2021 Social Policy in Africa Conference—Development, Democracy and Social Policy: Remembering Thandika Mkandawire

The South African Research Chair in Social Policy, in partnership with CODESRIA and UNRISD, is organizing the 2021 Social Policy in Africa Conference from Monday 22 to Wednesday 24 November 2021.

The theme of the conference is Development, Democracy and Social Policy: Remembering Thandika Mkandawire.

Don't miss the inaugural Thandika Mkandawire Memorial Lecture, taking place at 9.00 (South African Standard Time / Central African Time / UTC+2hrs) on Tuesday 23 November, as part of the conference. Professor Fantu Cheru will deliver the inaugural memorial lecture, which is an initiative to honour the memory and works of Professor Thandika Mkandawire.

The conference will be held as a virtual event through Zoom. Register here.

Visit the conference website to discover the rich programme of keynotes and paper presentations.

The Social Policy in Africa Conference is a biennial scholarly gathering to reflect on the dynamics of social policy in Africa, although open to global reflections on social policy. The conference is a flagship activity of the South African Research Chair in Social Policy at the College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa.

Since its inception in 2017, the Social Policy in Africa Conference has been co-sponsored by the South African Research Chair in Social Policy, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD). The late Professor Thandika Mkandawire is the thread that holds the three partners together in the idea of Transformative Social Policy.

The 2021 edition of the conference, under the theme Development, Democracy, and Social Policy: Remembering Thandika Mkandawire, honours the memory and intellectual legacy of Thandika, whose vision of social policy continues to inspire our works at the South African Research Chair, CODESRIA, and UNRISD. Thandika passed away on 27 March 2020.