ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

Join us for the Amplifying African Voices for Strategic Action (AFSA) Conference 2025. The dates are November 21-27, 2025 and the venue is the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Hosted by the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) in partnership with multiple partners, this pivotal gathering provides a platform to shape Africa’s role in global affairs. The conference builds on the success of AFSA 2024 held in Nairobi, Kenya. This year’s conference is a side event of the landmark G20 Summit being convened by the South African government. It’s theme “Africa in the G20: Advancing Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability.”

We invite abstracts and proposals to shape vital discussions on African agency, climate solutions, AI innovation, trade, peace-building, and more, with outcomes to be published in books and journals. We also welcome partnerships. Participants will connect with leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to advance African agency in a multipolar world.

Goal

The overall conference goal is to analyse and elucidate the intricate relations between African nations and external powers, providing alternatives for balanced relationships forged in African interests.

Objectives

• Discuss multi-disciplinary knowledge production on Africa’s engagement in the G20.
• Interpret scholarly and practical pathways on the 2025 G20 Summit theme.
• Discuss strategies for effective African agency in the G20 across socio-political sectors.
• Amplify African voices to influence African priorities in the G20 agendas.
• Build THE capacity of scholars and practitioners on Africa in the G20.
• Advance African agency through media and communications avenues and platforms.

Conference sub-themes and tracks

• Conceptualising African agency.
• Geopolitics and global affairs.
• Communicating African agency.
• Agency through arts and culture.

Conference Structure

The conference will be delivered through:

• Keynote speeches.
• Plenary sessions.
• Roundtable discussions.
• Panel discussions.

Sponsorship Opportunities

We expect to host 300 participants from universities, think tanks, governmental organisations, diplomatic missions, international organisations, civil society, and businesses. All five regions of Africa will be represented. Sponsorship benefits are as follows:

• Branding and positioning in all pre-event, event, and post-event activities.
• The inclusion of your organisation’s logos and other promotional materials in all conference multimedia platforms.
• Display of your organization’s banners during the awards ceremony and the conference.
• Speaking slots in the conference programme.
• Be an acknowledged partner in the knowledge production outputs in the post-conference period.
• Using your organisation as a case study showcasing the excellent work that you do or intend to do in promoting Africa’s global economic, trade, and investment interests.
• An opportunity to use the Conference as a springboard for the promotion of your corporate social responsibility and social investment projects.

The Sponsorship Categories are as follows:

• Platinum: R500,000 ($27,000) – full sponsorship benefits.
• Gold: R300,000 ($16,000) – 7 of the conference sponsorship benefits.
• Silver R200,000 ($10,700) – 5 of the conference sponsorship benefits.
• Bronze R100,000 ($5,400) – 3 of the conference sponsorship benefits.

Download the programme here