Dancing with system dynamics

Sustainability challenges in the 21st Century such as urbanisation, energy insecurity, gender inequality, poverty, hunger, climate change etcetera, are interconnected, dynamic, non-linear and have a time-path dependency. With the adoption of 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development, World leaders are continuously exploring avenues to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For nations to achieve the SDGs, it is crucial to understand the complexity of sustainability challenges and to develop a coherent view of the pathways to achieve it. System dynamics is a critical method of policy planning to achieve a holistic view of the factors that drive sustainability issues and to illuminate the specific country dynamics that have an impact on the attainment policy objectives.

In this talk, I will introduce what system dynamics, its key principles, and the different projects that the Stellenbosch University has undertaken to explore sustainability challenges in South Africa. Further, the talk will illuminate how system dynamics will be an instrumental approach in the Trilateral Chair, Mainstreaming Gender for Energy Security in Poor Urban Environments.