BIOGRAPHY
Rashiq Fataar is an urbanist and the founding director of Our Future Cities (which comprises Future Cape Town and Future Lagos), an influential independent organisation leading discourse and action related to the future of African cities. In addition to its research, events and advocacy work, the organisation has over 120,000 social media followers and 120,000 website readers annually.
For over to 5 years he has grown the organisation from a volunteer social media movement to a sought after multi-disciplinary entity which contributes to public and private sector projects in the urbanism field.
His main focus in the organisation involves the overall strategy and business development as well as overseeing specific projects including various public space projects, a major masterplan, housing development and arts project .
As an independent urbanist he helps leads research, strategy and communication for urban planning and development projects of various scales with a focus on public spaces and urban regeneration.
As a thought leader on cities, he has been invited to contribute to major conferences and publications. Some of these conferences include United Nations events in Rio de Janeiro and Durban, as presenting at various events in Munich, London, New York, Barcelona Casablanca and Paris. He has also been featured in local and international media including Icon Magazine, Monocle TV, The Guardian, The Cape Argus and others.
- In 2011 he was invited to be a part of a global think tank called Future Influencers.
- In 2013, he was co-opted onto the board of Cape Town Tourism, a tourism industry body which works to position Cape Town domestically, and globally as a tourism destination.
- In 2014 he was approached by the Dutch Consulate in Cape Town to lead the Local Organizing Committee of Department of Design, to promote improved trade and collaboration between South Africa and the Netherlands.
- In 2015 he participated in the three-city Urban Innovation Lab organized by the GIZ.
- In 2016 he was invited to serve as an adjunct faculty for the Global Sustainability Programme run through CIEE and the University of Cape Town, working with students on the Local Sustainability Project.
He holds a Bachelor of Business Sciencemin Actuarial Science degree from the University of Cape Town and has previously worked at one of the largest insurance companies in South Africa.
