By Lanché van Tonder

In 2026, the ACUHO-I Southern Africa Chapter (SAC) celebrates a remarkable milestone: 20 years of connecting, developing and advancing student housing and residence life professionals across Southern Africa.

The Chapter’s story began with a simple but powerful idea: that professionals working in student housing in Southern Africa could benefit enormously from a stronger regional community, while also contributing an important African voice to the global housing profession.

Following initial conversations in 2005, the Southern Africa Chapter was formally established in 2006, becoming the first chapter of ACUHO-I. From its earliest days, its purpose has extended far beyond professional networking. The Chapter has sought to strengthen the student housing profession, create meaningful opportunities for professional development, build institutional partnerships and, ultimately, improve the residential experience of students across the region.

Over the past two decades, that vision has grown into a vibrant professional community.

A defining feature of the Chapter has been its commitment to developing people. Conferences, workshops, professional networks and specialised development opportunities have connected colleagues across institutions and national borders, creating spaces in which practitioners can learn from one another, challenge established practice and collectively respond to an increasingly complex student housing environment.

One of the Chapter’s most significant contributions has been the development of the Student Housing Training Institute (SHTI). First presented in 2011, the Institute emerged through collaboration between ACUHO-I SAC and ACUHO-I and has become an important vehicle for the professionalisation and development of student housing practitioners. What started as a regional initiative has also become an example of the power of international collaboration: global knowledge adapted to local realities, with Southern African expertise increasingly contributing back to the global profession.

The Chapter’s impact has also extended into areas such as residence life and student development, sustainability and the Green Campuses Initiative, student accommodation operations, leadership development, research, and engagement with government, higher education institutions and private accommodation partners.

Perhaps most importantly, ACUHO-I SAC has created a professional home.

Across 20 years, countless relationships have been formed between colleagues who might otherwise never have met. Ideas have travelled between campuses. Emerging professionals have become senior leaders. Participants have returned as facilitators, faculty members and mentors. Institutional challenges have become opportunities for collective problem-solving. And the Southern African housing profession has become increasingly connected to colleagues and conversations across the world.

That global connection remains central to the Chapter’s identity. The relationship between ACUHO-I and its Southern African colleagues has evolved from one of knowledge exchange into one of genuine partnership. Southern African professionals now regularly contribute to ACUHO-I institutes, conferences, committees and leadership structures, bringing perspectives shaped by one of the most dynamic and diverse higher education environments in the world.

In October 2026, colleagues from across Southern Africa and around the world will gather in Cape Town, South Africa, to mark this milestone.

Under the theme “20 Years of Impact, A Future of Possibilities: Reimagining Student Communities for the Next Generation,” the celebration will honour the people, partnerships and moments that have shaped the Chapter while deliberately looking towards what comes next.

The anniversary is therefore not simply a celebration of longevity. It is a celebration of impact – of professionals developed, institutions strengthened, partnerships created and student communities transformed.

It is also an invitation.

As the needs of students, institutions and the student accommodation sector continue to evolve, the next generation of our work will require new thinking, deeper collaboration and increasingly global perspectives. The challenges facing student housing may differ across countries, but many of the questions are shared: How do we create communities in which students belong? How do we ensure that our environments contribute to student learning and success? How do we develop the next generation of housing professionals? And how do we build models of student accommodation that are sustainable, inclusive and responsive to the future?

Twenty years ago, ACUHO-I SAC created a platform through which Southern African professionals could begin answering those questions together.

Twenty years later, we celebrate how far that community has come and look forward with excitement to a future still filled with possibilities.

ACUHO-I Southern Africa Chapter – 20th Anniversary Celebration

Cape Town, South Africa | 11–13 October 2026

ACUHO-I SAC invites colleagues from Southern Africa and around the world to Cape Town as we celebrate 20 years of impact and look towards the future of student housing and residence life.

Under the theme “20 Years of Impact, A Future of Possibilities: Reimagining Student Communities for the Next Generation,” the programme will bring together past and present members, partners, leaders and friends of the Chapter for an opportunity to reconnect, reflect and celebrate.

The programme includes the 20th Anniversary Legacy Summit on 11 & 12 October, followed by the 20th Anniversary Celebration on 13 October 2026 at the beautiful Eureka Estate in Durbanville, Cape Town.

International ACUHO-I colleagues are warmly invited to join us for this milestone occasion.

More information and registration: Register: ACUHO-I SAC 20th Celebration