The war that erupted on April 15, 2023, in Khartoum city and spread out to most of Sudan’s states has caused massive destruction to the already deteriorating built environment, infrastructure and economy. Millions have lost their properties and livelihoods and have been internally and externally displaced. Equitable and sustainable development in post-war Sudan is essential for promoting peace, stability and well-being for meeting the demands and potentials of the society.

The symposium was organized by Sibylla Zech, Petra Hirschler and Alexander Hamedinger (TU Wien), Amira Osman, opens an external URL in a new window (Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria) and Mariam Wagialla, opens an external URL in a new window (DANIA for diversity and sustainable development, Pinggau).

Amira Osman is a Sudanese-South African architect, researcher, academic, activist, public speaker and author. She is a professor of architecture at the Tshwane University of Technology and volume editor of "Space, People and Technology" (2023) and "Cities, Space and Power" (2020) (AOSIS Publishing).

Mariam Wagialla is a Sudanese architect and urban planner with a great vision: a strategic planning process for post-war sudan. with an expertise in gender-sensitive spatial planning, she has been actively involved in research and activism related to women's rights and the socio-environmental impacts of urbanization and conflict in Africa. Living in Austria for over a decade, she earned her doctorate from BOKU University Wien.

TU Wien Institute of Spatial Planning has worked with Amira and Mariam on researching and teaching about post-colonialism and post-war development.

At the symposium, we focused on regional intersectional planning and the potential of culturally significant informality. We also talked about the Master elective module "Global development of Cities and Regions", the creation and destruction of Karthoum, a modern african city and the project idea of "DREAM for a good Sudan". The symposium ended with interesting and inspired conversations over drinks and falafel.

We hope to continue building bridges for sharing knowledge, stories, and experiences between the Global South and North. There is so much we can learn from one another, and so much good we can do together for our people and for the Earth, our shared home.