What does Cape Town feel like from the inside?

Beyond the mountain, the wine farms and the postcards, there are stories that rarely make it into the versions of the city most people experience. Inside Cape Town is a new conversation series that creates space for those stories to be heard — directly, and in the presence of the people living them.

This first session brings us into conversation with Nkosikhona Swartbooi — activist, community builder, and the protagonist of the acclaimed documentary Mother City. Shaped by growing up in some of Cape Town’s most complex environments, Nkosikhona has become one of the city’s most honest and compelling voices on housing, belonging, and what it means to fight for your community in a city that often forgets it exists.

This is not a talk or a panel. It’s an intimate, facilitated conversation — designed to move beyond surface-level narratives and create a more honest, human understanding of Cape Town.

Expect a space that is:
– Thought-provoking, but grounded
– Personal, not performative
– Open, curious and respectful

The session will be hosted and facilitated by Dlala Nje, an organisation that has spent years creating experiences that challenge perceptions and connect people to the realities — and possibilities — of South Africa’s inner cities and communities.

This is a pilot edition, with limited space to keep the experience intimate.