The Department of Communications will from 4 to 7 June host its first ever ICT Indaba conference in Cape Town.
President Jacob Zuma will address the Gala Dinner on 5 June, while Communications Minister Dina Pule will deliver the Opening Address.
The hosting of the ICT Indaba, in partnership with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is a United Nations Agency looking after the ICT sector, will require government’s collective effort across various Departments, and industry stakeholders with an over-arching vision to position South Africa as a leader in harnessing ICTs and technology diffusion for socio-economic development. This will also secure South Africa’s emergence as a critical player in the global knowledge economy.
World leading companies, such as MTN, Vodafone, Telkom SA, and many others will also be involved.
It is an African focused international ICT conference that will identify the challenges and seek solutions to capitalise on the potential of the ICT sector to bring about long-term socio-economic development. This will be a platform that will provide dialogue amongst the world’s ICT experts focusing on the developing and underdeveloped conditions including utilisation of technologies to enrich lives of people in these conditions.
The Indaba feature leading ICT enterprises, industry experts, and government representatives from Africa and other parts of the world who will formulate an African Agenda to use the ICT sector as a primary tool for promoting economic and social development on the continent.
The Indaba will have a series of workshops, panel discussions and presentations from renowned international and regional experts and stakeholders. It will also showcase futuristic and advanced inventions, new technologies, products and services adapted to the African context.
It will take place against the backdrop that Africa and its people are increasingly becoming the next target market for international stakeholders to invest their technology and inovations. The Department of Communications will host the Indaba annually for the next five years.
The conference aims to:
• Gather key stakeholders to create a continental agenda and approach to expanding the growth of the ICT sector.
• Establish a singular networking platform for like-minded industry leaders committed to propelling Africa into the 22nd century through technology.
• Host African ICT and new technologies leaders to build a strong critical mass and adopt a common position towards the international community on ICT and technology-related matters.
• Introduce new technologies and enable African corporations and institutions to leapfrog their competitiveness based on their utility.
• Accelerate the development of a knowledge-based economy with a strong focus on job creation in the country and across Africa.
• Strengthen and increase international alliances to benchmark from and leverage on existing innovations to promote technology transfers.
• Offer a unique platform for global innovators to showcase their products and to gain access to the most promising market in the world, Africa.
• Leverage on South Africa’s strong ICT infrastructure for the benefit of the continent and showcase innovative technologies to benefit strategic sectors for African economies i.e. Infrastructure, Extractive Industries, Agribusiness, Health, Education Business and Enterprise.
• Increase access, use and affordability of ICT and technology to a broad-base of urban and rural populations.
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