Professor Lilac Osanjo

Lilac Osanjo is a Design research, design management and entrepreneurship specialist.

After a brief stint in advertising, Osanjo joined the faculty at Technical University of Kenya (TUK), Kenya Technical Teachers College (KTTC) and finally, the University of Nairobi, Department of Art and Design. She was appointed to the position of Dean of Faculty of the Built Environment and Design in 2022.

She has been instrumental in promoting design in Afrika, for which she has received a few awards and recognition including

• Simba Club member at Pan African Design Institute (PADI);
• Patron of Design Kenya Society (DKS);
• Board member at The Kenya Fashion Council;
• Legends and leaders at Women in Real Estate (WIRE) award 2024 and,
• Leadership, Innovative Spirit and Dedication award at Africa Interior Design Week 2023.    

Osanjo has been a jurist for design competitions including the German Design Awards (GDA), Turkey Design Week and the Kshs 100 million for Artists in Nairobi. She is a visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Adjunct faculty at Wuhan University of Technical, China.

She holds a PhD in Design, MSc in Entrepreneurship and BA in Design.
 

Roland Postma

Roland Postma is the Managing Director at Young Urbanists where he has many roles to veer urban South Africa to enhance civil society for built form specialists and ensure we start implementing our policies as a country.

He is a firm believer in empowering young people to take ownership of urban development alongside local governments, encompassing disciplines from urban planning, architecture to design to create people first cities. Within Young Urbanists, Roland contributes to the Active Mobility Forum, advocating for the reallocation of road space from private cars to active mobility users and public transportation users.

He also co-founded the Safe Passage Programme, a public-private partnership aimed at connecting informal and formal areas by upgrading spaces to be greener, more affordable, and safer, thereby empowering the micro-economy, public transportation, and active mobility users. This initiative has collaborated with two major municipalities, delivering projects valued at over 5 million Rand since 2024. 

Roland serves on the Friends of Liesbeek committee and is passionate about green infrastructure, including Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) and the rehabilitation of urban waterways.

Beyond Young Urbanists, he contributes as a founding curator for Design Week South Africa and believes in design being used to democratise public spaces and being part of our many problems from inequality to responding to climate change. His accolades include being named in the SCAPE Top 100 in 2025 and recognized among the Mail & Guardian's Top 200 Young South Africans.

He holds a first-class honours degree in Urban and Regional Planning from RMIT University. Originally from Pretoria, Roland is fluent in Afrikaans and lives in Cape Town.