Meet the DNA Winners

The Dumusani Ndaba Award winners are a select group of leaders who have done the most to help others through the HPW programme. As a result of winning the award, they get their name engraved onto the famous DNA trophy, and the freedom of the HPW programme for life. Find out more about them below:

2026: Makatu Mashanyu

Planeteer since the 32nd Habitable Planet Workshop in Pietermaritzburg (December 2020)
Core Lecturer and inducted into the Core Lecturing Hall of Fame (2022/23)
Named "Best Core Lecturer" at HPW38 (Cape Town 2022) and HPW40 (Univen 2023)
PRC Social Media Rep (2022–2023), North West Rep 2023
Featured in a short film about HPW at the United Nations General Assembly in New York
Core Lecturer in Ghana for HPW43 (2024)
LOC Chair for HPW44 (2024) — the first-ever workshop in the North West Province
Organiser at HPW leadership training for three consecutive years (2024–2026)
Chair of the North West HPW Schools Programme (2025)

2026: Aaliyah Shah

Planeteer at HPW32 in Pietermaritzburg (December 2020)
LOC Chair for HPW35 (2021) and HPW39 in St. Lucia (2023)
Graduated at the top of her Core Lecture training cohort with distinction (2022)
PRC Deputy Chair (2022) and PRC Chair (2023)
Represented HPW in the Parliament of South Africa (2022)
Prolific Core Lecturer at multiple workshops including HPW37, 39, 40, 41, and HPW46 (2025)
Conducted monitoring and evaluation research on HPW (2007–2022) and presented at the 5th Global Change Conference and internationally
Managed logistics as session convenor and chair for ACCESS at the United Nations General Assembly in New York (2024)
UCT LOC staff member (2026)