As part of this state mission to South Africa, the Rector of the University of Namur took part in a round table on social entrepreneurship in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen. Various speakers from the field presented the numerous initiatives carried out in South Africa to support these entrepreneurs in the service of their community and to stimulate youth entrepreneurship in a country heavily impacted by youth unemployment. Academic speakers from the University of Pretoria as well as the Rector of the University of Antwerp and the Rector of the University of Namur offered insights from their research and proposals for integrating social entrepreneurship into the university's missions.
The state visit focuses on three cities: Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town. The royal couple is accompanied by the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib, the Ministers-Presidents of Wallonia, Elio Di Rupo, and the Brussels-Capital Region, Rudi Vervoort, as well as the Flemish Minister of Finance, Matthias Diependaele. A large delegation of business leaders and representatives of the academic world, including the rector of UNamur, Annick Castiaux, are also present.