The EA Summit: South Africa will take place on Saturday, October 11th, 2025 in Cape Town. This one-day effective altruism (EA) event brings together 100 individuals across South Africa who want to make a meaningful difference in the world.
After our successful inaugural event in 2024, where attendees went on to launch high-impact organizations, start new EA groups across Africa, and secure funding for meaningful projects, we're back for our second annual summit.
The summit connects people from diverse backgrounds who share a commitment to evidence-based approaches to address pressing global challenges and creating meaningful change. We'll cover key cause areas including global health and poverty alleviation, AI safety, animal welfare, climate change, and more.
The summit welcomes people who are already working or interested in social impact and solving global challenges, and would like to learn more about EA. Whether you're completely unfamiliar with EA or just beginning to explore the community, this summit offers valuable opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals, explore high-impact career paths, and discover concrete ways to maximize your positive impact.
Who should attend
The summit prioritizes attendees based in South Africa to build the local community and strengthen connections across the region.
This event may be for you if:
You work or study in the social impact space and are looking for a community of like-minded individuals: You might be a student exploring career options, a professional considering a career change, or someone already working on important causes - in areas like public health, development, environmental work, social justice, policy, or nonprofit management - who wants to learn about evidence-based approaches to maximizing impact.
You've heard about effective altruism and want to learn more: If you've encountered EA through friends, online content, or introductory programs and want to deepen your understanding, this summit will help you take your next steps and connect with experienced practitioners.
You represent an organization focused on impact: Organizations aiming to share their work, connect with like-minded peers, or find talented individuals who care about making a difference.
You're part of the EA South Africa community: Existing community members who want to guide newcomers, share their expertise, and help build the movement in South Africa while increasing their network!
Whether you're early in your impact journey or further along and looking to support others, we'd love to see you!
Application process
Applications are now open! Here's what you can expect:
Complete a short application (~5-10 minutes): We'll ask about your basic questions about background, and any engagement with effective altruism or related work.
Application review: Our team will review your submission and get back to you within 10 business days.
Register to confirm attendance (~10 minutes): If accepted, you'll receive a registration link to confirm your place, provide dietary requirements and logistics details, and sign up for our stewardship program.
If you're interested but unsure whether this event is right for you, we encourage you to apply anyway!
Application closes on October 9th, 2025.
Ticket options
We charge a small fee that serves more as a commitment fee to encourage attendance:
- General admission: R50
- Student: Free
- Supporter: R200 or more (for those who want to contribute extra support)
If the fee is a barrier, you can reach out to us at hello@effectivealtruism.co.za for a fee waiver. Volunteers also attend for free but offering to volunteer will not impact your likelihood of acceptance to the summit.
Program
The day includes introductory talks on EA and key cause areas like animal welfare, AI safety, and global health & development, plus skill-building workshops on career strategy. You'll have opportunities to connect through speed friending sessions, cause-specific meetups, and office hours with speakers. We'll also host an opportunity fair featuring organizations. The summit wraps up with closing remarks at 6pm, followed by an afterparty.
You can view the draft program here (subject to change). Full event details will be available in the Swapcard app closer to the summit. Swapcard also makes it easy to connect with other attendees, and many find these connections to be one of the most rewarding outcomes of the conference.
Travel support
Travel support is available but limited, and we can only accommodate some requests. You can apply on this link. We may not be able to cover all of your travel expenses, and approval depends on available funding rather than an assessment of your potential for impact.For questions about travel assistance, please contact us at hello@effectivealtruism.co.za.
What is the stewardship program?
A key feature of the summit is our stewardship program, where we connect people newer to the community (fellows) with more experienced members (ambassadors). This ensures that newcomers receive guidance from someone who can help them navigate career decisions, cause prioritization, and next steps in their EA journey.
Ambassadors are matched with fellows based on interests, career stage, and areas of expertise. Each ambassador-fellow pair will have a 1-on-1 conversation during the summit, creating meaningful connections that often continue beyond the event.
Contact us
If you know someone who might want to attend the summit, please share this event with them and encourage them to apply! Email us at hello@effectivealtruism.co.za with any comments, suggestions, or questions that are not answered in the FAQs.
Follow us
You can expect further announcements about the event on Effective Altruism South Africa LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook!