Mark Heywood

Mark Heywood is one of South Africa’s most respected and enduring voices in civil society. A graduate of Oxford University (Balliol College) with a BA Honours in English Language and Literature, he currently serves as a Senior Researcher at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at UCT. His intellectual and activist credentials span decades, bridging academia, policy, and grassroots mobilisation.

Mark offers deep insight and lived experience on topics including:

• Human rights law and its use in activism
• HIV/Aids and the right to health
• Civil society organisation and sustainability
• South African and global contemporary politics
• Activism and citizen engagement
• Poetry and literature as tools of resistance
• He combines the legal, ethical, and emotional dimensions of advocacy in ways that connect across sectors and audiences.

Mark is a rare voice whose personal journey parallels the struggles and victories of South Africa’s democratic project.

• Co-founder of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and SECTION27, two of the most influential civil society organisations in post-apartheid South Africa
• Played a leadership role in TAC for all 27 years of its existence, contributing to saving more than 5 million lives through access to HIV treatment
• A prolific writer, having authored more than 500 articles and essays on politics, rights, and justice
• Completed the Comrades Marathon 20 times, underlining his resilience and unwavering commitment

Informed, focused, original, and passionately engaging, Mark weaves personal narrative with legal analysis and poetic insight. Whether in keynote addresses or panel discussions, he delivers with urgency and clarity — reminding audiences why human rights matter and how they can be defended. He is as comfortable in front of policymakers as he is in grassroots settings, always speaking with purpose and relevance.