Countdown 2025
To a greener, fairer, thriving future.
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On 24 and 25 October 2025, TEDxJohannesburg Countdown reimagined what a TEDx experience could be. Focused on accelerating climate action, the two-day journey began in the vibrant energy of Sandton and culminated in the tranquil beauty of NIROX Sculpture Park in the Cradle of Humankind.
Day 1 offered immersive workshops, excursions, and design sprints led by scientists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and community leaders — all designed to engage deeply with the climate crisis and spark new solutions.
Day 2 unfolded in nature’s calm, where TEDx talks, performances, and creative activations ignited ideas for a better, greener, and more resilient future.
Grounded in South African realities, shaped by Global South perspectives, and tuned to planetary frequencies, the gathering spotlighted local solutions with global power. It formed part of a worldwide drumbeat toward two major climate moments: the G20 Climate Meetings in Johannesburg and COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
As one of only 18 TEDx events globally selected as an official TED Countdown Anchor, we carried forward the energy of the Countdown Summit held in Nairobi and brought it into a uniquely South African, globally connected context — holding the moment with care, courage, and conviction.
Scroll down for the TEDxJohannesburg Countdown 2025 programme.
Because ideas change everything.
Day 1: From Ideas to Action
Friday, 24 October | 09:00-14:00 | Sandton
Day 1 began with a gathering at GIBS, followed by immersive activations across Sandton that turned ideas into action. We returned at the end to reflect and close together.
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Talk and by partner Gautrain on the future of travel.
Discover how public transport is fighting climate change, one track at a time. Gautrain unveils ambitious future plans that could transform how Gauteng moves, breathes, and grows - proving that getting from A to B can actually help save the planet.
Speaker: Viwe Mgedezi, Gautrain Knowledge Management.
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Sponsored trip on the Gautrain, with Gautrain travel guide.
First time on the Gautrain? Climb aboard with an insider guide who'll share the gritty, fascinating stories behind the engineering, the daily drama of keeping trains running, and the unexpected poetry of Johannesburg seen from the rails. This isn't just transport - it's time travel through the city's infrastructure dreams.
Activation Lead: Gautrain guide.
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Tour of the Urban Surfer Recycling Depot.
Step into the real economics of recycling: the kilometres walked, the kilos pushed, the rands earned. Urban Surfer has transformed informal waste picking into a dignified, scalable system where workers don't just collect - they belong. Learn what actually gets recycled (spoiler: not what you think), what pays, and how one exceptional depot is rewriting the rules of waste and worth.
Activation Lead: Sifiso Gumbi. Wastepreneur & Recycler Relations: Urban Surfer.
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Cycling tour of Sandton's bicycle lanes.
Sandton dreamed of becoming cycle-friendly. Then reality hit. Join Tebogo from Bicycle Banditz Club as he navigates the abandoned promise of bike lanes, dodges pedestrians like a pro, and reveals the survival skills every urban cyclist needs. This is cycling activism on two wheels - part tour, part training, part testament to what could have been (and still could be).
Activation Lead: Tebogo Galagala. Co-founder: Banditz Bicycle Club.
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Calling all Designers: A Design Sprint.
Nomcebo Dlamini of Sticky Situations challenges designers to tackle a crisis hiding in plain sight: dignified public sanitation. This intensive sprint will prototype bathhouses that run on independent energy, respect all genders, and all classes, prioritise safety, and scale across Johannesburg. Because clean water isn't a luxury - it's a human right that demands brilliant design.
Activation Lead: Nomcebo Dlamini. Urban Planner & Researcher: Sticky Situations.
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Workshop on Social Investment Strategies.
Tshikululu Social Investments manages some of the money that makes South Africa's just energy transition possible. This masterclass pulls back the curtain on innovative financing: how to raise it, where to deploy it, and why smart capital is the unsung hero of climate action. If you want to understand how the just transition gets funded, start here.
Activation Lead: Richard Pfaff. Head of Social Impact: Tshikululu Social Investments.
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Water testing and talk.
Can you trust your tap in Sandton? Water warrior Ferrial Adam brings the receipts - literally testing the Braamfontein Spruit and breaking down Johannesburg's crumbling water infrastructure. She'll explain why wealthy suburbs aren't immune to water crisis, why rain won't save us, and what we must do before the taps run dry. Hard truths, real solutions, no sugarcoating.
Activations Lead: Ferrial Adam. Executive Manager: WaterCAN.
Day 2: Climate, Art, and Imagination
Saturday, 25 October | 09:00-18:00 | NIROX Sculpture Park
Day 2 unfolded at NIROX Sculpture Park in the Cradle of Humankind, with talks, performances, and creative activations sparking bold ideas for a just and sustainable future.
Crispian Olver
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As Deputy Chairperson of the Presidential Climate Commission, and its former Executive Director, Crispian Olver has been at the centre of South Africa’s just transition. He works across government, business, labour, and civil society to align climate policy with urgent action, making sure the path to net zero is both ambitious and inclusive.
Viaksha Mohabir
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Viaksha Mohabir advises the G20 Energy Transition Working Group, bringing South Africa’s perspective into global climate policy. Her work connects local realities with international frameworks, ensuring that African voices are part of shaping the world’s energy future.
Clyde Mallinson
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Clyde Mallinson is an energy systems modeller who uses data to map South Africa’s path from coal to renewables. Known for his clarity and precision, he makes complex scenarios accessible, showing how the country can secure a just and sustainable energy transition.
Gamuchirai Mutezo
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Founder of Madam Waste, Gamuchirai Mutezo is pioneering circular-economy solutions that turn organic waste into decentralised energy. Her work demonstrates how African cities can reduce emissions, cut landfill, and build resilience through innovation.
Steve Carver
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As co-founder of U Can Grow Africa, Steve Carver champions regenerative farming practices that help communities adapt to climate shocks. By combining traditional knowledge with modern techniques, he is helping farmers build resilience from the soil up.
Leanne Emery-Hunter
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As Chief Executive Officer at Tshikululu Social Investments, Leanne Emery-Hunter helps channel corporate and philanthropic capital into projects that tackle climate change and inequality. She focuses on building resilient communities, proving that smart investment can drive both social and environmental transformation.
Taylen Reddy
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As founder of Zero Waste Durban, Taylen Reddy mobilises young people to confront plastic pollution, waste colonialism, and urban inequality. His activism makes the fight for clean cities and healthy ecosystems inseparable from the struggle for justice.
Christophe Fellay (Switzerland)
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Swiss drummer and composer Christophe Fellay blends percussion, improvisation, and soundscapes to explore the dialogue between humans and nature. His performances create immersive sonic journeys, reminding us that rhythm, like climate, is both fragile and profoundly interconnected.
Oupa Sibeko
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Oupa Sibeko is an interdisciplinary artist and scholar whose work bridges performance, ritual, and African Indigenous Knowledge to confront the spiritual and ecological legacies of colonialism. Through projects like Black is Blue, he turns play and embodied storytelling into tools for climate justice — transforming art into an act of repair, remembrance, and resistance.
Tebogo Makhubela
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Geologist and National Geographic Explorer Tebogo Makhubela reconstructs ancient landscapes and climates to understand how early humans responded to environmental change. His research offers a long view of resilience and adaptation, revealing insights that may guide us through today’s climate challenges.
Leonie Joubert
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Science writer Leonie Joubert has spent years documenting the human side of the climate crisis. Her work gives voice to those on the frontline of drought, flood, and food insecurity, transforming abstract data into urgent, personal stories of survival.
Charles Mpofu
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National Geographic Explorer Charles Mpofu follows the wattled crane, one of Africa’s most endangered bird species, as a sentinel for ecosystem health. His work highlights how protecting wetlands and waterways is critical not just for biodiversity, but for human survival in a changing climate.
Jen van den Bussche
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As director of Sticky Situations, Jen van den Bussche works to improve water and sanitation services in high-density urban areas. Her projects combine technical solutions with community engagement, ensuring that access to clean water is treated as a matter of dignity and justice.
Sifiso Gumbi
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Sifiso Gumbi started his journey as a waste picker on Johannesburg’s streets. Today, as co-founder of Urban Surfer, he brings a grassroots perspective to the circular economy, showing how waste can be reimagined as a resource in the fight against climate change.
Nokulinda Mkhize
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Sangoma, writer, and educator Nokulinda Mkhize draws from African spiritual traditions to reimagine our relationship with the earth. She shows how ancestral practices of respect, reciprocity, and balance can inform climate resilience today.
Johan Thom
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South African artist Johan Thom works across performance, video, and installation to probe the human condition in a changing world. As curator of the forthcoming Soil and Water exhibition at NIROX, he brings artists together to engage with ecology, resilience, and our shared climate future.
Itai Hakim
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Itai Hakim is a multidisciplinary artist whose work bridges music, poetry, and performance. He crafts sonic architectures that hold space for reflection, protest, and renewal. Through his art, Hakim explores sound as both a social infrastructure and a spiritual technology—an embodied practice of listening that reimagines what collective healing can sound like.
Muneyi
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Muneyi is a folk musician and storyteller whose work creates space for reflection, ancestry, and emotional repair. The 2025 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music, his voice carries the weight of lineage and the tenderness of renewal. Blending folklore, memory, and contemporary sound, Muneyi’s music reminds us that healing — like the earth itself — begins by listening deeply.
