On 4 September, Belle and Co., designed and delivered a co-design session with Alumni of the Healthy Futures programme.
Belle and co. worked with the Bertha Centre at the University of Cape Town to help gather insights to evolve the Healthy Futures programme (a Mastercard Foundation initiative). This initiative supports young health entrepreneurs in Vredenburg, South Africa among other cities around South Africa.
For Vredenburg, the process began with two distinct training phases:
- Cohort 1 met in July 2024 for a five day bootcamp facilitated by Bertha Centre.
- Cohort 2 met in March 2025 for a similar 5 day bootcamp, this time facilitated by Belle and co.
The reflection and co-design workshop
In September 2025, the Bertha Centre team invited alumni from both cohorts to reunite. The goals were to assess the impact of the training, encourage collaboration between the two groups, and strengthen local networks. Belle and co. was selected to design and lead this reflective session.
Thobeka Poswa from Belle and co. served as the lead facilitator, while the Bertha Centre team supported the group work.
During the workshop, participants mapped out local community assets on a physical map using post it notes. They shared knowledge regarding local infrastructure, training opportunities, and psychosocial support systems available to youth in the area. This exercise helped the Bertha Centre team identify local champions and existing resources to leverage for future youth support.
The outcome
The workshop provided valuable feedback and collaborative design insights. Based on these results, the Bertha Centre team converted the original bootcamp model into a comprehensive, in person academy experience.
