South African left-wing organizations, led by South African Communist Party, will gather at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg from May 29 to May 31, 2026, for a national Conference of the Left with the slogan “Building a Left Movement for Working-Class and Popular Power.”
Steering Committee of ‘Conference of the Left’ shares a statement
The Conference of the Left has a steering committee that oversees the conference and plans all of its preparatory activities. The preparatory process for the conference commenced in February 2026, while the concept of the conference originated by various left-leaning organizations at least six years prior as part of a shared discourse that sought to establish strategic coherence among progressives in pursuit of the vision of transformation and change.
The steering committee has shared in their statement, “The Conference of the Left seeks to unite the forces of the left in constructing and crystallizing a shared campaign-based program that advances the objectives of the total liberation of the oppressed, the emancipation of the working class, the transformation of our society, and the reversal of neoliberal policies that have rolled back our national progress. The conference seeks to develop a concrete campaign framework shared by organizations of the left, with the objective of deepening the unity of the working class, revitalizing its activism, and articulating a unifying medium-term agenda based on the objective demands of the working class.
The conference is not an attempt to undo the existing organizations of the left nor undermine their work; it seeks, rather, to create a framework to coordinate, elevate, and strengthen their work through a common platform and common program. The conference serves as a forum for equals within the left, founded on mutual respect and an understanding of the diverse and varied nature of the terrain of struggle where the working class pursues its struggles. The diversity of terrain of struggle strengthens the capacity of the working-class forces and creates an effective division of labor.
From struggles on the shop floor, where workers fight for a living wage in deteriorating working conditions, to those in communities where the working class claims concrete power in decision-making as part of the agenda for the transfer of power and democratization of society from below, the working class will utilize the conference to organize itself, unite, and consolidate its program. The conference does not seek to create new political parties out of it, as suggested by a few of its critics.”
The conference will consist of various organizations, including social and community organizations, social and community formations, youth and student formations, environmental justice organizations, research and education organizations, solidarity economy organizations, left-leaning and progressive legacy organizations, international working-class and socialist organizations, public intellectuals, and individuals who are aligned with the left.
Plenary speeches and response sessions, conference commissions, plenary presentations, debates, and the adoption of a shared resolution that will serve as the foundation for a forward-looking program of action are all scheduled to take place during the three-day conference.
A total of 14 political parties, 14 trade unions, 3 trade union federations, 20 social and community organizations, 4 organizations in the solidarity economy sector, 5 legacy organizations, and 11 international solidarity organizations have registered for the Conference of the Left.
The work of the conference is available for viewing, contributions, and further registration on this website: www.leftconferencesa.co.za.
The steering committee of the conference will hold a pre-conference media briefing on Thursday, 28 May, as well as the post-conference press briefing on Sunday, 31 May.