregivers. We are glad to support the Urban95 Academy programme and continue growing the network of cities who are adopting a proactive stance to develop infrastructures of care,” he said.

Delivering better cities

Selected participants will access a fully funded leadership training programme focused on designing and delivering better cities for babies, toddlers and their caregivers. Following the successful launch of a dedicated Latin America programme last year, the Urban95 Academy is now embarking on a new chapter, delivering a programme tailored to the interests and needs of municipal leaders who want to engage in child- and care-centred urban planning and policymaking in Africa.

Applications to participate in the programme are now open, and the deadline is 24 September 2026. The course will begin online in October 2026 and selected teams will be invited to travel to Cape Town to participate in a residence week at UCT in March 2027.

Rushda Majeed, chief programme officer of the Van Leer Foundation, said: “The Van Leer Foundation is scaling Urban95 to put care at the heart of how all cities are designed and governed. Expanding the Urban95 Academy to Africa, with our valued partners LSE Cities and the ACC, is a major step forward in achieving this goal. It puts African city leadership at the centre, with local knowledge on building the villages of care that families depend on every day. We are excited to support a powerful and growing community shaping cities for young children and their caregivers.”

Dr Philipp Rode, executive director of LSE Cities, emphasised how executive education is a powerful tool for building capacity in city government. “With the Urban95 Academy, we have seen it can be particularly effective around the unifying topic of improving the lives of children in cities. We are grateful for our continued collaboration with the Van Leer Foundation, a stalwart in the early childhood space, and also to be partnering with the ACC and tapping into their deep knowledge of the region. This expansion marks an important opportunity for the programme to reach more cities in Africa.”

What the data say

Based on data collected from previous Urban95 Academy cohorts, African cities reported challenges related to access to necessities, poverty, inadequate access to healthcare and childcare, malnutrition and a lack of urban infrastructure sensitive to the needs of children.

Projects emerging from the programme directly address these challenges. Examples include conditional grants and nutrition programmes that encourage school attendance, designing childcare spaces for children under three years into community planning and school infrastructure, public-private funding structures to provide affordable childcare provision and rebuilding social support networks by investing in public spaces, parks and playgrounds.

With this regional expansion of the Urban95 Academy into Africa, more local governments will have the opportunity to build capacity in inclusive, human-centred and sustainable child-friendly urban design; to share knowledge; and to collaborate with other cities on the priorities of creating urban spaces where young children and their caregivers can thrive.

See full list of participating cities.

Register your interest.

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