Pledge

What we learned together

At the final conference on 22 October 2026, participants emphasised trust, community-defined challenges, local knowledge, co-creation and equal partnership. They also identified limited funding, staff time and partnerships ending with grants as major risks. The message was clear: participation must be embedded in institutional practice and sustained through reciprocal relationships.

Our collective pledge

1. Embed sustainability in everything we do.
2. Put engagement at the heart of the university.
3. Turn knowledge into meaningful action.
4. Recognise communities as equal partners.
5. Protect the wellbeing of the next seven generations.
6. Strengthen interconnected networks and shared responsibility.
7. Sustain EngageSDGs beyond the project’s lifetime.

The next chapter: 2027

The CoP will begin informally, through shared themes and rotating partner leadership. An inaugural session on community engagement involving distance-education students is proposed for February – March 2027, with formal terms of reference envisaged by mid-2027. Partners will continue sharing case studies, using the IPF and learning resources, and inviting wider SADC participation.

A commitment for future generations

Inspired by the seven-generations principle and the image of interconnected roots, we recognise that lasting change depends on what universities, communities and partners nurture together. This book is a beginning: a record of shared intent and an open invitation to turn that intent into visible, community-valued change.