Meet Your Diaspora Nominees:
Adding the Voice of South Africans Abroad
We have submitted a form to nominate the Diaspora to be recognised as a 1+ million strong sector in addition to the 22 sectors already acknowledged at the launch convention. Following engagement with the organising committee it is likely that we will not be awarded an entire sector but rather that we will be allocated one representative under the sector of migration/immigration. ​
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We held our online recorded meeting for nominations on 3 September and had a member from the organising committee monitoring the process. Unfortunately neither ourselves nor the monitor were made aware that we had not received the full nomination guideline document, despite several interactions via email. We only received this document on the morning of the deadline 8 September. We were given a 24 hour period to hold a poll for the public to 'second' our nominations and we submitted evidence of the poll to the committee before deadline. We now await further correspondence and confirmation of whether or not they will recognise our nominations. If they do, then all 3 nominees will proceed to the next round however only 1 will be awarded the place on the National Dialogue Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee will play a vital role in:
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Setting strategic priorities for the National Dialogue
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Ensuring broad public participation and inclusivity
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Coordinating and monitoring the implementation of dialogue programmes
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Reporting to the Eminent Persons Group, Head of State, and Inter-Ministerial Committee
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This is a unique opportunity to ensure that South Africans abroad actively shape the future of our nation.
Together, let us make sure the diaspora’s voice is heard.
What is the National Dialogue?
The National Dialogue is a citizen-led process to bring South Africans together, heal divisions, and shape a shared future. It provides a platform for all voices — across age, race, class, culture, and geography — to contribute to a new national ethos and common value system. Through this inclusive process, South Africans will work toward a new social compact that defines our shared responsibilities across government, business, labour, civil society, political parties and communities.
The journey began with the first National Convention on 15–17 August 2025 at UNISA, under the theme “Uniting Voices, Shaping the Nation”. This gathering aimed to set the agenda for the Dialogue. South Africans has until the extennded deadline of 8 September 2025 to register their sector (if they do not already fall under any one of the 22 already identified sectors listed at the launch convention) and nominate their sector leaders to sit on the Steering Committee.
The next 9 months is dedicated to civil society leading conversations in their communities, wards, metros as part of the process towards making submissions of action plans by a second Convention next year to finalise the compact for South Africa’s development. The idea is to forge a vision for South Africa over the next 30 years with concrete, detailed plans to work across government, business, labour, civil society to ensure we achieve the desired deliverables and secure prosperity for South Africa.
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SEE BELOW FOR STEERING COMMITTEE DETAILS: