President’s Welcome Address at the ICSD Africa Branch’s Inaugural Colloquium—When Crises Collide: Social Development Responses to Intersecting Crises in Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa, 14–15 March 2023

Good morning, social development scholars and distinguished participants! Prof. Leila Patel, former founding director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa and South African Research Chair in Welfare and Social Development; Prof. Kammila Naidoo, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg; Prof. Abye Tasse, Chief of Mission, Expertise France, the Republic of the Congo; Prof. Tanusha Raniga, South African Research Chair in Welfare and Social Development; and Prof. Lauren Graham, Chair of the ICSD Africa branch and Director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a real honor and privilege to be here in midst of you and extend my warm welcome to you as the president of the International Consortium for Social Development. Before I speak about the International Consortium for Social Development, I would like to share with you why my presence today at this event is very special to me. This inaugural Colloquium of the ICSD Africa is very special to me for two reasons. First, this inaugural ICSD Africa Branch colloquium is a historic event in the life of the International Consortium for Social Development. The ICSD has an European Branch and an ICSD Asia-Pacific Branch, which regularly hold biennial conferences to share and promote knowledge of social development in their respective regions. Both for ideological and practice reasons, ICSD was very keen to establish an Africa Branch to serve the same purpose. In 2021, the 22nd ICSD biennial conference, “poverty, inequality and social development: innovations around the world,” was organized by the Centre for Social Development in Africa, the University of Johannesburg. During this conference, the establishment of ICSD Africa Branch was announced and office bearers of the branch were elected. These are Prof. Lauren Graham as Chair; Dr. Lorraine Botha, a Parliamentarian from South Africa; Dr. Edson Munsaka, Zimbabwe;