Global South Africans is a project to enlist the talent, experience and credibility of South Africans living abroad, permanently or temporarily, to help realise the promise South Africa demonstrated in the “miracle” of 1994 and reaffirmed with our successful hosting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

By becoming part of the GSA network, you are saying you want to act as a “brand ambassador” for the country. You believe in South Africa, love the place and want to help us reach our full potential for the benefit of all our people and the continent of which we are part.

The project is the brainchild of South Africa’s Brand South Africa, a small publicly-funded agency that acts as custodian of Brand South Africa and whose mission is to help stakeholders, public and private, tell South Africa’s story in a credible and compelling manner.

The World Cup has done much to break down stereotypes about South Africa and to demonstrate that, in spite of a number of very real challenges, we deserve a place on the A-list of emerging market economies. We need to build on the reputational momentum the World Cup has given us and on what the Cup has done to bring our nation and our diaspora together.

South Africans living or travelling abroad will very often be the first point of contact and reference for people overseas whose judgements and decisions have a profound impact on the fortunes of our country. Global South Africans can show the world what South Africans are made of, why we are worth investing in and partnering with and how we can help find creative solutions to the gamut of the world’s problems, from poverty to climate change to inter-communal and regional conflict.

1994 was not a miracle but an expression of South Africa’s DNA. It was not a fluke that South Africans played a significant behind-the-scenes role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland, not to mention Burundi and other parts of Africa. Nor is it entirely serendipitous that a South African born innovator is helping NASA privatise space launch while developing the first commercially viable electric car, right after inventing the payment system that revolutionised online commerce.

If you would like to know more about or be part of the Global South Africans project and our online network, please click here to drop us a line or click on the Ask a question button to the right.

You might also consider joining the newly launched Global South Africans group on LinkedIn.