The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is determined to make its annual conference, GovTech, the greenest ICT conference in Africa this year.
In line with the values of the South African government, SITA adopted sustainable event management principles and an overall green sensitivity in the execution of all SITA events. At its premier event, GovTech, SITA has continually raised the bar in its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and lower waste, achieving ever-higher rating on the green scoreboard.
"This year, we are aiming for a platinum ranking," says Lucky Mochalibane, SITA's Head of Department, Corporate Communication and Marketing. "Last year, we achieved a high gold ranking but missed out on platinum, so this year we are stepping up our efforts to curb unnecessary travel and food waste among others, to make the grade and to position GovTech 2016 as the greenest ICT conference in Africa."
One important carbon reduction step has been to move GovTech to Gauteng for the first time. With a limited number of provinces equipped to host an event on the scale of GovTech, the event has traditionally been held in Durban or Cape Town.
"However, we noted that the majority of the participants, including the delegates, were from Gauteng. Therefore they had to travel to KwaZulu-Natal or the Western Cape, plus they had to use rental cars to travel around the host cities," he says. "We felt this added to the environmental burden of those communities. By bringing GovTech to Gallagher Estate, we will reduce the amount of travel required by delegates. We will also encourage delegates to make use of public transport and walk, where possible."
Another traditional greening effort is to donate trees to communities where GovTech takes place. "Not only are trees the green lungs of any community, they also add to the aesthetics and a form a vital part of any ecosystem," says Mochalibane.
The environmentally friendly practices do not end at greening initiatives, however. GovTech continually strives to ensure that a 'reduce, reuse, recycle' approach is taken throughout the planning and execution of the conference. With food waste a challenge at any major conference, GovTech's organisers will this year focus their attention on confirming exact numbers of delegates to reduce food waste. The success of the effort will once again depend on the understanding and cooperation of the participants. In the past they never disappointed.
GovTech's approach to corporate social responsibility also extends to community engagement and development. For several years, the conference has left a legacy of new school ICT labs in its wake, as well as offering empowerment opportunities to ICT students.
Mochalibane says GovTech works with the Department of Basic Education and other government stakeholders to identify a deserving school each year, and equips it with a new, connected ICT lab in collaboration with its industry partners. "For the past five years, we have built and equipped an ICT lab at a school in the community where GovTech is hosted. This year, a school in the Midrand area will be the beneficiary of this initiative."
In addition, GovTech extends the learning and networking benefits of the conference to a group of ICT students from tertiary institutions in nearby communities. Mochalibane says: "As part of our community outreach, we give ICT students selected by their institutions an opportunity to attend this prestigious event. These students have an opportunity to network with and learn from the best minds in the industry. They also contribute to discussions across the various tracks. In debriefing sessions, we have found that many of them secure internship or learnership opportunities during the event, as well as benefiting from what they escribe as an 'eye opening' experience."
Register here for GovTech.
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