Keynote Speakers & Plenary

SCI Africa Summit 2023

Geordin Hill-Lewis​

Cape Town Mayor​

Geordin Hill-Lewis, 35, attended Edgemead High School, obtained an Honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from UCT, and a Masters in Finance specialising in Economic Policy from London University. He is a husband to Carla and father to a six-year-old daughter. Hill-Lewis became politically active during his high school years. During his studies at the University of Cape Town, he founded the Democratic Alliance Students’ Organization (DASO). He worked as Chief of Staff in the office of former Western Cape Premier Helen Zille. In 2011, Hill-Lewis was elected as a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly, becoming the youngest MP at 24 years old. During his time in the National Assembly, he has served on various portfolios, such as Trade and Industry and Finance, and most recently served as the Shadow Minister of Finance. On 18 November 2021, Hill-Lewis was inaugurated as the youngest Mayor of the City of Cape Town.

Contact Details

Alderman Geordin Hill-Lewis
Executive Mayor of Cape Town
Landline: 021 400 1322
Email: [email protected]

eleanore bouw-spies

MP and Shadow Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, South Africa

Eleanore Bouw-Spies is currently a Republic of South Africa Member of Parliament for the opposition Democratic Alliance, and the current Shadow Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. A former member of the African National Congress, Bouw-Spies was elected to the Knysna Municipal Council in 2000. She was later appointed to the mayoral committee before being elected as deputy mayor of the municipality. In 2007, Bouw-Spies was elected mayor of the municipality, a position she held until the 2011 local government elections, when the Democratic Alliance won a majority of seats on the municipal council. In 2014, Bouw-Spies joined the DA and was selected as the party’s candidate for the ensuing by-election. She won the by-election and was appointed speaker of the council following her swearing-in. After the 2016 municipal elections, Bouw-Spies returned as mayor of the municipality. For the 8 May 2019 general election, Bouw-Spies was first on the DA’s list of parliamentary candidates from the Western Cape. At the election, she won a seat in the National Assembly. On 5 December 2020, Bouw-Spies was appointed Shadow Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Bouw-Spies holds a BA Degree and a Higher Diploma in Education from the University of the Western Cape. She was born in Knysna.

alan winde

Premier, Western Cape​

Alan Winde is a former businessman, now politican, and since 2019, Premier of the Western Cape. Before he began his career in politics, he started and successfully operated 10 businesses in his hometown of Knysna. Determined to contribute positively to his town, he then became a councilor, and later, became a member of the provincial parliament. In 2009, following the DA’s victory in the provincial election, he became the Provincial
Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, with a firm focus on growth and jobs. It was this same focus that drove his campaign for the premiership, which was centred on improving economic and household prosperity by getting the basics right, such as education and healthcare, and improving safety and public transport for all the residents of our province. He further committed to improving the efficiency of government service delivery through innovation, new technology and culture change. Since becoming Premier, he has implemented several programmes to achieve these goals, including rolling out lifestyle audits for his cabinet and launching a billion rand safety plan through which over 1000 officers have been deployed to high crime areas. He also oversaw the province’s response to Covid-19, building an 862-bed hospital in a record 6 weeks. In Februrary 2022, he announced a major focus on infrastructure to help recover the province’s economy post-covid, which includes a new emphasis on a dedicated mobility department to improve public transport..

HIS EXCELLENCY MR. CHARLES ASUAKO OWIREDU

High Commissioner of the Republic of Ghana to the Republic of South Africa

His Excellency Mr. Charles Asuako Owiredu is the High Commissioner of the Republic of Ghana to the Republic of South Africa with concurrent accreditation to the Republics of Mauritius and Seychelles, and the Kingdoms of Eswatini and Lesotho, respectively. Prior to this appointment, His Excellency Mr. Owiredu had been the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana from 2017 to 2021. He previously held the position of Director of International Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with the responsibility of coordinating the foreign policy agenda of the Party between 2008 to 2016. He was also for three (3) years the Administrator of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) rogramme for his Political Party. This programme provided Political Parties with representation in Ghana’s Parliament to find common grounds on key national issues. His Excellency Charles Owiredu is a graduate from the University of Cape Coast with a major in Economics and has a Masters in Conflict, Peace and Security from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Center. He is married with three children, a girl and two boys.

Reuben E. Brigety II

Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of South Africa

Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden on February 10, 2022 to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa. He served as the 17th Vice Chancellor of the University of the South and Mayor of Sewanee from June 2020 until December 2021. Previously he served as the Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs of The George Washington University. Ambassador Brigety’s most recent diplomatic assignment was serving as the U.S. Representative to the African Union and U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Economic Commission for Africa from September 2013 to September 2015. Previously, Ambassador Brigety served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs and also as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Ambassador Brigety also held appointments as an assistant professor of government and politics at George Mason University and at the School of International Service at American University between August 2003 and April 2009. In addition, Ambassador Brigety was a researcher with the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from August 2001 to May 2003, where he conducted research missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Before joining HRW, Ambassador Brigety was an active duty U.S. naval officer and held several staff positions in the Pentagon and in fleet support units. Ambassador Brigety is a 1995 Distinguished Midshipman Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned a B.S. in political science (with merit), served as the Brigade Commander and received the Thomas G. Pownall Scholarship. He also holds an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Cambridge, England, as well as a Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa) from Old Dominion University. Ambassador Brigety is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a recipient of the Council’s International Affairs Fellowship. He is a member of the Board of Councilors of McLarty Associates, an Adjunct Senior Fellow for African Peace and Security at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the American Academy of Diplomacy.

Ndileka Mandela

Granddaughter of Nelson Mandela and Founder & CEO, Thembekile Mandela Foundation​

Ndileka Mandela, Founder and CEOThembekile Mandela Foundation Ndileka Mandela has an academic profile that began with a Diploma in general nursing, followed by a Diploma in Midwifery all done in the Eastern Cape formerly known as Transkei. She then worked in ICU; St Aidan’s. Hospital for 6 years. While at St. Aidans she trained and qualified as a renal ICU nurse at King Edward VII. She then left nursing to work as a pharmaceutical representative with Sandoz and Scherag. After leaving the pharmaceutical industry; she worked as a Phlebotomist in a pathology laboratory. Upon leaving the path laboratory she worked as a community nurse at Prime Cure Clinic, which was a group private primary health care facilities. While working at Prime Cure she was promoted to the marketing division of Prime Cure in Centurion Pretoria. She has also worked in the medical aid industry for 2 years, working for Sizwe Medical Aid as a business development manager In the medical field she has gone full circle from different health related industries, thus giving her more than 15 years’ experience in the medical field. In 2007 she worked as a project co–coordinator for an RDP housing project until its completion in 2010. In 2011, after the her Grandfather was discharged from hospital, she dedicated herself to spending time next to him, owing to her experience as in the medical filed and thus became the interphase between the medical team and the family. In July 2012 after her grandfather’s birthday July 18, she visited Clarkebury High School, where her grandfather schooled. Upon finding that the school was in a state of disrepair, she adopted the school as her project. The seed for Thembekile Mandela Foundation was born. Unfortunately due to the illness of her grandfather late 2012, the registration of the foundation was delayed till February 2014 She now works full time at the foundation to raise funds and run programs espoused by the foundation of which the two main pillars are Health and Education. In November 2019, she released her memoirs and Autobiography – I am Ndileka – More than my Surname. In April 2021 she was appointed head of G – Global for the “Youth Contribution to the Implementation of the UN SGG 2030” with Head Quarters in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

Contact Details

Thembekile Mandela Foundation –
Safika House, 89 Central Street,
Houghton 2198,
South Africa Fax: +27 86 536 5571
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.tmandelafoundation.org
Founder/CEO: Ndileka Mandela

SCI Africa Summit 2023

Contact Us

Do you need assistance?

Send us a message with a single click. We will reply as soon as possible.