John van Breda holds three post-graduate degrees in sociology (cum laude), theology and philosophy (cum laude) and is currently working towards a Ph.D. in sustainable development – focusing on the development and building of sustainable communities/neighborhoods in an urban African context. In 2005 he was responsible for organizing the first workshop on transdisciplinarity in South Africa, bringing together 30 leading academics from all the major universities in South Africa and facilitated by two leading international thinkers – Basarab Nicolescu (quantum physicist from France) and Manfred Max-Neef (ecological economist from Chile). One of the concrete outcomes of this workshop has been the implementation of a transdisciplinary D.Phil. degree in sustainability science at the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) – to be offered in 2007. He is on the team of experts putting together this post-graduate degree and is in constant contact with others such as Basarab Nicolescu and Manfred Max-Neef who are also involved in implementing similar programs at the Universities of Cluj (Romania) and Valdivia (Chile). He attended the Second World Congress on Transdisciplinarity in Brazil in September 2005 and delivered a paper on the process of implementing the D.Phil. in Transdisciplinary Studies at the University of Stellenbosch.