Johannesburg is set to become a meeting point for a global conversation about history, justice, identity and the future of Africa.
From 26 to 30 October 2026, South Africa will host the 2nd Africa & African Diaspora (AAD) Conference at The Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, bringing together African and diaspora leaders at a moment the organisers describe as critical for the future of reparative justice.
The conference comes as momentum around racial accountability, reparations and the historical consequences of slavery, imperialism and colonialism faces growing political resistance.
For organisers, that resistance makes the gathering more urgent — not less.
The goal is clear: bring Africans and people of African descent together to develop strategies that can address the enduring impact of enslavement and colonialism while strengthening Pan-African unity.
A conversation shaped by history
The AAD Conference is built around two central objectives.
The first is to reflect on progress made towards radically changing the conditions affecting people who were enslaved and colonised over centuries.
The second is to develop further strategies for Africans and people of African descent to work together to address the consequences of imperialism and colonialism.
The organisers are also extending the conversation beyond the African continent.
Representatives of Indigenous Peoples and Palestinians, who the organisers identify as communities affected by dispossession, occupation and colonisation, have been invited to participate.
That broader participation reflects the conference’s focus on shared experiences of historical injustice and the search for collective solutions.
Why now?
The timing of the Johannesburg gathering is significant.
Organisers point to several recent developments that they say have created new momentum around reparative justice.
Among them is a March 2026 United Nations resolution that, according to the conference organisers, declared the trafficking and enslavement of Africans a crime against humanity.
The organisers also point to the May 2025 Berlin Conference, which commemorated the 140th anniversary of the 1884–1885 partition of Africa and renewed discussions around colonial accountability.
Faith communities have also entered the conversation.
The Vatican, Church of England and Church of Scotland have acknowledged historical injuries involving African peoples, while academic institutions including Georgetown University and Princeton Theological Seminary have committed to reparative dialogue.
For the AAD Conference, these developments represent important progress.
But they have also intensified the political debate.
‘Defending gains. Advancing solutions.’
Rev Frank Chikane, Co-Convenor of the AAD Conference, says the current global climate makes collective action increasingly important.
He argues that progress towards reparative justice has been met by a significant reaction from forces seeking to reverse those gains.
That has shaped the conference’s central approach.
Rather than treating political resistance as inevitable, the AAD Conference intends to bring together leaders, academics, faith communities, civil society organisations and diaspora networks to develop proactive strategies.
The emphasis is therefore not simply on remembering history.
It is on determining what comes next.
A Pan-African moment
Rev Dr Angelique Walker-Smith, President of the World Council of Churches and Co-Convenor of the AAD Conference, describes the gathering as a timely opportunity for Africans and the African diaspora to come together during what she calls a “Sankofa season” — drawing on the principle of looking to the past to inform the future.
She highlights the importance of consultation in continuing the legacy and vision of previous generations while considering the needs of those yet to come.
The conference also arrives as the African Union’s commitment to a Continental Reparatory Programme signals growing institutional attention to reparative justice.
The organisers further point to the 5th UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, held earlier in 2026, as another important platform for continental and diaspora voices.
Together, these developments form part of what the conference describes as a growing international conversation about historical accountability.
From dialogue to strategy
The programme is designed to move beyond discussion.
Sessions will explore issues including decoloniality, reparatory justice, climate justice, economic advancement and youth perspectives.
The conference is also expected to bring together representatives from the United Nations, African Union, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and other regional organisations.
Among the headline participants are former South African president Thabo Mbeki, former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev Dr Jerry Pillay.
The combination of political leadership, faith communities, academia, civil society and diaspora networks reflects the organisers’ ambition to build a broad coalition around reparative justice.
The journey begins before the conference
For diaspora delegates, the experience begins before the main conference.
From 23 to 25 October, the Pilgrimage of Return will offer participants an opportunity to enter Africa through historic “Doors of Return”.
These sites, once associated with the forced removal of Africans into slavery, are being reframed within the programme as places through which members of the diaspora can symbolically reconnect with the continent.
The initiative adds a deeply personal dimension to a conference focused on history and collective memory.
It transforms the journey to the conference into part of the conversation itself.
A global debate with Africa at its centre
The organisers’ argument is ultimately about more than historical recognition.
It is about what recognition should lead to.
If governments, institutions, faith communities and international organisations acknowledge the consequences of slavery and colonialism, what happens next?
How does recognition become reparative action?
How can African countries and diaspora communities develop shared strategies?
And how can those gains be protected when political resistance emerges?
Those are among the questions the AAD Conference intends to place at the centre of its discussions.
The conference comes at a moment when the global conversation around race, history and reparations is becoming increasingly complex.
For its organisers, the response cannot be division.
It must be collaboration.
Johannesburg becomes the meeting point
For five days in October, Johannesburg will provide the setting for a gathering that reaches far beyond South Africa’s borders.
The 2nd Africa & African Diaspora Conference is positioning itself as a platform for Africans and people of African descent to examine the progress already made, confront the forces challenging that progress and develop strategies for the future.
Its message is uncompromising:
History cannot simply be acknowledged. It must inform action.
And as the global debate over reparative justice enters another defining chapter, Johannesburg is preparing to put Africa and its diaspora firmly at the centre of that conversation.
The past may have shaped the world we inherited. The AAD Conference wants to help shape what comes next.
Conference Information
Dates: 26–30 October 2026
Venue: The Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg, South Africa
Pilgrimage of Return: 23–25 October 2026
For conference information, visit aadconference.africa.
