Geneva — Responsible governance means leadership that balances accountability, transparency, and purpose in a world facing profound uncertainty and change, going beyond compliance or risk management, says South African ethics expert Liezl Groenewald.
Groenewald, the chief executive of the Ethics Institute, was one of the main speakers at the Global Ethics Forum 2025 in Geneva, which concluded on Oct. 10, and spoke to All Africa after the meeting.
“Responsible governance today also means embracing adaptability and courage. Traditional governance frameworks were built for stability, yet our times demand agility and foresight,” said Groenewald.
Another South African speaker at the conference was Carike Noeth, Southern Africa Regional Manager at Globethics, the organisers of the three-day discussions titled, “Responsible Governance, Ethical Leadership, Shared Responsibility.”
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Noeth works to assist in ethical or moral decision-making through education and training, and ethical consulting.
In July, Globethics was named a WSIS Prizes Champion 2025 by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) for its project Amplifying the Voice of the Global South for Ethical Knowledge and Education in the Information Society.
Gronewald said, “Traditional governance frameworks were built for stability, yet our times demand agility and foresight. Boards and executives must be willing to challenge outdated norms, question short-term incentives, and confront uncomfortable truths about their organisation’s impact.
Speakers at the event concurred that ethics is not an option—it is the foundation of trust and transformation.
Over three days, leaders from business, civil society, academia, and faith communities across 39 countries explored how to embed integrity in decision-making, drive accountability in governance, and reimagine leadership for the common good.
Opening the forum, Globethics president Dietrich Werner said that responsible governance is “what this world desperately needs.”
“We have seen unprecedented measures in conflict and tensions, of violence and contradictions in the past months,” said Werner.
“We live in times of disruptive changes in which technological revolutions based on new forms of artificial intelligence are changing every dimension of life.”
Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s Victoria Hurth, co-author of “Beyond Profit: Purpose-Driven Leadership for a Wellbeing Economy, drew on her work with ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation.
She works with Kenyan changemakers and spoke on the need for “purpose-driven” leadership and governance in shaping a future that serves both people and planet.
Calls were made for ethical business models, stronger civic participation and transparent public institutions, as the conference members reaffirmed that responsible governance begins with ethical courage — in every sector.
– Southern Africa’s complex mix
“In South Africa and across southern Africa, the landscape of governance and compliance reveals a complex mix of progress and persistent challenge,” Goenewald told All Africa.
“On paper, the frameworks are strong — South Africa’s King IV Report (and soon to be released King V Report), for instance, sets a high bar for corporate governance and ethical leadership.”
The South African King Code is a globally respected corporate governance framework that guides organizations on ethical and effective leadership.
“In practice, implementation often falters under the weight of corruption, uneven enforcement, and political influence,” said Groenewald.
In her speech, Noethe said, “Until governance frameworks are implemented,” in the way envisaged by conference speakers and all the leaders are onboard to be “purpose-driven…ethical dilemmas will still exist, especially in organisations.”
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Asha Singh Kanwar, a Globethics board member who works with UNESCO’s Institute for Information Technologies and Education, said that while AI offers extraordinary opportunities for transforming education, it also poses several challenges.
“There is already a widening AI divide—according to ITU (International Telecommunication Union), there are 2.6 billion people who still do not have access to the internet,” she said, noting that many of them are in Africa.
“AI is causing major disruptions and leading to new directions in all aspects of our lives. We are confronted with major questions: Are we shaping AI, or is AI shaping us? Are we exacerbating existing inequalities in our society, or are we using AI to create a fairer future for all?”
