Advertisement
The Aotearoa New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies is very pleased to announce the keynote speaker for our 3rd National Conference, community activist S’Bu Zikode, coming to us all the way from South Africa. This year the conference will be held in Ōtepoti Dunedin, 13-14 November. Our conference theme raises once again Rosa Luxembourg’s famous question: Socialism or Barbarism? S’bu’s keynote address will speak directly to this question.
BUILDING SOCIALISM IN THE WRECKAGE
We are living through a period of massive contradictions: our economy has never been so productive, yet basic measures of human wellbeing show across-the-board declines; mass migration exists alongside racist nationalism; misogyny rises in a time of official gender equality. And the basic contradiction, that many starve so a few may feast, is worse than ever in human history.
In South Africa’s slums, amidst poverty and relentless assaults by landlords, gangsters, and crooked developers and politicians, the democratic shack dwellers’ movement Abahlali baseMjondolo has emerged as the largest post-Apartheid social movement. At the heart of Abahlali baseMjondolo’s organizing is the demand for
dignity. Built on a foundation of ubuntu, the goal of Abahlali baseMjondolo is a democratic socialism built from below. In this keynote address, we will learn more about the Abahlali baseMjondolo project from one of the group’s founding members, S’bu Zikode.
S’bu Zikode is a South African community activist. In 2001, he became the first elected chairperson of the Kennedy Road informal settlement, before helping to found Abahlali baseMjondolo in 2005. Abahlali baseMjondolo has organised
community services, campaigned for the rights of minorities, and fought against police brutality and predatory state and private landlords. S’bu is a prolific writer and media commentator, and in 2025 he received a Citation of Honour from the South
Africa Human Rights Commission.
S’bu’s keynote address will begin at 6.45pm on Saturday 14 November at Archway 4 Lecture Theatre, University of Otago.
This keynote is a free event, open to all. However, to attend the main proceedings of the conference you must register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScZvWQY716PAyoaU3EasXrbJNpDEcbhSb62d6skYAOtmKCZWQ/viewform
Advertisement
Event venue
Archway 4 Lecture Theatre, 204 Leith St, North Dunedin, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand, Dunedin
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.