Events

The workshop explored Design Inquiry as a research methodology through the lens of Graphic Heritage. With a focus on six locations in the Gauteng Province, South Africa, that are named after Nelson Mandela, the workshop explored how graphic heritage reveals as much about absence as it does about presence. Participants were also introduced to archival practice and the role of the Archive at the Centre of Memory (ACoM) that preserves Nelson Mandela’s legacy. Presenters included Dr Robert Harland and Dr Yolandi Burger (Loughborough University), Zandile Myeka (Nelson Mandela Foundation) and Nkululeko Mthembu (Pista Ventures).

Residential Fellowship
The Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at Loughborough University invited Zandile Myeka as an IAS Residential Fellow at Loughborough University for July 2024. Zandile’s visit extends ongoing collaboration between researchers at Loughborough University’s Graphic Design Research Unit into graphic heritage. Read more about her fellowship here.

Open Programme Fellowship
In July 2024, Yolandi Burger was invited as a fellow to the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at Loughborough University as part of their Open Programme. Her fellowship continues the ongoing collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Loughborough University.

International Nelson Mandela Day is an annual global celebration that takes place on 18 July to honour the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela. This day is a call to action for individuals, communities, and organisations to take time to reflect on Mandela’s values and principles and to make a positive impact in their own communities. Read more here.

Making Reading Fun (MRF) was launched on 15 April 2023 to encourage reading and literacy among South Africa’s children, and to impart knowledge of Mandela’s extraordinary life story, and his values, which are celebrated worldwide. Read more here about this initiative. The NaN team collaborated on several MRF events over the six months that the exhibition was hosted in at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. Our activities included a scavenger hunt and a t-shirt design activity on the following days: 25 May 2024, 27 July 2024, 24 August 2024 and 21 September 2024.

In addition to the four MRF events mentioned above, an additional event was held on 24 July 2025 at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital (NMCH), specifically for the young patients, as part of the extended NaN project activities at the hospital.

Students from the Loughborough School of Design and Creative Arts and the AIED (AI in Education Centre) in the School of Computer Science collaborated in the early part of 2025 to co-create podcast content that complements places named after Nelson Mandela in Gauteng, South Africa. Through a structured two-phase workshop, the students used archival material, compelling storytelling techniques, and innovative AI tools to bring these place-based narratives to life. This initiative not only celebrates Mandela’s enduring legacy but also seeks to make these stories accessible to younger audiences.

Loughborough staff team: Sara Saravi, Firat Batmaz, Alis Iacob, Yolandi Burger and Rob Harland | Loughborough student team: Acka Kruczyk, Razita Osmanova and Sweet Bob-Nabena | Nelson Mandela Foundation team: Zandile Myeka and Razia Saleh.

10 October 2024: Yolandi Burger conducted an online community workshop for the IIE Vega School students participating in the Brand Challenge with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, sharing the narrative behind the Named after Nelson project and exploring how its themes align with the hospital’s values and mission.

25 October 2024: Yolandi Burger and Everardt Burger presented the Named after Nelson project to esteemed faculty members and postgraduate students at the Faculty of Art and Design Research Showcase at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa.

28 October 2024: The Named after Nelson project was showcased at the inaugural Institute of Advanced Studies Research Summit for 2024-25 at Loughborough University. The Africa Summit – Resilience and adaptability for climate change focussed on lessons from Sub-Sahara Africa that aligns with the three University strategic 2030 themes and the UK’s climate action targets.

30 January 2025: Yolandi Burger delivered a methodological lecture titled “Naming the World: Insights into Environment and Identity through Inquiry by Design” as part of the Construction and Complexity lecture series for IIE Vega School’s postgraduate students.

25-27 June 2025: Robert Harland presented two co-authored papers at the AMPS London Heritages 2025 Conference at the University of Greenwich in London titled “Mediating Heritage through Design and Mobility: Nelson Mandela’s Legacy in the Urban Landscape“ and “Migrating methods in graphic heritage research.”

01 July 2025: Yolandi Burger, Robert Harland, Mike Wilson, Taimaz Larimian and Melinda Swift engaged in a panel discussion at Loughborough University’s Institute of Advanced Studies around “Urban places as narrative spaces”. The recording is available here.

12 August 2025: Yolandi Burger delivered a guest lecture for the Honours students at Inscape Education Group as part of their research module.