B20/M20 dinner address by Dr Kirston Greenop, Head of Corporate Citizenship at Standard Bank Group

Programme Director, members of the fourth estate, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen – as we say in South Africa, all protocol observed.

As Standard Bank Group, we are delighted to be part of SANEF’s M20 Summit and my role this evening is to deliver our message of support.

We thank SANEF for the invitation to join this momentous event bringing together a cross-section of media, civil society and parties interested in upholding media freedom.

We meet at a pivotal time in a year of great significance for South Africa and Africa as we lead the Presidency of the G20.

The G20 Presidency has provided a great opportunity to drive key initiatives across various sectors. None is likely to be more important than the media and its freedom.

As Africa’s largest bank by assets, Standard Bank Group is actively involved in ensuring the success of the G20 Presidency. We are a Lead Sponsor in B20 South Africa, the business dialogue platform that supports the G20.

Similarly, we have a long-standing relationship with SANEF and we deliberately do our best to support media across the spectrum.

It is no secret that the world of media is facing many existential threats, and the work of truth-telling is becoming highly contested and increasingly challenging.

This is why we welcome the opportunity to play a small part in ensuring that this M20 Summit takes place and is a success.

This year’s M20 Summit aims to position media integrity and sustainable journalism as critical components of the G20 agenda while reflecting on global conversations about interconnected challenges like sovereign debt and climate change, among others.

I have every bit of confidence, having seen the exciting agenda that you and your fellow participants will tackle the various discussions and engagements with these three themes in mind.

Though there is no silver bullet to solving the challenges the media undoubtedly faces, gatherings like the M20 Summit reaffirm the view that the media here does not stand in isolation in working to address these challenges.

The global order that followed the end of WW2 was built on the understanding that one hand washes the other and that there is greater strength in standing in unison.

This Summit is a prime example of that foundation.

Thank you for making the journey on a Sunday evening, and more importantly, thank you for the work that you do.

I wish you everything of the best for the Summit and look forward to engaging this evening.

Thank you very much.