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DSTI to showcase South African indigenous knowledge-based innovations
DSTI
7 September 2026
2 min read
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In line with this commitment, the DSTI will host the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr Daren Tang, on Monday, 7 September 2026 at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria.
The visit is an opportunity to display South Africa's progress in leveraging indigenous knowledge, genetic resources, scientific research and innovation to develop products with commercial and societal value, while strengthening intellectual property protection and equitable benefit-sharing.
As part of the programme, the CSIR's Advanced Agriculture and Food Cluster will showcase its work in indigenous knowledge-based innovation and bioprospecting, including its engagement with indigenous knowledge holders and the development of cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and medicinal bioproducts.
The visit is particularly significant against the backdrop of the adoption in 2024 of the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. The treaty recognises communities as the beneficiaries of indigenous knowledge, and any use of the knowledge and associated traditional knowledge triggers benefit-sharing legislative arrangements.
The media are invited as follows:
Date: Monday 7 September 2026
Time: 14:00 to 14:45
Venue: CSIR Advanced Agriculture and Food, Building 20, CSIR Campus, Meiring Naudé Road, Pretoria
For more information, please contact Ms Julian Leshilo-Sebake on 060 961 2194 or at Julian.Leshilo@dsti.gov.za.
In line with this commitment, the DSTI will host the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr Daren Tang, on Monday, 7 September 2026 at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria.
The visit is an opportunity to display South Africa's progress in leveraging indigenous knowledge, genetic resources, scientific research and innovation to develop products with commercial and societal value, while strengthening intellectual property protection and equitable benefit-sharing.
As part of the programme, the CSIR's Advanced Agriculture and Food Cluster will showcase its work in indigenous knowledge-based innovation and bioprospecting, including its engagement with indigenous knowledge holders and the development of cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and medicinal bioproducts.
The visit is particularly significant against the backdrop of the adoption in 2024 of the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. The treaty recognises communities as the beneficiaries of indigenous knowledge, and any use of the knowledge and associated traditional knowledge triggers benefit-sharing legislative arrangements.
The media are invited as follows:
Date: Monday 7 September 2026
Time: 14:00 to 14:45
Venue: CSIR Advanced Agriculture and Food, Building 20, CSIR Campus, Meiring Naudé Road, Pretoria
For more information, please contact Ms Julian Leshilo-Sebake on 060 961 2194 or at Julian.Leshilo@dsti.gov.za.
