Gulshan Khan is a South African photojournalist and visual artist whose work explores identity, humanity, memory, and justice. She aims to build a more just world through sincere storytelling that reflects people’s experiences. A former stringer for Agence France Presse (AFP), she became the first African woman regularly assigned by the agency in 2017.

A National Geographic Explorer and the first female South African Canon Ambassador, Gulshan has received numerous accolades, including the 2020 HIPA Emerging Photographer award and being named one of the “100 Heroines” in 2019. Her work, published in National Geographic, The New York Times, and The Guardian, is part of the Iziko South African National Archive. She is developing a long-term project on the history of South Africa’s first Muslims, focusing on themes of slavery, exile, survival, and love.

Jeremiah Mntonga started as an actor featured in national commercials. He founded a video production company to provide financially accessible high-quality videos for NGOs. To accomplish this, Jeremiah used stock footage. Recognizing a gap in authentic African content on international stock footage platforms, Jeremiah transitioned to building Africa’s go-to stock footage platform. His platform empowers musicians, videographers, and photographers to be remunerated for licensing their content across multiple use cases.

Mashabela Galane, a Wits University graduate in dramatic arts and media studies, is an accomplished artist and professional comic. Known for his healing humor, he mirrors the health benefits of Moringa, offering relaxation, endorphin release, and immune support through laughter.

Growing up in the impoverished Mmotong Kgohloane village in Limpopo, South Africa, Mashabela’s resilience and humility were shaped by his environment. Just as Moringa thrives in poor soil, he thrived in difficult circumstances, leading a life herding cattle and finding inspiration in the humble, yet beneficial, Moringa plant.

Muhammad Dawjee is a musician, composer, architect & scholar from the so-called indian apartheid group-area, Laudium, on the western outskirts of Pretoria. Primarily a saxophone player – Muhammad sees improvisation as a research process. He takes a particular interest in the identities of South African brown people(s) by using music and sound to unearth complex stories of colonial subjugation, migration and pursuit of liberation through dialogue. Since relocating to Johannesburg in 2015, he has cofounded the indo-jazz trio Kinsmen, served as a resident member of the pan-Afrikan septet iPhupho L’ka Biko and toured internationally with the acclaimed experimental performance-art ensemble The Brother Moves On (TBMO). As an architect and scholar, he co-led Unit 19 with Tuliza Sindi, a research unit focused on ideology, mythology and space at the Graduate School of Architecture (GSA), University of Johannesburg, from 2019 to 2021.

Nonkululeko Mntambo is a researcher and co-founder of AfroManifesto. AfroManifesto is a non-partisan, pan-African digital archive of political manifestos emerging from the continent. Responding to the wide gap between people and information in Africa, we are dedicated to providing access to the voices and visions of the political parties that shape the continent.

Ntsikelelo Mzibomvu, a 2023 Social Impact Africa Advocacy Award winner, is a visual artist, author, and transformation coach with over 12 years of experience as a keynote speaker. He wrote “Reimagining Myself – A Journey of Personal Transformation and Entrepreneurial Thinking” and facilitates the Reimagining Myself Master Class, empowering participants with personal transformation tools. He also contributed to the fatherhood memoir “A Father, A Stranger,” featuring notable figures like Mike Teke and former president Jacob Zuma.

As a visual artist, Mzibomvu explores functional masculinity and men’s mental health through his drawings and paintings, sparking dialogue on relationships, parenting, spirituality, finances, and health. He recently participated in a 645km charity walk to raise funds for children without school shoes and promote active fatherhood.

Sipho Mnguni is a creative professional, poet, and social activist. He is the author of “FURY – The Roar of a Lioness” (2021), and his work integrates themes of cultural revitalization, environmental stewardship, and education.

Through his organization, Breathing Ink Literary Trust (BILT), he helps artists become entrepreneurs, promoting the fusion of creativity and commerce for economic empowerment.

Inspired by the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) and Pan-Africanism, Mnguni advocates for a unified cultural identity and collective economic empowerment. He believes in the importance of remembering our heritage and strives to make a lasting impact on society through activism, entrepreneurship, and the arts.

PALESTINIAN ARTIST, ZAIN ABU DAQQA – From Gaza, 15 year old singer and songwriter, we can add up to 4 performance pieces from him. He has music videos that can be screened behind him so we see the translation of the Arabic. Mo is a Saxophonist and could also possibly play … Think you can set a meeting perhaps with all panellists as soon as you have confirmed them.