Name: Khanya Burns‑Ncamashe

Position: G20 Coordinator

Pronouns: She/Her

Khanya Burns‑Ncamashe is a scholar-activist and researcher whose work focuses on democratic development, youth participation, and social justice. Her work addresses fundamental questions about democracy in post-apartheid South Africa, while also developing innovative organizational systems and managing teams that implement transformative campaigns. She holds a Master of Social Science in Political and International Studies from Rhodes University, with research grounded in black intellectual history and historical reclamation. Her work bridges policy, grassroots organizing, and civic participation.

Khanya has experience in international organizing through her work with the Africa Drive for Democracy, a pan-African initiative aimed at reimagining and deepening democracy across the continent. She has collaborated with various embassies and development agencies to support democratic renewal and promote a more equitable and just society. She currently leads a civic initiative based in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which focuses on increasing youth engagement in democratic processes, advocating for electoral reform, and building a politically conscious generation through organizing and research.

Previously, she worked with Iliwa Consultancy, a youth-led African feminist research and strategy firm, contributing to projects on gender justice, participatory governance, and inclusive public policy. This work also gave her the platform to contribute to feminist research on Women Military Veterans who participated in South Africa’s armed struggle, collaborating with leading African feminist scholars and authors.

A published writer and public commentator, Khanya has authored opinion pieces in the Mail & Guardian and other platforms, writing on inequality, coalition politics, democracy and governance, and youth participation. She has been featured across national media, including radio and television interviews on SABC, SA FM, Newzroom Afrika, eNCA, and Umhlobo Wenene FM, speaking on democratic renewal, public participation, electoral reform, and political education. Through her facilitation, policy work, and civic engagement, Khanya continues to champion a vision of justice, equity, and active citizenship in South Africa.

As the G20 Coordinator, Khanya leads Fight Inequality Alliance’s international organizing efforts around the November 2025 G20 People's Summit, coordinating events, global campaign pushes, and political strategy. She will help shape media and digital work, build civil society alliances, and represent the movement in key initiatives, including the People’s Summit.