College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2024 36 POLICY AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES During 2024, we hosted, co-hosted, or partnered in several successful public events. Our biggest event was the inaugural Elijah Barayi Memorial Lecture on 15 May 2024, delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa. We co-hosted this in partnership with the Centre for Data and Digital Communication and the Department of Employment and Labour. President Ramaphosa’s inaugural lecture paid tribute to workers’ struggles, with a special focus on the role and legacy of Elijah Barayi – one of the founding members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the first President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). The President spoke to the collective responsibility of all citizens to build on the achievements of democracy and work vigorously to overcome poverty, unemployment, and inequality. He added that “building a future that promotes decent work, and social justice necessitates that we deepen our collaboration as government, business, labour, and civil society.” We continued to partner in the ‘Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) Annual Forum’, in partnership with TIPS, and in association with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic). The 2024 theme ‘Small Business, Inclusive Growth, and Industrial Policy in South Africa’ provided the opportunity to engage and discuss the systemic obstacles to the growth of small businesses in South Africa, and strategies for scaling up support and strengthening small business development as part of inclusive industrialisation. In doing so, the Forum encouraged discussions that considered the challenges and opportunities of the small business sector and inclusive industrialisation. We also partnered with APORDE, the dtic, and TIPS, to present the ‘Industrial Policy for Policy Makers’ (IPPM) programme. This five-day intensive training course, aimed at senior government officials from across Africa, focused on industrial policy and consists of lectures and seminars by leading scholars. The course contributes to developing advanced capacity among policymakers in Africa in the field of industrial policy. The theme for 2024 was ‘Green Industrialisation in Africa’. As the regional partner for UNIDO’s IDR24, Prof Tregenna and the team presented and engaged with experts in several expert group meetings (EGMs), including expert researchers and staff members of relevant government departments from across Africa. The UNIDO report identified key opportunities for Africa to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through industrial policies. The report highlighted concrete industrial policy experiences, showcasing specific actions that can drive progress in the region. SARChI-ID together with UNIDO and the Industrial Development Corporation hosted the regional launch of this report in Johannesburg. SARChIID has been re-appointed as the Africa Regional Partner for the IDR 2026. This is a significant role that enhances the profile of SARChI-ID and UJ and its impact in the field of industrial development. Prof Tregenna’s involvement to research dissemination, policy engagement, service and thought leadership continued in 2024. In terms of policy-She was re-appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to his Presidential Economic Advisory Panel (PEAC) (to which she was first appointed in 2019). As a member of the AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) Advisory Council, she advises on trade, industrialisation and regional integration in Africa. She has been appointed to the G20 Africa Expert Panel, the Advisory Board of Tricontinental Pan Africa, the Green Industrial Development Expert Panel and as Chair of the Scientific Committee, African Programme on Rethinking Development Economics. As a member of the International Commission of Experts on Financing for Development, she contributed to the Commission’s influential report and is part of the process leading up to the Financing for Development global summit. She has recently been appointed by the Premier of the Free State Province to the Investment and Economic Advisory Council. Prof Tregenna serves on various Boards, including those of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO), and the Institute for Economic. Justice (IEJ). Other bodies that she serves on include the Panel of External Experts on the United Nations Global Policy Model, and Scientific Board member of IDEAs African Network. She also sits of the Advisory Boards of large international research initiatives including the Open Society University Network Forum on Democracy and Development and of TWIN-SEEDS. She serves on the editorial boards of various journals and book series. As well as being an elected member of the
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