Sixth World Conference on Remedies to Racial and Social Inequality

The University of the Western Cape is honoured to host this year’s 6th World Conference on Remedies to Racial and Social Inequality.

The Sixth World Conference on Remedies to Racial and Social Inequality will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, on September 3-5, 2024 at the University of the Western Cape, Bellville Campus. This conference will be held in person with options for virtual participation.

Building on the previous five conferences,  the Sixth World Conference will convene academic, policy, and community leaders from South Africa, North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe to share research, ideas, remedies and practical solutions to the complex and deeply rooted issue of systemic inequality.  The conference will tackle topics across various domains including policy, education, economics, and social systems.

The conference is jointly presented by the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Western Cape (EMS) and the Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice at the University of Minnesota (RWC) and the Sixth World Conference on Racial and Social Inequality International Advisory Board. The event will bring together researchers, policy analysts, professionals and practitioners from around the world to share existing solutions and to innovate new solutions.

With a legacy of public policy remedies implemented and developed through rigorous analytical research and publication, the Conference will encompass a range of topics including inequalities in economic opportunity, inequality regimes and rules of accumulation, political access, access to education, water, health care and food security, the cost of climate mitigation, intergenerational poverty, unemployment, and gender based violence.

The Conference will serve as a global forum for change and will invite public and private sector thought leaders to participate and co-develop pathways for practical collaboration and applied research.

Some estimates put South Africa among the most acutely unequal countries in the world. Extreme uneven development is economic violence produced when structural and systemic policy choices are made for the richest, and the most vulnerable are systemically disempowered.

Issues to be tackled:

Convening distinguished academics, researchers, policymakers,  business leaders, non-profit and NGO leaders, community leaders and activists, and artists from the U.S., Brazil (The 5th World Conference), Australia and other countries, the Conference will consist of keynote addresses, panel discussions and workshops. Participants will craft innovative policy solutions for local, national, and global action. To accommodate global participation, the Conference will be delivered in a hybrid format.

The Roy Wilkins Center

Building on the legacy of American civil rights leader Roy Wilkins, the Wilkins Center is dedicated to finding solutions to racial and ethnic inequality through an integrated model of research, dialogue, and community partnerships. Through its integrated model, the Center guides and empowers policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and community leaders to develop and promote solutions to the problems of racism and racial and ethnic inequality locally, nationally, and globally.

Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences

The University of the Western Cape’s largest faculty focusses on three niche areas of research: Citizenship and Democracy, Land, and Entrepreneurship. The faculty is committed to developing graduates of the highest calibre who have the knowledge base to think critically and contribute meaningful solutions to today’s global social, economic, and political issues.

Enquiries can be directed to Dr Lungile Penxa at lpenxa@uwc.ac.za