T20 with G20 Side Event: Launch Communique

Africa Tech Radio

November 20, 2025

JOHANNESBURG — In a world where disinformation spreads faster than a viral TikTok dance (or, let’s be real, faster than load-shedding rumors), the T20 side event launch,  fringes of the G20 Summit felt like a breath of fresh, empirically verified air. Picture this: a room full of sharp-suited diplomats, AI ethicists, and policy wonks, all gathered around plates of bobotie and koeksisters, debating how to reboot global digital infrastructure without accidentally handing the keys to Big Tech’s algorithm overlords.

The star of the show? The freshly launched T20 Communiqué, a 50-page powerhouse of “high-impact, solutions-driven, and implementation-focused” recommendations that reads like a wishlist for a world where data doesn’t just spy on you, but actually works for you. Handed over to Deputy Minister Alvin Botes earlier this week with the gravitas of a mic-drop, the Communiqué isn’t your average bureaucratic snoozefest. It’s the brainchild of five task forces – Trade and Investment, Digital Transformation, Financing for Sustainable Development, Solidarity for the SDGs, and Accelerating Climate Action – all screaming, “G20,needs bold actions” Privileged to co-chair with Stephanie Diepeveen and Teki Akuetteh (Ms.) the fantastic T20 South Africa Task Force on hashtag#DigitalTransformation. See recommendations from page 19 in communique which intersect with the several other task forces recommendations on trade and investment, financing sustainable development, solidarity for the achievement of SDGs and accelerating climate action.

At the helm of this intellectual feast were Dr. Philani Mthembu, the 1st Executive Director of the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) – think of him as the Gandalf of global governance, and Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, Chief Executive of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). “In a sea of fake news, we’re here to throw lifelines of empirical knowledge,” Mthembu earning chuckles from a table. Sidiropoulos, ever the straight shooter, added, “Data agency isn’t a buzzword – it’s the difference between citizens owning their futures and Big Tech owning your grandma’s recipes, saw AU reps who nodded knowingly and whole-heatedly.”

Partners in Crime (The Good Kind): AU, SAAIA, and the Disinfo-Busting Squad

This wasn’t a solo act. Voices from the African Union (via AU-ASRIC for science smarts and AUDA-NEPAD for implementation muscle), SAAIA’s policy sharpies, Research ICT Africa’s digital detectives, and DIRCO’s lead, Amb. Anesh Maistry, with his trademark blend of diplomacy and humour. “Digital discrimination remain invisible until it does not,  we’re ensure it is present, in the communique, with emphasis on accountability,  Amb. Lavina Ramkissoon.”

A co-written policy brief titled Catalysing Positive Digital Infrastructure Innovation: G20’s Role in Advancing Data Agency” – a collaborative mic-drop from the Global Solutions Initiative, Aapti Institute (India’s privacy warriors), Data Privacy Brasil (Latin America’s data rebels), AU and the Equiano Institute (Africa’s open-source evangelists). This gem feeds straight into the Communiqué’s Digital Transformation task force, arguing that in a world where algorithms decide your loan, we need “decentralised, open-source protocols” to flip the script. No more GDPR half-measures that treat privacy.

“The G20 must extend earlier endorsements of DPI in development with commitments to a ‘people-first’ and whole-of-society approach to digital public infrastructure and emerging technologies.” Translation? Stop treating DPI like a tech toy for the elite; make it a human rights hammer that smashes inequalities. Botes, receiving the full Communiqué, didn’t mince words: “The T20’s role is vital – these aren’t suggestions; they’re the roadmap out of our collective mess.” Delegates at the dinner afterward raised glasses to redesigning global digital infra for “agency, equity, and sustainability.”

Zoom out, and the Communiqué is a full-on roast of the status quo. The Trade and Investment crew demands WTO reform – because nothing says “modern economy” like rules written in the fax era, ignoring Africa’s 32 least-developed countries. Think flexible dispute resolution, African digital trade boosts, and industrial policies that actually transfer tech (not just extract minerals like it’s 1492). “Geopolitics, climate shocks, and supply chain drama have us all in a plot twist,” the task force warns. Financing for Sustainable Development. They call it “fragmented, under-resourced, and misaligned with SDGs” – ouch. Fixes: Gut the IMF’s veto powers, turn Special Drawing Rights into real liquidity lifelines, slash borrowing costs for African nations, and invent a “sovereign bankruptcy court” for debt relief. The SDG Solidarity task force: Only 17% of targets are on track. “Solidarity isn’t goodwill; it’s structural survival.” Food security, gender equality, and shielding low-income countries from “spillover” shocks? Non-negotiable. Climate Action chimes in with equitable critical minerals governance (disclose those mining deals, folks), climate debt pauses, and bio-economy boosts. Preamble gold: “In times of turbulence, cooperative problem-solving isn’t optional.”

Communiqué, could actually matter – no capes required.

As forks clinked and ideas sparked, the room buzzed with that rare G20 magic: optimism laced with urgency. South Africa’s “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability” theme isn’t fluff – it’s the Communiqué’s North Star, feeding into the Leaders’ Summit at Nasrec Expo Centre this weekend (22-23 November). With the AU now a permanent G20 guest, Africa’s not just at the table; it’s rewriting the cause. But let’s keep it real: In a disinformation deluge, empirical knowledge is our superpower.

This T20 2025 – it’s a call to arms for a fairer digital dawn, where data drives equity, not empires. Digital dignity maters.