- Rhodes University will host the “Aluta Continua” symposium on 17 and 18 August 2026 in partnership with the Samora Machel Foundation, the Africa Centre for Memory and Imagination and the Open Society Foundations.
- Keynote speaker Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi will be joined by Graça Machel, Samora Machel Jr, Mavuso Msimang, Professor Heike Becker and Professor Kwandiwe Kondlo.
- The programme combines historical reflection, Pan-African debate, youth engagement, archival exhibitions as well as poetry and music performances.
Rhodes University will host a major Pan-African symposium on 17 and 18 August 2026 examining the legacy of Samora Machel and the unresolved questions of Africa’s liberation project.
The two-day gathering, titled ‘Aluta Continua: Samora Machel, Liberation Movements and the Unfinished Decolonial Project’, will take place at the Eden Grove Complex. The symposium is being organised in partnership with the Samora Machel Foundation, the Africa Centre for Memory and Imagination and the Open Society Foundations.
Organisers say the discussion will move beyond commemoration to focus on the contemporary relevance of Machel’s ideas on social justice, anti-imperialism, education, cultural liberation, popular participation and Pan-African solidarity.
The symposium is expected to draw about 100 participants from South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, creating what the university describes as a regional platform for intergenerational and Pan-African dialogue.
Ndlozi delivers keynote, Graça Machel among key speakers
The programme brings together leading political, intellectual and civil society figures from across the region.
Scheduled participants include Graça Machel, Samora Machel Jr, Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, veteran liberation activist Mavuso Msimang, Ambassador Sikose Mji, Advocate Oyama Mabandla, Professor Heike Becker, Professor Kwandiwe Kondlo and Open Society Foundations executive Brian Kagoro.
The opening day will feature welcoming remarks by Rhodes University leaders, a keynote address by Ndlozi, and a panel on Samora Machel and Southern Africa’s liberation featuring Graça Machel, Msimang and Becker.
The afternoon will focus on African youth and imagined futures, followed by author conversations with Ambassador Sikose Mji, Ruth Mantile, Peter Present and Oyama Mabandla. The day will end with a gala dinner and a performance by the Timbila Orchestra.
Decolonisation and Pan-African futures
The second day will shift attention to memory, reparations, women combatants and Pan-African futures. Sessions will include discussions on memory and restitution, the erasure of women combatants, Machel’s Pan-African principles and the archiving of liberation histories.
Participants include Brigadier General (Retired) Lulu Siwisa, Professor Kwandiwe Kondlo, Professor Aurélio Jambe and other scholars from Southern Africa.
The programme also features poetry and spoken-word performances as well as a discussion on a Declaration on Decolonial Futures.
Organisers say debate must move beyond commemoration
Rhodes University says the symposium is meant to be more than just an academic conference or anniversary event. The university says the gathering creates a space where history, scholarship, public debate and contemporary African thought come together.
This setting allows participants not only to remember the liberation struggles that shaped the region, but also to debate the kind of Africa those struggles aimed to create.
The organisers frame the central question as whether the liberation project is finished and what the next generation should do with its unfinished legacy.
They also highlight the significance of holding the event during a period marked by major regional anniversaries, including the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Women’s March, 65 years since the start of the armed struggle and 50 years since the 1976 Soweto student uprisings.
The symposium will include historical poster exhibitions, photography and archival displays, spoken-word performances and intergenerational engagements between liberation veterans, scholars and young people.
Nomfundo Xaluva is scheduled to perform at the closing reception on 18 August.
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