The Secretariat of the South African National Commission for UNESCO (UNESCO Directorate), based at the Department of Basic Education, received an award for the promotion of Science Diplomacy on 6 December 2024, as the Science Forum South Africa concluded. The Forum was hosted from 3 to 6 December 2024, at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria, Gauteng Province.

The Forum was co-hosted by the Department of Science and Innovation and the Science Diplomacy Capital for Africa (SDCfA) initiative. The SDCfA promotes science collaboration across Africa and beyond towards leveraging and connecting technology innovation with humanity.

The objective of the Forum is to ignite vibrant discussion on the role of science in society between all stakeholders, the scientific community, Government, industry and civil society, whilst the theme of the Forum was: “Igniting Conversations about Science – Innovation and Science for Humanity”.

The Forum, opened by Minister Blade Nzimande, and closed by Deputy Minister, Ms Nomalungelo Gina, attended by over 5,000 people, with more than 80 exhibitors, was a major success.

The South African National Commission for UNESCO was established by Cabinet Decision no. 9 of 1996 after South Africa re-joined UNESCO in 1994, and placed under the auspices of the then Department of Education. The Commission promotes, coordinates and monitors the implementation of the objectives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in the fields of Education, Natural Science, Culture, Social and Human Science, and Communication and Information.