Ariane De Lannoy and Vimal Ranchhod participate in the international Future of Social Mobility conference in Chile
Image: Representatives of partner organisations including Laura Hemrika and Nathalie Jean-Baptiste (both from the Julius Baer Foundation) and Ariane De Lannoy (from SALDRU). Credit: Julius Baer Foundation.
At the beginning of December 2025, the international conference The Future of Social Mobility, organised by COES (Centro de Estudio de Conflicto y Cohesión Social) with support from the Julius Baer Foundation, convened in Santiago, Chile. The gathering brought together leading thinkers, researchers, practitioners, and philanthropic partners from across the globe to explore persistent challenges and emerging opportunities for social mobility.
SALDRU’s deputy director, Ariane De Lannoy, and SALDRU’s director, Vimal Ranchhod, played active roles throughout the event. Over the two days, Prof. De Lannoy facilitated a keynote conversation, participated in a panel on well-being, and presented on her work, highlighting the longer-term, locally-grounded support required alongside national, structural reforms to meaningfully enable upward mobility among youth. Her contribution drew on lessons from South Africa’s Basic Package of Support for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Professor Ranchhod’s presentation focused on the theme of persistent inequality in post-apartheid South Africa. His talk highlighted the ongoing spatial segregation in South African cities by race and income, and showed how the legacies of the Group Areas Act remain entrenched to this day. This in turn leads to contemporary social and racial stratification by income and wealth. The presentation was based on ongoing work with Arindam Jana, some of which was presented in detail in the November edition of the SALDRU newsletter.
The conference as a whole was extremely stimulating. Across a programme spanning educational barriers, economic and geopolitical volatility, environmental transitions, and the importance of understanding the lived reality of mobility as neither linear nor uniformly positive, there was the consistent commitment to rigorous empirical inquiry paired with constructive, action-oriented dialogue to enable change.
The presentations and roundtable discussions conveyed a real understanding of the depth of structural inequality, balanced with optimism about the change that is possible. Participants highlighted the value of interventions tailored to context, of research-informed social protection mechanisms, and of “patient philanthropy” that supports a longer-term view on social mobility. Find more about the conference here.