G20 Gatherings
Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability—Ideas That Yield.
In November 2025, Johannesburg will host the G20 Summit for the first time, not only in Johannesburg, but the first time on African soil.
The G20 consists of 19 countries and the European Union, representing around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world’s population. It is the most influential forum shaping the global economy and meets to discuss the world’s financial and economic stability. In 2023, the African Union became a permanent member of the G20, marking a significant shift in how Africa participates in these global conversations.
As part of this moment, TEDxJohannesburg: G20 Gatherings offers something different: a space for ideas that yield — not just statements of principle, but reflections that lead to action; questions that open possibilities; stories that shift how we see.
Across three intimate gatherings — one brunch, one lunch, and one dinner — we’ll explore the G20’s theme of Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability from an African point of view. These are not speeches or official dialogues, but working conversations: open, honest, and shaped by those in the room.
Each gathering begins with a guided tour of a meaningful space, followed by a shared meal and a facilitated dialogue. Together, we’ll ask: What do solidarity, equality, and sustainability mean from here — from Johannesburg, from South Africa, from Africa?
And what ideas might we yield in response?
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Sustainability Gathering
Brunch | And then there was fire…, NIROX Sculpture Park, Cradle of Humankind | Thursday 29 May 2025, 10:00 to 14:00
Ideas that yield continuity, preceded by a guided walk of the NIROX permanent installations.
An outdoor lunch conversation about how sustainability takes shape in African contexts, where the pressures of development and the urgency of protecting the planet must be balanced every day.
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Solidarity Gathering
Dinner | Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), Illovo | Thursday 12 June 2025, 18:00 to 21:00
Ideas that yield connection, preceded by shared reflections and stories.
An intimate dinner exploring solidarity as action, not sentiment. The conversation will focus on how solidarity is practised between countries, communities, and individuals, and how Ubuntu offers more than inspiration — it offers practical tools for holding space across divides.
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Equality Gathering
Lunch | Food I Love You, Constitution Hill, Braamfontein | Exact date TBC, June 2025, 12:00 to 15:00
Ideas that yield justice, preceded by a guided tour of the Old Fort, the Women’s Jail, Number Four, and the Constitutional Court.
A lunch conversation in one of Johannesburg’s most symbolic spaces, reflecting on whether current conversations about equality go far enough, and what African histories and experiences might offer in moving beyond superficial fixes.
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Why These Conversations Matter
The G20 brings together the world’s most powerful economies — but how do its themes land here, in Johannesburg? These gatherings create space for sharp questions and unfinished thoughts, exploring Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability from an African point of view.
