Speakers

Nozipho Mbanjwa-Tshabalala, CEO of The Conversation Strategists, is a globally sought-after moderator for high-level dialogues. With expertise spanning economics, politics, and social development, she facilitates complex conversations with remarkable clarity and insight. Nozipho has moderated for prestigious organisations including the…

Tina Mene, a distinguished South African soprano, has been captivating audiences with her operatic prowess since 1997. Her journey began under the tutelage of Wendy Fine, before joining the Cape Town Opera’s Choral Training Programme. Mene honed her craft at…

Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian playwright, poet, and Nobel laureate, is a prominent figure in literature and activism. He made history as the first African to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. With an impressive body of work spanning drama, novels, essays, and poetry, Soyinka’s influence reaches global audiences. From founding theatre groups to teaching at prestigious universities, his contributions have left an indelible mark on the literary world.

Justice Malala is an award-winning South African journalist, TV host, political commentator, newspaper columnist, and best-selling author.  In 1997, Malala was awarded the Foreign Correspondents Association Award for Courageous Journalism and served as a judge for the Taco Kuiper Awards…

Rokia Traoré is an award-winning Malian-born singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Her album, Bowmboï won the Critics Award category at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2004 and another titled Tchamantché won Victoires de la Musique World Music…

In 2009 Navyn set out to help end the crisis of global malnutrition by founding Edesia, a U.S. non-profit, social enterprise, with a mission to treat and prevent malnutrition in developing countries worldwide. Her factory in Rhode Island produces a…

Chris Varelas is a founding partner of Riverwood Capital, a private equity firm focused on high growth technology and technology-related companies in need of capital and expertise to scale on a global basis. Notable Firm investments include Alog, ForgeRock, Globant,…

Photo Source: Author, speaker and Foreign Policy columnist Laurie Garrett was senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York from 2004-2017.  Ms. Garrett is the only writer ever to have been awarded…

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is Former Executive Director of UN Women & Deputy President of SA Founder of Umlambo Foundation Gender Activist and Campaigner for Universal Access to Education. She was sworn into office on 19 August 2013 and brings a wealth…