Members of the Goalkeepers South Africa community gathered in Stellenbosch on 22 and 23 October 2026 for a focused work and mentoring session towards a Media Showcase, designed to strengthen how members communicate the issues behind their work and reach wider audiences while championing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hosted by the Policy Innovation Lab and the SDG/2063 Impact Hub (SU International) in partnership with Jive Media Africa, the two-day workshop moved participants from project descriptions toward compelling, evidence-based public narratives.
Facilitated by Robert Inglis of Jive Media Africa, the first day centred on a seemingly simple but demanding principle: start with why. Drawing on Simon Sinek’s approach, Goalkeepers were challenged to unpack the deeper issues their projects address rather than leading with the products or platforms themselves. Participants practised separating data from sentiment, grounding every claim in evidence, and framing problems in ways that invite others into the conversation before presenting solutions. The session moves the Goalkeepers towards a Media Showcase planned for January 2027, while creating a structured space for Goalkeepers to refine how they frame their work for public and media audiences.
One Goalkeeper reflected on the shift this required: “We learned to start with why… unpack the issue, not the project. Separating data from sentiment and backing every claim with evidence because you can’t just make it up. We’re very passionate about what we’re doing, but we need to be able to back it up.”
Another participant noted how the process strengthened their problem statement: “It made us feel like, this is validated… This is the problem -This is the data -This is why we’re doing this.”
The sessions further covered practical ways for placing stories in online media outlets. These platforms offer Goalkeepers a way to move beyond project updates and place the deeper issues they are working on into the public conversation. By framing the problem first and grounding claims in evidence, Goalkeepers can reach journalists, policymakers and wider audiences, while building a foundation that supports their upcoming webinars and longer-term visibility.
A major practical outcome of the Showcase was detailed planning for a series of public webinars showcasing their work, scheduled for the week of 25 January 2027. Teams defined core questions, identified potential speakers, mapped media pathways, and began assembling the visual and written assets needed to turn a single webinar into a sustained communications campaign. Emphasis was placed on accessible language, strong images, and treating the webinar as the centrepiece of a longer media journey communicating their work to contribute to the SDGs, rather than a one-off event.
On the second morning, Goalkeepers reflected on the experience and their bigger role in their communities. Many noted that the process had forced greater clarity and created healthy tension between academic rigour and entrepreneurial urgency. Others highlighted the value of external deadlines and structured feedback in building traction after periods of slower progress.
“We’ve been working on this project for quite some time… it felt like we were stagnant. And so this is forcing us to build that traction so that it can keep moving,” one participant shared.
The energy of being together also stood out strongly. Another Goalkeeper noted: “It’s always nice to meet with the other Goalkeepers. Even if we met under a tree, it would be fantastic… It’s really motivating and inspiring.” A further reflection captured the re-energising effect of the gathering: “When you get to October, by this time you’re tired… But it’s amazing how much you feel so energised at this time of the year, just meeting everybody and seeing these ideas.”
Conversations also turned to the future of the South African Goalkeepers community itself. Participants discussed how to grow the network intentionally, formalise pathways for new members, strengthen peer support and mentorship across cohorts, and create more structured opportunities for collaboration. Ideas ranged from annual in-person gatherings and better documentation of Goalkeepers’ stories to exploring ways of sustaining connections as projects mature and new members join.
Participants left with clearer problem statements, draft article outlines, webinar concepts, and a shared understanding that communication is not an afterthought but an integral part of driving change. The Policy Innovation Lab will continue to support Goalkeepers as they develop their articles, finalise webinar plans and prepare media packages in the months ahead.
The energy in the room reaffirmed the value of bringing Goalkeepers together not only to advance individual projects, but to strengthen a community of practice capable of translating insight into broader public impact.
The Goalkeepers South Africa Secretariat is coordinated by the Policy Innovation Lab (School for Data Science and Computational Thinking) and the SDG/2063 Impact Hub (SU International) at Stellenbosch University, with support from the Gates Foundation. It brings together SDG champions as changemakers working across health, nutrition, education, research commercialisation and social innovation. Visibility and clear storytelling have long been recognised as essential for scaling impact.