South Africa will host the G20 Social Summit from 18 – 20 November 2025 at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng Province.
Under the overarching theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability,” South Africa’s G20 Presidency reflects the nation’s strategic priorities of inclusive growth, poverty reduction, and the building of a capable, ethical, and developmental State.
In keeping with the G20 theme of Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability, the G20 Social Summit will convene formal and informal networks, including youth movements, women’s organisations, faith-based groups, organisations of persons with disabilities, community forums, and other grassroots structures.
Together, they will engage on global issues that directly impact people’s daily lives.
Building on Brazil’s innovative introduction of the G20 Social Summit, President Cyril Ramaphosa has committed to continuing and expanding this people-centred platform during South Africa’s Presidency.
The G20 Social Summit seeks to elevate issues of social development, equity, and inclusion to the same level of priority as macroeconomic and financial matters.
The G20 Social Summit will bring together a wide spectrum of stakeholders including governments, civil society, labour, youth, women, persons with disabilities, philanthropy, and grassroots organisations ensuring that the lived experiences of ordinary people shape the outcomes of the G20 process.
To lead the organisation and facilitation of the G20 Social Summit, President Ramaphosa appointed Minister in The Presidency, Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, and former Deputy President, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, as Co-Convenors, representing both Government and civil society sectors.
Their mandate included overseeing stakeholder engagement and ensuring alignment between the Social Summit and the broader G20 priorities.
Designed as an inclusive and participatory platform, the Summit will amplify the voices of civil society, grassroots organisations, and communities from across the world. It aims to foster global solidarity, advance inclusive development, and deliver a G20 Social Declaration that captures the aspirations and lived realities of citizens particularly the most vulnerable.
This initiative provides South Africa with a unique opportunity to foreground the African Agenda and advance the priorities of the Global South within the world’s premier forum for international economic cooperation.
There are 13 official G20 Engagement Groups that serve as vital channels for diverse sectors to contribute to the G20’s policy and decision-making processes.
Throughout the year, these groups met to develop proposals and communiqués that inform G20 outcomes, ensuring that voices beyond government are meaningfully heard and considered.
The 13 official G20 Engagement Groups are:
- W20 (Women)
- L20 (Labour)
- B20 (Business)
- T20 (Think Tanks)
- C20 (Civil Society)
- SAI20 (Supreme Audit Institutions)
- Y20 (Youth)
- U20 (Urban)
- S20 (Science)
- Startup20
- J20 (Judiciary/Supreme Courts)
- O20 (Ocean)
- P20 (Parliament)
- G20 EMPOWER Alliance
Each of these engagement groups represents a distinct constituency from business and labour to youth, women, academia, and civil society bringing diverse perspectives and expertise to enrich the G20 agenda and strengthen global cooperation.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile will address the Opening Ceremony and people’s conversations on Tuesday, 18 November 2025. The Ceremony will commence after mid-day at 13h00 at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng Province.
On Day 2, Wednesday, 19 November 2025, the G20 Social Summit Engagement Groups will break away into thematic sessions on:
- Digital Inclusion and Equitable Transformation;
- Inclusive Climate Justice;
- A Just Transition, and Energy Democracy;
- Digital Inclusion and Equitable Transformation;
- Trade, Resilience & Inclusive Value Chains;
- Inclusive Climate Justice, a Just Transition, and Energy Democracy;
- A Just and Sustainable Finance and International Financial Architecture; and
- Building Momentum for the Achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday, 20 November 2025, address the Closing Ceremony of the G20 Social Summit and receive the declaration from participating delegates over the 3-day convention.
The Federative Republic of Brazil, as member of the G20 Troika, will also participate in the Closing Ceremony which will commence at 11h00 at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng Province.
Africa Fact: Bling culture existed in early Tanzania. A Portuguese chronicler of the sixteenth century wrote that: “[T]hey are finely clad in many rich garments of gold and silk and cotton, and the women as well; also with much gold and silver chains and bracelets, which they wear on their legs and arms, and many jewelled earrings in their ears”.
Acid Queen
Fun South African Fact: Vilakazi Street in Soweto has been home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners. A tour through Soweto will always stop at Vilakazi Street to reveal a number of heritage sites of great importance to democratic South Africa. Both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu lived here at some point in their lives. In 1984, Archbishop Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for his non-violent fight against the apartheid regime. Nine years later in 1993, Nelson Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with then-president F.W. de Klerk as an award for their role in bringing about the peaceful end of apartheid. Nelson Mandela then went on to become South Africa’s first democratically elected president in 1994.
Neophyte Believer
Fun South African Fact: Can you think of any other place in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived on the same street? Both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu had houses on Vilakazi Street in Soweto.