Global South Academic Forum

Why do Global South nations lack true independence in the digital era? Mr. Xiong Jie argues that the foreign extraction of data value strips away national sovereignty. His answer is 'digital sovereignty' – reclaiming control over data, securing digital infrastructure, and building independent digital capabilities. #2025GSAF Watch the full video here:youtube.com/watch?v=qwOrwW…

Why is one of the world's largest agricultural producer facing widespread hunger? MST (Landless Workers Movement) coordinator Tuíra Tule argues that Brazil's export-driven agribusiness model deepens social inequality rather than development. Her answer lies in 'popular agrarian reform' – democratising land access, defending food sovereignty, and advancing a people-led agroecological transformation. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=B-sntt…

Is the perceived 'chaos' of the Global South actually the key to a more democratic world? Professor Yin Zhiguang from the Department of International Politics at Fudan University argues that the diversity and dynamism of the Global South are not signs of disorder, but a rejection of the 'end of history.' #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=e3Xfqn…

Is data extraction the 'smartest theft of the 21st century'? Mr Kambale Musavuli argues that the Global South must unite to secure their digital and resource sovereignty in the face of concentrated power in big tech. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=kyeFXM…

Is the battle for AI sovereignty eroding national independence? Mr. John Pang warns that weaponised US trade agreements are stripping the Global South of its digital sovereignty and handing control to foreign powers. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=o-U-zk…

In a moving tribute at the 2025 GSAF, this performance honours the legacy of those who guided us through the 'mountain fog' of history – a poetic pledge to carry forward their dreams and strive towards the 'golden age' they once envisioned. youtube.com/watch?v=_VB-ID…

The Global South Academic Forum (GSAF) and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research convene three distinguished economists to examine alternatives to Western-dominated economic frameworks and chart pathways toward a multipolar economic order. youtube.com/watch?v=TCPCJv…

Is Trump's military strategy pushing the Korean Peninsula towards war? Ms. Hwang Jeong-eun argues that rising US demands on allies – from defence spending to arms purchases – are deepening economic strain and intensifying the 'war crisis' on the Korean Peninsula. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=_vf_U2…

Is the unresolved state of the Korean War the primary obstacle to decolonisation in East Asia? Professor Kim Dong-choon analyses how this conflict – referred to by some as a 'functional substitute' for World War III – entrenched a global Cold War order and allowed colonial atrocities to go unreckoned. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=vZl-mR…

Can decades of U.S. militarism and the recurring cycle of broken agreements on the Korean Peninsula finally come to an end? Professor Kang Jeong-gu argues that the decline of U.S. hegemony offers a historic opening for North-South cooperation to forge a new era of independence, peace, and reunification. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=ipThOj…

Is a 'community of no war' the only way to prevent a 'Taiwan contingency' in East Asia? Mr. Ogata Osamu examines the dangerous militarisation of Okinawa and the Southwest Islands, where missile bases are being deployed in alarming proximity to residential areas – highlighting the wider risks such tensions pose to regional peace. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=zBee4B…

Can a unified anti-imperialist movement in East Asia challenge escalating military tensions in the region? Mr. Zang Ruxing explores the struggle against 'Taiwan independence,' alongside broader anti-war, anti-colonial, and anti-imperialist struggle across Japan, Ryukyu, and South Korea – aimed at resisting the 'China threat' narrative and U.S.-led military expansion. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=rtd0JZ…

Can a 'natural bond' rooted in shared historical memory redefine the future of the Global South? Prof. Huang Renwei explores how China’s transition from a semi-colonial society to a leading developing country offers a unique reference for alternative paths to modernisation grounded in sovereignty and cooperation.youtube.com/watch?v=v9I-Oh…

Can history education provide the 'cognitive anchor' that South Africa needs to navigate its future? Professor Naledi Nomalanga Mkhize explains how developing a Global South historical consciousness helps the 'born-free' generation bridge the memory gap and takes a conscious role in shaping the country's future. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=72kTtl…

Can Southeast Asia secure the technological capital it urgently needs to thrive in a shifting multipolar order? Gita Wirjawan, former Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, explores the strategic value of joining BRICS, the vital role of technological capital allocation from China, and why strengthening the rule of law is essential for the Global South to turn uncertainty into identifiable risk. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=xmqzmI…

Can the Global South navigate a world divided among superpowers to find its own financial independence? Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr., former Vice President of the New Development Bank (NDB) and former Executive Director of IMF, explores the decline of Western hegemony, the rise of a multipolar order, and why institutions such as the New Development Bank must break free from Western capital market constraints. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=zBs9gs…

Professor Oleg Barabanov analyses Russia's strategic alignment with the 'Global Majority,' reflecting on the historical legacy of the Bandung Spirit and Soviet support for decolonisation. He argues that non-Western institutions must move beyond symbolic gestures towards practical financial cooperation and independent agendas to effectively counter external economic pressure. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=NVuO1A…

Juliane Furno explores the emergence of a multipolar global order driven by the Global South, examining how the weaponisation of US dollar hegemony constrains developing nations – and why de-dollarisation and currency multipolarity are vital for this transition. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=z7VOIt…

Sanja Horvatinčić revisits the often-forgetten solidarity between Yugoslav and Chinese revolutionaries, exploring how shared anti-fascist struggles and experiences in liberated territories shaped a lived internationalism among ordinary people – and why recovering these histories matters today. #2025GSAF Watch the whole speech here:youtube.com/watch?v=rdbkE9…

U.S. and Israel strike Iran, but what is this really about? Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, argues there is "nothing here about nuclear." As tensions rise, the question grows larger than one battlefield. What is the U.S.'s real purpose? Tune in. #Iran #Israel #US #MiddleEast