Localising Sustainable Development Goals through Indigenous Governance, Intergenerational Dialogue and Village-based Development Facilitation

Despite being designed as a universal framework for sustainable development, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have largely never been introduced to grassroots communities in rural Africa. Yet these communities are the intended beneficiaries. Conversations, decision-making and reporting on the SDGs continue to occur mainly at national and international levels, far removed from village realities, everyday livelihoods and indigenous governance systems. Consequently, this disconnect has limited local ownership, weakened implementation and obscured the SDGs’ potential as a powerful framework for democratising development planning and practice.   In this interactive session, we present an African-centred methodology that repositions localisation of SDGs as a bottom-up, community-driven process anchored on indigenous governance, intergenerational dialogue and village-based facilitation. The University of Venda’s Institute for Rural Development, will lead the simulation of a village-level SDG introduction and localisation workshop convened under traditional authority. Central to the approach is the establishment of village-level development facilitation teams comprising committed unemployed graduates and retired professionals working closely with Headman Councils, Civic Associations, Ward Committees, and Traditional Council representatives to amplify community voices across generations.  The process is anchored on social capital of Makhadzi/Hahani (paternal aunts), Malume (maternal uncles) and Headmen Assistants, institutions that traditionally mediate dialogue, mobilise participation and sustain social cohesion. Their involvement ensures cultural legitimacy and trust while demonstrating how indigenous authority structures can democratise development decision-making. Participants engage in age- and gender-disaggregated reflection circles comprising 7-14 year old children, youth in and out of school, adults and the elderly, facilitated in English and local vernacular languages. Games, storytelling, exercises and participatory tools will be used to introduce the SDGs, translate them into locally meaningful priorities and co-design community-owned action pathways. The session demonstrates how the SDGs, when reclaimed at grassroots level, can function as a democratic planning framework rather than a technocratic reporting instrument.