In rural areas, communities demonstrate potential for fostering self-determination while addressing trade-offs between their needs for water, energy and food. The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus offers an integrated approach to managing such growing demands. The concept of “WEF communities” is a bottom-up approach to integrate local decision-making into national frameworks.

Unlike traditional conferences, knowledge festivals embrace scientific knowledge and lived experiences by making use of diverse participatory methods. This allows for an inclusive and intercultural exchange of ideas and perspectives. Knowledge festivals can support NGOs, governments and academics in researching and managing natural resources in a socially just way.

This factsheet provides guidelines to organise a knowledge festival in a South African context. Centred on indigenous knowledge, the practical 4-pager includes a case study which draws on findings from a WEF Knowledge Festival held in March 2024, in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape.

Created by a consortium of partners, this Creating knowledge festivals factsheet is part of a series, together with a factsheet on Enabling community champions and a policy brief titled, Lessons from WEF governance: Inclusive living landscapes with thriving communities.