Southern Voice

In just a few days, the Southern Voice 2025 Conference kicks off in São Paulo. Beyond our beloved members, we are also thrilled to welcome representatives from an exceptional mix of institutions, with leading global players shaping the future of sustainable development. Among them: 🇧🇷 Local partners like Prefeitura de São Paulo, USP - Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Relações Internacionais - USP, Umane, Instituto Decodifica 💡 Long-standing supporters and funders, including Stiftung Mercator GmbH and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation 🌍 Key global partners such as the United Nations, United Nations Foundation, OECD - OCDE, Open Society Foundations, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Club of Rome, Institute of Development Studies, On Think Tanks, Hamburg Sustainability Conference, Edutec Ecuador, Belmont Forum ...and many more! Together, Southern Voice members and allies will discuss how to rebalance power in global development and reimagine pathways for sustainable progress. Stay tuned for all conference insights, starting next Monday! #SV2025 #SVConference

Last week, the Nkafu Policy Institute hosted the Africa @ World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C. It was a high-level platform that brought together African leaders, global partners, innovators, and development experts to shape the continent’s role in global governance. Under the theme “Accelerating Africa’s Economic Transformation,” the discussions focused on unlocking investment, boosting regional integration, strengthening credit ratings, and promoting private sector–led, inclusive growth. Southern Voice members were among the speakers contributing their perspectives, also reaffirming the importance of Global South leadership in shaping the future of development policy. We congratulate the Nkafu Policy Institute for this impactful initiative, and our members who shared valuable insights on Africa’s economic and development priorities. Your contributions continue to advance the Global South’s leadership in shaping global policy debates.

🎥💬 "We are currently facing a very complex international context — armed conflicts, trade wars, and the climate crisis. All of these challenges have been affecting countries’ abilities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)." Hear from Maiara Folly, executive director of our 2025 Southern Voice Conference co-host Plataforma CIPÓ, on the current international context and how this helps shape the discussions happening at our event in São Paulo. She also highlights the importance of rethinking strategies for placing the Global South’s priorities and demands at the center of the international cooperation agenda. Watch the video and learn about what makes this year’s conference unique. #SVC2025 #SVConference

⏰ One week to go! In just seven days, Southern Voice’s 2025 conference will open its doors in São Paulo, Brazil. We are bringing together brilliant minds from across the Global South and beyond to exchange ideas, challenge power imbalances, and shape a more equitable future for global development. This is a one-of-a-king gathering of more than 70 think tanks from 30+ countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, in addition to key Global North partners. We are counting down the days to transformative dialogue and collaboration, and to reimagine the global development architecture – together. See you very, very soon! 🇧🇷✨ #SVC2025 #SVConference

⏳🌍 Just 10 days left! The countdown is on. Southern Voice’s 2025 Conference is almost here. In São Paulo, we will soon gather leading researchers, policymakers, and partners from across the Global South and beyond to rethink how global development is shaped, whose voices are heard, and how collaboration can drive real change. We can’t wait to welcome our network there. Are you ready? #SVC2025 #SVConference

🎶🇧🇷 Get into the rhythm of Brazil! As we count down only 13 days to the start of the Southern Voice Conference 2025 in São Paulo, we have prepared something special to help you connect with the host country. Discover our exclusive playlist featuring over 120 Brazilian classics, spanning 8 hours of samba, bossa nova, MPB, and much more. It’s the perfect soundtrack to start feeling the country’s vibrant energy ahead of your travels. Start exploring now! 🎧 http://bit.ly/47pLz18 #SVC2025 #SVConference

🌍 Last month, our Executive Director Margarita Gómez delivered a keynote at the Knowledge Dependencies and the Un/Making of Equitable Futures Conference in Bonn, Germany. The event was organized by German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS), in partnership with Bonn's Global Heritage Lab. It gathered an interdisciplinary audience including professionals from development, humanities, and cultural and artistic researchers, and focused on how to decolonise research across different fields. Margarita's remarks provided an overview of why equity in research for development matters, where we currently stand, what is the future we want, and how to get there. She emphasized that equity is about justice and fairness, especially when 86% of publications come from high/upper-middle income economies and Northern researchers dominate journals (73%) and conferences. Despite Southern research being under-represented or confined to secondary roles, it is precisely in locally-led research that more relevant and impactful solutions emerge. She also called for a transformation toward a just, inclusive research ecosystem in which Southern researchers set agendas, lead projects, and are fully recognised. It is important that they are also supported by fair funding, diverse definitions of quality, and collective action. To get there, there is a need to innovate research systems and metrics, transform funding to directly support Southern institutions, shift narratives to show equity benefits all, and drive collective action. What would a more just and inclusive research ecosystem look like to you?

🎥💬 "This conference can strengthen multilateralism, connect researchers and policymakers, and amplify the Global South’s perspective in decision-making and in knowledge production." Hear directly from Luciana S., executive director of our conference co-host Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), on how our event can accelerate collective action toward the SDGs, and help set the tone for the upcoming #COP30 also in Brazil. Watch the video to learn what makes this year’s conference unique. #SVC2025 #SVConference

☕ Got a cup? Here is a serving of how Brazil’s staple drink – coffee – connects to the big themes shaping the development landscape. From climate and resilience to trade, inequality, and innovation, each cup tells a story about the challenges and solutions shaping the Global South and beyond. They also flavor the topics we will be exploring together at Southern Voice Conference 2025, later this month. Brazilian coffee connects local realities to global dynamics, showing how Southern expertise can drive impact far beyond its roots. 👉 Swipe through to see how this beloved beverage offers a lens into key development debates, ideas, and topics. It is in harvesting Southern expertise that we brew change. Ready to taste the future of global development? #SVC2025 #SVConference

🌐 6,000 and counting! We have reached this milestone followers count — a growing network of researchers, policymakers, and development professionals committed to rebalancing global dialogues on sustainable development. Your engagement strengthens our mission: to bring Global South evidence and perspectives to the forefront of global debates, shaping more inclusive and informed policy outcomes. Thank you for being part of this conversation. Together, we’re making research from the South impossible to ignore.