The University of South Africa (Unisa), in partnership with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), will launch the G20 Presidency Community Engagements/Town Hall outreach programme at the Unisa main campus in Pretoria on Wednesday, 14 May 2025.
The launch is the beginning of a series of town hall discussions to be held in provinces across the country as part of the mandate by South Africa’s cabinet for DIRCO to conduct public participation programmes aimed at engaging relevant sectors of society in the decision-making and implementation of departmental and government programmes as well as publicise and enhance dialogues about South Africa’s position on multilateral fora such as the G20.
The outreach programme will take place under the sub-theme: “South Africa in Africa and the World: Economic Prosperity, Global Governance, Peace, Justice, Human Rights and Security”.
The Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Unisa, Professor Puleng LenkaBula will lead a line-up of key speakers and programme participants that include, amongst others, the Director-General of DIRCO, Mr Zane Dangor, the South African Ambassador to the United Nations, Her Excellency Nozipho Diseko, the Executive Director at the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) at Unisa, Dr Philani Mthembu as well as the Executive Director for the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Professor Cheryl Hendricks.
This programme is an integral part of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, which the country assumed on 01 December 2024 and will run until 30 November 2025, and held under the main theme: “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability”.
The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an international forum of 19 major economies (plus the European Union and, since 2023, the African Union) that aims to address global economic and financial issues, representing a significant portion of the world’s GDP, trade and population. It serves as a primary forum for international economic cooperation, focusing on issues like sustainable growth, financial inclusion and emerging risks.
Details of the G20 Town Hall outreach are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Time: 10:00 – 13:00
Venue: Functions Hall, 4th Floor, Kgorong Building,1 Preller Street, Muckleneuk Ridge, Pretoria
NB: A link will be shared in due course for those wishing to attend virtually.
![Hordes of students marching against the Bantu Education system and the use of Afrikaans as a medium in schools, during the June 16, 1976, Student Massacres / Soweto Uprisings [Image: GSMN]](https://gsmn.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Soweto-uprising-2-1-1.jpg)
