Sthuthukile Conco

At just 22, Sthuthukile Conco is already reshaping South Africa’s climate justice landscape — bridging grassroots activism with global policy. Her passion for advocacy and justice led her to law, policy reform and environmental equity. Pursuing her postgraduate LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand, Sthuthukile is the founder of Rural Agrarian Climate Education (RACE) — a youth-led initiative that equips farmers and students with climate knowledge in their native languages. With support from the Mercedes-Benz BeVisioneers fellowship, she has scaled RACE into a platform for education, empowerment, and community-led sustainability. From the Climate Justice Camp in Tunisia to the 2024 Y20 Summit in Brazil — where she proposed micro-powered grids for energy equity — Sthuthukile is no stranger to the global stage. Her work has earned her spots in the World Bank’s Max Thabiso Edkinson Programme and the African Commission’s human rights defender training, where she was selected from more than 10 000 applicants. As a teaching assistant for Climate Change and Me at Wits University and president of the Golden Key International Honour Society, Sthuthukile merges academic leadership with civic activism.

• Bachelor of Arts (Law and Politics),  University of the Witwatersrand
• Bachelor of Laws (LLB), postgraduate, University of the Witwatersrand

• Represented South Africa at the 2024 Y20 Summit – Brazil
• Contributed to G20 policy recommendations, including the introduction of community micro-powered grids to decentralise electricity access and address South Africa’s energy crisis
• Founded Rural Agrarian Climate Education (RACE) project –  established through the Mercedes-Benz BeVisioneers Fellowship to equip rural farmers and students with practical knowledge to tackle environmental challenges, linking education with grassroots climate action
• Internationally recognised through the selection for the 2022 Climate Justice Camp – Tunisia and 2023 Human Rights Defender Training – selected by the African Commission and International Human Rights Services for elite training, representing RACE among 23 participants chosen from over 10,000 applicants across the continent.
• Spoken at major forums including the 2024 Freedom for Internet in Africa Forum in Senegal – addressing the link between climate justice and internet freedom, highlighting how access to digital information enables informed climate action and empowers marginalised communities
• Academically –  serve as a teaching assistant at Wits for the course Climate Change and Me, guiding first-year students in understanding environmental issues and localising global climate discourse
• Currently serving as the president of the Golden Key International Honour Society at Wits (current) and previous leadership roles include being the president of the Amnesty International Environmental Committee (2022)  where the university’s first Inter-High School Environmental Debate on Water Scarcity was organised, creating a platform for youth dialogue on South Africa’s water crisis.
• Contribute to leadership development and policy education for young African changemakers through the Max Thabiso Edkinson Programme under the World Bank Youth-to-Youth Community 

Two women have profoundly shaped my journey: my mother and my mentor, Victoria. My mother, a quiet force of compassion, has dedicated herself to autism advocacy — instilling in me the importance of empathy, service and standing up for overlooked communities. Her resilience and unwavering sense of purpose have taught me that justice begins at home, and that meaningful change starts with care. Victoria, my mentor under the Mercedes-Benz BeVisioneers Fellowship, has been instrumental in refining my vision for RACE. Based in Sweden, she has brought structure, clarity and a global perspective to my grassroots ideas. With her guidance, I have transformed RACE from a local ambition into a scalable, community-led model of agrarian climate education. She has helped me understand systems thinking, funding strategy and the value of persistence. Both women, in their unique ways, have shown me that leadership is not loud — it is intentional, community-rooted and transformative.