“Opportunities go together with crisis”: The BRICS year of China – Key Priorities and Opportunities Global superpower and supporter of multilateralism, China, has announced what it has proposed for its priorities as it resumes the rotating BRICS Presidency for 2022. In a BRICS dialogue held on 27 January 2022 and hosted by the SABTT, Minister in the Embassy of the Peoples’ Republic of China in South Africa, Mr. Li Zhigang announced that China has “put forward specific cooperation ide...

The National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) is pleased to invite suitably qualified researchers and postgraduate students based in South Africa’s participating public universities to apply for the 2021/22 African Pathways Programme’s Teaching and Research Mobility Grant. The objective of the digital African Pathways Programme Teaching and Research Mobility Initiative is to advance research, teaching and learning in the humanities and social sciences (HSS), with the inte...

The National Institute for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (NIHSS) and the South African BRICS Think Tank (SABTT) are pleased to invite suitably qualified researchers and postgraduate students in South African universities and research institutes to apply for the BRICS Research and Teaching Mobility Grants. The objective of the BRICS research and teaching initiative is to provide a platform for researchers and academics to exchange ideas and to generate evidence-based policy recommendatio...

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT The National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) is pleased to invite suitably qualified researchers and academics based at South Africa’s public Higher Education Institutions as well as research institutes to submit their applications for an expression of interest for the South African BRICS Think Tank (SABTT). ABOUT THE SOUTH AFRICAN BRICS THINK TANK The role of the SABTT is to act as a dynamic broker between the worlds of knowledge a...

Professor Ari Sitas’ term as South African BRICS Think Tank Council (SABTT) Chair has ended as he formally retired from his tenure as a Professor at the University of Cape Town. Prof Sitas has led the SABTT since 2015, and most notably during South Africa’s BRICS presidency in 2018, having provided exceptional leadership throughout. Prof Sitas will continue supporting the SABTT team and advising where possible in his capacity as Board chairperson of the National Institute for the Humanities and ...

A hearty congratulations to Prof Ari Sitas on being awarded the National Order of Mapungubwe. The Order of Mapungubwe is granted by the South African Presidency - presented by President Cyril Ramaphosa, for achievements in the international area which have served South Africa's interests. Prof Sitas is being celebrated as a social scientist and a sociologist. He gains this accolade based on his various community involvement since the 1980’s – as he partook in various policy framework initiat...

Interviews from the 10th BRICS Academic forum held at the Sandton International Convention Centre between the 28th - 31st of May 2018: Minister Naledi Pandor's interview with CNBC Prof. Sitas CNBC Power lunch interview Prof. Sitas interview with the SABC

On 25-26 June 2018, civil society organisations (CSOs) will host the Civil BRICS Summit ahead of the BRICS Summit at the offices of the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences for a two-day meeting.   This is the culmination of several consultations that took place at a provincial level in South Africa. This included Gauteng (with participation from CSOs in Free State and Northern Cape), Kwa-Zulu Natal, Eastern Cape (with participation of CSOs from all regions of the province i...

o4 June 2018 The Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa, met on 4 June 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa. The Ministers reflected on the importance of this year marking a decade of BRICS Summits, as a testimony to the fortitude of BRICS cooperation and reiterated the commitment to implement the outcomes and consensus of past...