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22 May 2025

WOMEN IN SOLIDARITY: W20SA INCEPTION MEETING KICKS OFF DAY 2

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
Press Release

MEDIA ADVISORY

Cape Town, Thursday, 22 May 2025 — The second and final day of the Women20 South Africa (W20SA) Inception Meeting will commence with a plenary session facilitated by Ms Irene Natividad, a delegate from the United States of America and representative of the Global Women Summit.

The plenary will feature esteemed speakers, including Ms Shoki Tshabalala, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Women, Youth & Persons with Disabilities; Ms Daniela Monika Behr, Women, Business and the Law, World Bank; and Dr Theophiline Bose-Duker, Senior Economist at the African Center for Economic Transformation.

The day’s proceedings will also include a panel discussion focusing on “Challenges and Promises of a Just Transition to Renewable Energy for Women’s Economic Empowerment.” The panel will feature prominent speakers, including Ms Elizabeth Marabwa, Chief Director of the Department of Energy, and Ms Louise Paulsen, Vice President of Renewable Energy at South African Synthetic Oil Limited (SASOL).

The W20SA Inception Meeting is taking place at the Lagoon Beach Hotel & Spa in Cape Town from 21 to 22 May 2025 under the theme “Women in Solidarity.” As the official G20 engagement group dedicated to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, W20 brings together experts from government, business, academia, and civil society.

This year’s W20SA marks a decade since the establishment of the W20 and offers a strategic moment for the African continent to shape the G20’s gender agenda under South Africa’s presidency. Delegates from various countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the European Union, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Russia, Turkey, and the United States, are participating in panel discussions and high-level dialogues aligned with seven thematic areas:

  • Entrepreneurship and financial inclusion
  • The care economy
  • Gender-based violence and femicide
  • Climate justice and the environment
  • Education, STEM, and the digital divide
  • Health equity for women and girls
  • Women, land, and agriculture

The W20SA Inception Meeting is convened under the leadership of Prof Narnia Bohler-Muller, Head of Delegation and Divisional Executive at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

For more information, see https://women20.org/, or  click here to view the programme.

YouTube link: https://youtube.com/live/UHl5usSqQoI?feature=share

ENDS.

Details of the event:

Date:                               21— 22 May 2025

Time:                               From 9h00 daily

Venue:                            Lagoon Beach Hotel & Spa, 1 Lagoon Gate Drive, Lagoon Beach, Cape Town

Link:                                 https://youtube.com/live/UHl5usSqQoI?feature=share

For media enquiries, please contact Adziliwi Nematandani: Cell: +27 82 765 9191 Email: anematandani@hsrc.ac.za

Join the Conversation:

#W20SA | #W20 | #G20 | #WomenInSolidarity

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