Next week, the Mother City will host something we’ve never seen before. A festival where the main headline isn’t music, food, or wine, it’s compassion.
Cape Town, South Africa (07 September 2025) – From 10 to 12 September, the Festival of Compassion will take over the UCT Graduate School of Business Conference Centre at the V&A Waterfront.
It all takes shape over three days of talks, workshops and shared experiences, exploring how compassion can, realistically, shape how we live, work and care for each other.
Day one will be all about understanding compassion, day two about practising it, and day three about living it. It’ll bring together 16 speakers who are all rooting for a world where compassion comes first.
Guests will be encouraged to slow down, reconnect with themselves, and find belonging in their communities and environment. That’s often where the magic happens. Compassion takes root in community. We can vouch for that.
“We don’t need more information – we need transformation. And transformation happens when we slow down enough to feel, to witness, and to act with heart. That’s the invitation of this festival,” says festival curator Fadia Williams.
The event will hold space to grieve, to laugh, to learn and to be inspired. The organisers hope to welcome a crowd from all walks. Academics, activists, artists, healers and everyday community leaders are encouraged to come and see what compassion can do.
“Compassion reflects the wisdom that everything is related to everything else, and it naturally draws you into feeling more connected with all things. It draws us into relationships of care,” says Rick Hanson, Founder and President of the Global Compassion Coalition.
The festival aims to equip people with the tools to reintroduce compassion into spaces where change takes root. In our schools, at work, in our communities and in rooms where big decisions are made.
“It belongs in our schools, in government, in business, in how we care for each other and for the planet we share. This festival is about remembering that, and inspiring action,” says Rick.
Compassion is a mindset and a lifestyle, one that can open many doors. We’ve seen it all before.
The Festival of Compassion will also run online, opening the circle wider to include people all over the world.
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