Road-mapping the National Dialogue

News & Media

Audience members at the presentation of the dialogue labs’ outcomes towards laying the roadmap for the National Dialogue to be able to reach all spheres of society

Successfully hosted by Unisa on 15 and 16 August 2025, the historic first National Convention of the National Dialogue culminated in a draft plan of action to set the twelve-month process in motion. Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to road-map the action plans of the National Dialogue, several dialogue labs were held to discuss how the National Dialogue will reach all spheres of society. Representatives of the various dialogue labs presented their results on 16 August 2025 to an audience comprising civil society, politicians, non-governmental organisations and gender rights movements, among other groups.

Building on the learnings made

Activist Mazibuko Jara, Research Associate at the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Law and Society, and Chairperson of the Oxfam South Africa Board, together with Jonelle Naudé, Chairperson of the nni Dialogue Institute, stressed that the dialogue labs were organised according to the major themes proposed from each subtheme, noting that these will be enriched and expanded by the citizen-led community and sectoral dialogues.

Mazibuko Jara, Research Associate at the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Law and Society, and Chairperson of the Oxfam South Africa Board

Jara continued: "The dialogue labs recognised that conversations, problem-solving and citizen action are key features of South Africa’s democracy, and have been taking place in communities, sectors and issue-led movements. Therefore, it should build on this resilience and incorporate the learnings into the National Dialogue process. The outcomes should not be taken as gospel, but as guidelines."

The labs raised many issues and proposals, which will contribute to a broader draft problem statement and National Dialogue information sheets.

Some of the points proposed include:

Being heard and included
Unity and diversity
People-driven solutions
Resetting and changing
Action and implementation
Centring the voices of the youth and actively addressing youth unemployment

Not another talkathon

Naudé emphasised that the dialogue must not be an aimless talkathon with no plan of action. She explained: "We want to start implementing the key points drawn from the dialogue labs so that this does not become another talk shop without actionable plans. We need to have meaningful generative discussions that will lead to fruitful, realistic and achievable endeavours."

Jonelle Naudé, Chairperson of the nni Dialogue Institute

Emphasising the envisioned values that must be upheld during the groundwork, Naudé proposed the following:

Safety and inclusivity: Prioritising physical and psychological safety, being trauma-informed and power-aware, and ensuring that every voice counts, especially marginalised voices. Welcoming diverse forms of expression, including talking, drawing, movement and music.
Transformative: Going beyond surface-level discussions to enable deep healing, restoration and resilience.
Empowering and connecting: Building empathy, understanding, and a sense of empowerment and connection among participants, and linking grassroots dialogues to national platforms.
Dialogue generative: Facilitating meaningful dialogue that brings diverse perspectives to new insights, collective action and topic advancement.
Transparency: Ensuring the open sharing of process, budgets and outcomes.
Accessibility: Being language-inclusive, physically accessible and sensitive to the needs of persons living with disabilities.

A proud host

As host, the University of South Africa is grateful to have been part of this seminal and historic event by providing venues and a range of logistical services to the large number of delegates cutting across all sectors of society.

As Prof Puleng LenkaBula said in her welcome address on the first day of the convention: "Unisa was honoured and excited to be chosen as the seat of the first National Convention of the National Dialogue of South Africa, which seeks to rebuild, reconnect and reclaim the South African promise. We accepted the challenge to host this important and historic event in the life of South Africa. This is also one of the ways in which the university realises its vision of being a truly African university, shaping futures in the service of humanity."