We are thrilled to officially welcome our new Director of Research, Dr Sandy Africa, to the MISTRA team. We are confident that her commitment to transformative research will significantly enhance MISTRA’s role in driving strategic dialogue both within South Africa and internationally.
We are equally excited to share that MISTRA has been selected to host the China-Africa Joint Research and Exchange Programme. This programme is funded by China’s Foreign Ministry and will focus on ‘Reimagining African Modernisation: Leveraging Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (FOCAC) Partnerships for Technology and Green Development’. The exchange programme begins in August, and we are already planning for this significant event.
Another exciting development for MISTRA is the appointment of our Executive Director, Joel Netshitenzhe, as a panellist and Head of the Secretariat for the G20 African Advisory Panel. A dedicated team from MISTRA will support him in that role, including Director of Project Management, Nhlanhla Nyide, Senior Researcher: Political Economy Machete Rakabe, and Project Management Officer, Dzunisani Mathonsi.
Last year was a big one for global politics with over 60 nations going to the polls. Following Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024, the US president has already implemented broad policy changes affecting science diplomacy, trade relations, and humanitarian aid, among other things. MISTRA hosted a webinar about what these recent developments could mean for South Africa and the African continent. We have also undertaken a project that provides a comprehensive and timely evaluation of the South African state, assessing the state’s capability, capacity, ethics and effectiveness and offering recommendations for course correction.
As the world enters a challenging political era in 2025, MISTRA has continued to host and participate in discussions that reflect on and promote South Africa and Africa’s evolving role on the world stage. Highlights of our engagements thus far include:
- January: Dr Sandy Africa, our new Director of Research, and Associate Researcher, Sanele Simayile, attended a seminar on nuclear disarmament hosted by the Institute for Security Studies. MISTRA also hosted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Careers Information Session. MISTRA Fellow, Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya, participated in a roundtable talk hosted by Constitution Hill, the Netherlands’ Peace Palace, and the Cultural Heritage Agency which explored the challenges of conserving heritage sites.
- February: Dr Yacoob Abba Omar took part in a dialogue on redefining engagement with power to advance constitutional rights, hosted by the Constitutionalism Fund, the Atlantic Philanthropies, Ford Foundation, and the Open Society Foundation. Our Director Project Management, Nhlanhla Nyide, and Acting Senior Researcher KESA, Nqobile Xaba, made a presentation on ‘Innovations in South Africa’ to the Northern Cape Innovation Forum (NCIF) in Upington. Also in February, MISTRA’s Political Economy Senior Researcher, Machete Rakabe, was invited by the University of Stellenbosch’s School of Public Leadership to present a lecture on ‘The Structure of the South African Economy’, drawing on the findings in MISTRA’s 2023 research-based volume on that subject.
- March: Dr Laurence Caromba, MISTRA’s Humanity Researcher, attended a roundtable on the German electoral results and their implications for South African progressives, hosted by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Associate Researcher, Sanele Simayile, attended the National System of Innovation Transformation Summit.
Other MISTRA events and engagements during this period include:
- Dr Africa’s participation in the Martti Ahtisaari Legacy Seminar 2025, focusing on the legacy of peace and Finnish anti-apartheid efforts.
- Dr Caromba’s attendance at the inauguration of Professor Francis Petersen as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria.
Read more about these activities, and others, below:
