On the 19 October the SABTT convened a roundtable event, in line with its series of events on the 2023 BRICS calendar. This roundtable focused on one of South Africa’s thematic priorities for its 2023 BRICS Presidency, titled Post Pandemic Socio-Economic Recovery and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda – Progress and Pitfalls. The event included panellists from all five BRICS member states, including Dr Nelly Sharpley from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Fabio Veras Soares from the Institute for applied Economic Analysis in Brazil, Prof Irina Yarygina of the Russian Committee on BRICS Research, Mr Soumya Bhowmick of the Observer Research Foundation in India, and Professor Jiejin Zhu of Fudan University, China. The event included a respondent from the Nelson Mandela University (Professor Ronney Ncwadi) and Prof Sam Koma from the University of Limpopo served as moderator. The session was extensive, and described by attendees as enriching and necessary. One of the key takeaways was the need for actionable items and implementation, especially towards the acceleration of the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. As part of increasing postgraduate capacity building and youth empowerment, event included participation by postgraduate students from UJ, UP, and TUT.
