A Flux Trends Salon presented by Bronwyn Williams

9-11am, Thursday the 21st of May, W17, Johannesburg

Sovereignty

“You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration, when integration becomes the source of your subordination.

The multilateral institutions on which the middle powers have relied – the WTO, the UN, the COP – the architecture, the very architecture of collective problem solving are under threat. And as a result, many countries are drawing the same conclusions that they must develop greater strategic autonomy, in energy, food, critical minerals, in finance and supply chains.”
~ Mark Carney, Canadian Prime Minister, 2026

If there is one word that sums up 2026 so far, it is sovereignty. Who has it. Who does not. Who wants in and how to get it.

Will your business survive the oil crunch? What food shortages will the fertiliser shock perpetuate? Do you have enough saved up for that rainy (or protracted drought) day? Do you have enough reserves to ride out the AI “Cambrian Explosion” (and inevitable extinction event)?

Nations, businesses, families and individuals are (rightly) questioning their dependence on actors outside of their (your) control.

For individuals, sovereignty means financial independence from increasingly uncertain single income sources.

For families this means squirreling away enough savings and getting off grid, enough to withstand economic whims and environmental winds of change.

For businesses it means shifting from “just in time” logic to “just in case” reality, diversifying supply chains and working on plans B-Z at the same time as trying to execute on plan A.

For nations it means, like Mark Carney said, it means securing fertilizer, food, oil, energy for your citizens – and untangling yourself from dependence on privately-owned cloud computing and foreign capital and infrastructure lock-ins.

For everyone, this means taking on more personal risk and more responsibility. (But also, hopefully, a greater share of the rewards of your own efforts)

In this new Flux Trends keynote by futurist and economist Bronwyn Williams unpacks what business leaders need to understand about their own sovereign risk as realpolitik takes an interest in the real economy.

Discover:

• The “4M’s” of sovereignty – and how to take control of each layer in your own stack
• How geopolitics, monetary economics, infrastructure dependencies and “meme warfare” are taking an interest in YOU and your lunch, even if you are not interested in them
• The technological, social and political signals and trends you should be watching right now
• Understanding the choke points, convergence points, lock ins and leverage points of the current “game” and how to defend yourself 
• Where AI, stablecoins and electro-states come into the picture
• Why leaders must find a balance between sovereignty, solidarity and dependence 
• The specific African opportunities and threats within the new world disorder
• Your own “defensive business” game plan to face uncertainty with confidence 
• And how all these socio-economic, geopolitical, and technological trends are converging to disrupt YOUR world of banking, finance, and business – and what you can do NOW to protect your own sovereignty (and revenue streams) in the new “post rules” world order.

This talk is designed for business leaders, investors, policy makers, NGOs, journalists, and professionals who need to lead with confidence to take advantage of slim windows of opportunity into a highly contested and competitive future.

About Bronwyn Williams

Bronwyn Williams is a futurist, economist, business trends analyst and a strategic foresight advisor with UNDP executive office. Bronwyn is the co-author of The Future Starts Now, published by Bloomsbury UK (2020), Rescuing Our Republic, published by TMP (2022), and The Future, published by NB Publishers (2023), Survive the AI, published by Penguin South Africa  a columnist for leading business, finance, and technology publications and a well-known global keynote speaker and media commentator on future trends and economic trajectories. 

Bronwyn’s educational credentials include tertiary qualifications in Foresight (University of Manchester), Future Studies (University of Stellenbosch), Theology (RHEMA), Marketing and Business Management (University of Johannesburg), and a Masters in Applied Economics (University of Bath). She guest lectures at leading business schools, including GIBS, Henley, The Royal College of Arts, Parsons Design School, and Stellenbosch Business Institute, and is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists, a volunteer with the Millennium Project, an advisor at the Lifeboat Foundation, a board member of the CSIR, and a Strategic Foresight Advisor with the UNDP.