The South Africa Conversations 2023

12.10.2023
Artwork: "Document for the People 57" by Maja Maljević (2018).
Artwork: "Document for the People 57" by Maja Maljević (2018).

The South Africa Conversations 2023 will feature Holberg Laureate Sheila Jasanoff, Professor Achille Mbembe and other prominent scholars in a series of events taking place at WiSER, University of the Witwatersrand 1–3 November. All events will be streamed.

On occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Holberg Prize, a series of events in Johannesburg between 1 and 3 November are co-hosted by the Holberg Prize and the Innovation Foundation for Democracy.

Keynote speakers at the 2023 South Africa Conversations are Holberg Laureate and Professor Sheila Jasanoff, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University and Professor Achille Mbembe, Director or the Innovation Foundation for Democracy. They will be joined by key South African academics and key research stakeholders from relevant organizations to discuss the technological, political and societal changes we see in our time, and their implications both globally and in the perspectives of the global south.

Practical information

All events will take place at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER), at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. The events have free admission, and are also accessible to watch live on the Holberg Prize YouTube Channel.

If you wish to attend in person, please register here:

Register here 

PROGRAMME

DAY 1 - WEDNESDAY, 1 NOVEMBER

Reception hosted by the Holberg Prize  (open to all registered participants)
Time: 17:00 – 18:00 SAST
Venue: WISER Reception Area, 6th Floor Richard Ward Building, East Campus 

Constitutions 2.0: Self, Sovereignty, and Scale in the Age of AI

Time: 18:00 – 19:30 SAST (17:00–18:30 CET)
Venue: WiSER, 6th Floor Richard Ward Building, University of the Witwatersrand 
Link to livestream

Speakers: 

  • Professor Jørgen Sejersted, Chair of the Holberg Board, University of Bergen 
  • Professor Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
  • Professor Achille Mbembe, Director, Innovation Foundation for Democracy, University of the Witwatersrand​​​​​​
  • Chaired by Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice Chancellor, University of the Witwatersrand

Dinner for invited guests (by invitation only)
Time: 20:00 SAST 

DAY 2 - THURSDAY, 2 NOVEMBER

Lunch for invited guests, hosted by the Royal Norwegian Embassy (by invitation only)
Time: 12:30 – 13:45 SAST

Co-production in the Anthropocene: Views from the South

Time: 14:00 – 15:30 SAST (13:00–14:30 CET)
Venue: WiSER, 6th Floor Richard Ward Building, University of the Witwatersrand, 
Link to livestream
Speakers:

  • Professor Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
  • Professor Lesley Green, Professor of Anthropology and Director of Environmental Humanities South, University of Cape Town 
  • Professor Dilip Menon, Department of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand
  • Professor Alf Gunvald Nilsen, Director, Center for Asian Studies in Africa, University of Pretoria
  • Chaired by Achille Mbembe, Director, Innovation Foundation for Democracy, University of the Witwatersrand

Tea / Coffee
Time: 15:30 – 16:00 SAST (14:30–15:00 CET)

Symposium on Democracy & the Future of Institutions

Time: 16:00 – 17:30 SAST (15:00–16:30 CET)
Venue: WiSER, 6th Floor Richard Ward Building, University of the Witwatersrand
Link to livestream
Speakers:

  • Professor Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
  • Dr. Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, Department of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand 
  • Professor Keith Breckenridge, Co-Director of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of the Witswatersrand
  • Chaired by Achille Mbembe, Director, Innovation Foundation for Democracy, University of the Witwatersrand

Dinner for invited guests (by invitation only)
Time: 18:00 SAST 

DAY 3 - FRIDAY, 3 NOVEMBER

Lunch hosted by the Innovation foundation for Democracy and WiSER (open to all registered participants)
Time: 12:00 – 14:00 SAST

Imagining, Framing, Disciplining

Time: 14:00 – 16:00 SAST (13:00–15:00 CET)
Venue: WiSER, 6th Floor Richard Ward Building, University of the Witwatersrand
Link to livestream

Speakers:

  • Professor Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
  • Professor Hlonipha Mokoena, WiSER, University of the Witwatersrand 
  • Professor Francis Nyamnjoh, University of Cape Town
  • Chaired by Professor Sarah Nuttall, WiSER, University of the Witwatersrand

Dinner for invited guests (by invitation only)
Time: 18:30 SAST

 

Organizers

  •  

    holberglogo

    The Holberg Prize, established by the Norwegian Parliament in 2003, is an international prize worth NOK 6,000,000, awarded annually to a scholar who has made outstanding contributions to research in the humanities, social science, law or theology, either in one of these fields or through interdisciplinary work. The Holberg Prize is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and hosted by the University of Bergen, Norway.

  •  

    Innovation foundation for Democracy

    The Innovation Foundation for Democracy is a new initiative that was established in 2022. The Foundation aims to rejuvenate democracy in Africa, particularly amongst young people, through research and training initiatives and innovative democratic projects. The Foundation is hosted by the Wits University from where it serves the continent.