The Southern African NGO Network (Sangonet) will host its first annual ICTs and Civil Society conference and exhibition in Johannesburg early next year.
"Although many local conferences these days focus on ICT-related issues, very little dedicated attention is given to the relevance of ICT to the civil society organisation (CSO) sector," says David Barnard, executive director at Sangonet.
"The objective of the conference is to contribute to ICT awareness-raising in the sector, and to expose CSOs to both ICT policy and practical issues."
Barnard says the critical challenge facing many CSOs today relates to their capacity to make a fundamental contribution to finding long-term and sustainable solutions to southern Africa's development problems.
"Strengthening of CSOs' capacity for service delivery increasingly requires that attention be given to their ability to use, manage and implement ICT. Although many southern African CSOs are already active users of ICT, much more needs to be done to build the capacity of the sector," he says.
The conference will provide an opportunity for CSOs that are ICT-enabled and those that are looking into it, to discuss critical issues of common concern and learn from one another's experiences.
The conference is aimed at senior staff and technical employees in the CSO sector, as well as individuals who work with these organisations, including international funding agencies, the private sector and the government. About 300 people are expected to attend the event.
"An important aspect of the event is the ICT exhibition that will run concurrently with the conference. The exhibition will provide CSOs and ICT service providers with an opportunity to showcase their ICT products and services.
"The aim is to expose participants to a wide range of ICT products and services - software, hardware, mobile and connectivity, among others - and to plan certain practical sessions around the types of products and services available in the exhibition area," says Barnard.
The event will be held from 1 to 3 March at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways, Johannesburg. For more information, click here.
To register, contact Anelja de Bok from Go Girl Events at (011) 326-4379 or anelja@gogirlevents.co.za.
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