Oliver Tambo Lecture with Tladi Ditshego
John J. DeGioia
President of Georgetown University
requests the pleasure of your company
for an Oliver Tambo lecture by
Tladi Ditshego (C’91)
Research fellow at the Georgetown University
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
on
The Importance of Oliver Reginald Tambo
in the 21st Century
followed by a conversation with
Lahra Smith
Associate Professor and Director, African Studies Program, Georgetown University
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
5:00 p.m.
Copley Formal Lounge, Copley Hall
Reception to follow
Georgetown University
37th & O Streets, NW, Washington, D.C. 20057
ABOUT TLADI DITSHEGO
Tladi Ditshego (C’91), a research fellow at the Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, is the current chairman of the board of Merchant West, an asset finance holdings company in South Africa, as well as an Independent Director of the YWBN Mutual Bank, which has just been given a license by the South African Reserve Bank. Both companies are based in Johannesburg. He has extensive experience in corporate leadership and investment management and a demonstrated dedication to social and economic development. Ditshego has previously served as the chairman of Export Credit Insurance Company of South Africa. He has also served as the chief executive officer of the J&J Group, a South African investment management company, involved in the Gautrain—the high-speed express commuter rail system that links OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. He was the international affairs coordinator of the African National Congress during Nelson Mandela’s presidency. During that time, he managed the writing of Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom (1994), working closely with writer Richard Stengel, the then-deputy managing director and editor of Time. He holds an M.A. in international relations with a functional concentration in development economics from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. from Georgetown University; he also completed the Executive Development Program from Wits University Business School and a Development Finance Certificate from the Development Bank of Japan.
ABOUT THE OLIVER TAMBO LECTURE
The Oliver Tambo Lecture at Georgetown University, instituted in the leader’s memory after his 1987 speech on our campus, constitutes an important forum for the exploration of current issues on the African continent. Previous speakers include President Thabo Mbeki, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, South African Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel, South African activist and educator Mamphela Ramphele, and scholar and theologian Charles Villa-Vicencio.