IN CONVERSATION WITH KEFILWE, THEMBISILE AND BOKAMOSO
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The University of the Witwatersrand’s Green Campus Initiative (GCI)
continues to grow as a powerful student-led movement driving sustainability,
environmental awareness, and leadership across campus. Built on three key
pillars — environmental education, practical action, and leadership
development — GCI empowers students to take responsibility for their
environmental impact through initiatives such as recycling campaigns,
sustainability workshops, and green residence programmes.
A major focus of the initiative is student residences, where high levels of
water usage, electricity consumption, and waste generation present both a
challenge and an opportunity. By encouraging simple but meaningful
behavioural changes, GCI is working to build a culture of environmental
responsibility that extends beyond campus into broader society. Partnerships
with organisations like Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa
further strengthen its reach and impact.
Today’s conversation brings together a dynamic leadership team shaping this
11:30
work: Kefilwe Phala, an emerging voice in governance, technology policy,
and youth empowerment; Thembisile Mathebula, serving in an advisory role
guiding the initiative’s strategic direction; and Bokamoso Mapela, Secretary
General, helping drive coordination and implementation across campus.
Together, they represent a new generation of leaders reimagining how
sustainability, governance, and student activism intersect — not just within
universities, but in shaping South Africa’s environmental future.
continues to grow as a powerful student-led movement driving sustainability,
environmental awareness, and leadership across campus. Built on three key
pillars — environmental education, practical action, and leadership
development — GCI empowers students to take responsibility for their
environmental impact through initiatives such as recycling campaigns,
sustainability workshops, and green residence programmes.
A major focus of the initiative is student residences, where high levels of
water usage, electricity consumption, and waste generation present both a
challenge and an opportunity. By encouraging simple but meaningful
behavioural changes, GCI is working to build a culture of environmental
responsibility that extends beyond campus into broader society. Partnerships
with organisations like Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa
further strengthen its reach and impact.
Today’s conversation brings together a dynamic leadership team shaping this
11:30
work: Kefilwe Phala, an emerging voice in governance, technology policy,
and youth empowerment; Thembisile Mathebula, serving in an advisory role
guiding the initiative’s strategic direction; and Bokamoso Mapela, Secretary
General, helping drive coordination and implementation across campus.
Together, they represent a new generation of leaders reimagining how
sustainability, governance, and student activism intersect — not just within
universities, but in shaping South Africa’s environmental future.
