Professor Thuli Madonsela

Professor Thuli Madonsela

Director of the Centre for Social Justice(CSJ) in the Faculty of Law at Stellenbosch University and the Law Trust Research Chair Professor of Law in Social Justice Studies

Professor Thuli Madonsela has been on the judging panel for the past 10 years. The former Public Protector of South Africa and full-time commissioner on the South African Law Reform Commission is currently the director of the Centre for Social Justice in the Faculty of Law at Stellenbosch University, and a professor of law occupying the Law Trust Research Chair in Social Justice at the university.

She founded the Thuma Foundation for Democracy Leadership and Literacy, and is a member of the African Academy of Sciences. She was recently appointed to the UN Scientific Advisory Board and as chairperson of Cities Alliance, a global partnership fighting urban poverty. Additionally, Prof Thuli enjoys international recognition, including having being named one of Timemagazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2014, and being the recipient of more than 70 awards.

She believes it is often entrepreneurs who think outside the box and who contribute to solving problems in society.

What Prof Thuli will be looking for: ‘I’m looking for a woman who is building a just world that she’d want to live in. She also needs to be an environmentally conscious problem-solver who is leveraging technology, digitalisation and artificial intelligence to improve current and future life.’