SA's G20 Social Summit pushes social justice to centre stage

Delegates also sharpen climate justice debate

- By Tebogo Magoba and ESG Now

Deputy President Paul Mashatile at the G20 Social Summit opening ceremony at Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Boksburg.

(Gallo Images)

South Africa used its presidency of the G20 Social Summit to force an uncomfortable question back into global economics and politics. Can the world still talk about growth without talking about people?

Hosted in Pretoria on November 18-20, the summit arrived as inequality widened, climate pressure intensified, and economic volatility threatened African economies.

In a crowded global agenda dominated by geopolitics and climate tension, Pretoria carved out a space for voices locked out of formal diplomacy.

The Social Summit is not new to the G20 architecture, and commonalities can be seen throughout previous such summits. India's 2023 presidency first elevated social participation as a core diplomatic pillar, linking inclusive growth to its theme, One Earth, One Family, One Future.

That summit pushed digital public infrastructure, the inclusion of the Global South, and governance reform to the fore. But the roots go further back.

In Saudi Arabia in 2020, the Covid-19 emergency forced leaders to confront the fragility of the global social compact.

The Riyadh Leaders' Declaration emphasised job protection, stronger social systems and equitable climate adaptation.