UKZN doctoral student Melissa Sibanda has won the national BRICS Debate Championship and will now represent SA at the international finals in Moscow, Russia, in December.

Sibanda will compete against national champions from the other BRICS founding countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China. The winner of the international championship will receive a fully sponsored academic exchange at a university of their choice in a BRICS country.

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A PhD student in the Discipline of Geography, Planning and Housing within the School of Social Sciences, Sibanda’s research examines the disproportionate burden on women in informal settlements living without reliable, affordable energy.
She is also an Academic Development Officer in the College of Humanities, where she supports students’ academic growth and development.

Her academic journey began at UKZN, where she completed both her undergraduate and master’s degrees.
The 29-year-old said her interest in the BRICS Debate was sparked by an opportunity funded by the College of Humanities Research Office to attend the 3rd BRICS Research Institute Conference in China in 2024.

“I went in as a housing researcher and came out convinced that the questions I care about, such as poverty, gender, energy and how cities are built globally, are exactly the ones being negotiated in multilateral spaces. It reinforced, for me, the importance of the Global South setting its own terms, rather than simply inheriting someone else’s,” she said.

With an urge to contribute to those conversations rather than merely observe them, Sibanda applied for the open call for the BRICS Debate in March this year.

In preparation, she immersed herself in the history, structures and institutions of BRICS, while examining the political and economic interests of its member states and debates around reforming global governance.

“That tension is precisely the debate’s theme: whether BRICS reforms global governance or reproduces existing inequalities,” she added.

Her strategy for the finals is to remain composed and think clearly under pressure.

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“This is what the national rounds have taught me, and I intend to carry this with me,” she said.

Sibanda also plans to listen as carefully as she argues.

“To represent South Africa well doesn’t require out-talking anyone; instead, it calls for engaging seriously with their positions while maintaining my own evidence-based perspective with clarity.”

Dr Normah Zondo, Executive Director of the Corporate Relations Division at UKZN, congratulated Sibanda, saying her achievement is a proud moment for UKZN and a powerful reflection of the calibre of its students and staff.

“We congratulate Melissa on this outstanding achievement, which reflects not only her intellectual ability and confidence, but also the global perspective and critical engagement that we seek to cultivate in our students. Her success demonstrates the value of rigorous scholarship, informed debate and the ability to engage with complex global issues with clarity, evidence and purpose.

“We are particularly proud of the way Melissa brings her academic knowledge to bear on issues with profound consequences for communities, including poverty, gender inequality, energy access and the development of cities across the Global South. In doing so, she demonstrates how scholarship can extend beyond the classroom to contribute meaningfully to the conversations shaping our shared future,” said Zondo.

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