ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

Join us for the Amplifying African Voices for Strategic Action (AFSA) Conference 2025, which will take place on November 25-26, 2025, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Hosted by the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS) in partnership with leading institutions, this pivotal gathering will provide a platform to shape Africa’s role in global affairs. Building on the success of AFSA 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, this year’s conference follows South Africa’s landmark G20 Summit and is themed “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. Connect with leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to advance African agency in a multipolar world.

The conference comes at a time of intense geopolitical shifts with far-reaching ramifications for Africa. Africa is disproportionately impacted by climate change, despite its low level of carbon emissions compared to other regions of the world[iii]. The continent is being left behind as advancements in digital technologies accelerate, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI). This is happening despite several of its nations being the leading producers of rare and critical minerals used in emerging technologies, as documented by one of our partners, the Southern Africa Resource Watch[iv], among others. Geopolitical tensions are intensifying as global alliances between nations and regions such as between the United States and Europe unravel with negative ripple effects on Africa[v] specifically and the global south more broadly. Long sought-after reforms of global governance have stalled as major powers prioritize their own interests at the expense of the community of nations. For instance, the progressive Pact for the Future[vi] endorsed at the United Nations Summit of the Future in 2024[vii] faces headwinds from isolationist nations hampering the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals[viii]. Internally, the continent is saddled by an immense debt burden and unequal trade and economic frameworks that have shaped Africa’s underdevelopment. A combination of poor governance systems and practices, fracturing intra-Africa relations between nations, competition over resources, and involvement of external actors have resulted in a new round of extreme violence in the Great Lakes region, the Sahel and the Horn of Africa[ix]. The withdrawal of some global powers from multilateral governance has squeezed health financing budgets for African countries, putting millions of lives in danger. Increasingly, Africa’s reliance on humanitarian and development assistance is untenable and countries and regions retreat inward, focusing on their interests.