The Goalkeepers (GK) South Africa community is actively working towards building a cohesive network to champion and advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To support this initiative, the Policy Innovation Lab at Stellenbosch University (SU) is hosting a series of events to increase opportunities for idea exchanges and collaboration between community members to contribute to the SDGs that they champion. Through this series of workshops and webinars, the lab hopes to create value for the GK community while developing its concepts as a collective.

The GK community held its first session, a webinar on Design Thinking (DT), on July 22. This session was led by Dr Debbie Human-Van Eck, a marketing and design thinking expert and head of the Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing program at Stellenbosch University. Dr Human-Van Eck, who also teaches integrated marketing communication, brand management, and consumer psychology, demonstrated the practical application of Design Thinking in project development and the development of innovative solutions to complex problems.

The webinar highlighted the importance of empathy, understanding others’ perspectives, and crafting solutions with these insights to meet the specific needs of one’s target market. This foundational session focused on harnessing diverse perspectives for creative, human-centred solutions, which was a key starting point for launching the Goalkeepers’ collaborative journey. The human-centred approach is also valued for fostering creativity and encouraging teamwork to achieve a shared vision.

The session was dynamic, with active participation and questions from the Goalkeepers about applying DT in practice. Dr Human-Van Eck’s use of practical examples made it clear how DT can be integrated into GKs’ projects and how it can create synergies for collaborative efforts. This approach empowers the GKs to address societal challenges with user-centric solutions in their work.