{"id":982,"name":"Sun\u00e9 Stassen","url":"https:\/\/opendesignafrika.org","description":"Sun\u00e9 Stassen is a Cape Town-based social entrepreneur, designer, design educator and futurist, and Co-Founder and CEO of Open Design Afrika (ODA). A dot connector, systems thinker and doer, she uses design, Creative Intelligence, STEAM education and collaborative learning experiences to help people build the confidence, skills and agency to shape thriving futures for themselves, their communities and the planet.\r\nStassen played a pioneering role in what became a global education milestone: South Africa\u2019s introduction of Design as a choice subject at secondary school level in 2006. At the time, South Africa was the first country in the world to introduce Design in this way, supported by a formal curriculum, textbooks and teacher manuals. She contributed to the curriculum in an advisory capacity and served as contributing editor for the six textbooks and six teacher manuals that supported the national rollout and remain in use today.\r\nThrough ODA, she leads and develops programmes including MyMachine South Africa, Girls Make the City and Girls in Business, focused on creative confidence, social-impact entrepreneurship, systemic change and future-building skills.","link":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/author\/sunestassen\/","slug":"sunestassen","avatar_urls":{"24":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1-24x24.jpg","48":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1-48x48.jpg","96":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1-96x96.jpg"},"meta":[],"simple_local_avatar":{"media_id":62026,"full":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1.jpg","blog_id":1,"192":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1-192x192.jpg","96":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1-96x96.jpg","250":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1-250x250.jpg","125":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1-125x125.jpg","24":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1-24x24.jpg","48":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SuneStassen-1-48x48.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users"}]}}