South Africa’s Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, gave the keynote address at the dinner. The dinner was
also addressed by Professor Dominick Salvatore, Director of the PhD Programme in Economics at Fordham
University, as well as by the Chairperson of the MISTRA Board, Professor Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo, Chairperson
of the MISTRA Council of Advisors, Jenny Cargill, and MISTRA Executive Director, Joel Netshitenzhe. Awards
were also presented to MISTRA’s founding donors. Entertainment was provided by Jonas Gwangwa.

The key focus of the two-day conference that followed was on presenting and unpacking the first eight
priority research projects that MISTRA planned to undertake. The keynote address at the conference was
given by the late Professor Dani Nabudere of the Marcus Garvey Pan-Afrika Institute.

MISTRA takes pleasure in issuing this commemorative publication of the Institute’s public launch, which
contains the key inputs made at the launch events.