Having meaningful, constructive, and respectful debates with those with whom you don’t agree is sometimes hard to find. But that is what Kedibone Ndweni experienced when she attended the South American Business Forum (SABF) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to the third-year Education student it was refreshing to engage in this manner with her peers and with prominent international leaders from around the world.

Top 100 students selected

Ndweni and fellow Kovsie Jared Sukdaven, a final-year BCom Law student, were part of the group of 40 leaders and 100 students from around the world who attended the 13th SABF with the main topic Chasing a Shared Purpose. The only other South African in attendance was Lisa Combrink from the University of Stellenbosch.

The SABF is a nonprofit organisation created in 2004 by students from the Instituto Tecnolo´gico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) and aims to create a space for dialogue and exchange between current leaders and today’s youth. Students are selected according to essays they write, along with their profiles.

Meeting people from different backgrounds

Ndweni enjoyed the dialogue, from 3-5 August 2017, between present and future leaders the most. “I’d say being able to get to know people from so many different backgrounds and with such varied viewpoints was without question the best part,” she says.

The essay she wrote was titled “Reality Gap”. In her concluding remarks she said: “We have to work together to ensure that we eradicate the misconceptions which exist about higher education in poor communities. That way we will assist a lot of learners to overcome their reality gap. Let each one reach one. That way we will be able to reach every learner in our country.”

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