ICT industry body, the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA), has named new office bearers for the 2019/20 financial year.
The new leadership team was announced yesterday at the organisation’s annual general meeting, with Thabo Mashegoane elected as president and board chairperson, while Admire Gwanzura was named vice-president.
Prior, Mashegoane was the institute’s vice-president.
Karel Matthee was re-elected to take up the duties of honorary treasurer, while Moira de Roche and Pearl Pasi were re-elected as non-executive directors of the institute.
Ulandi Exner, outgoing president, thanked IITPSA members, board and CEO, Tony Parry, for contributing to her personal and professional development during her nine years as an IITPSA member and four years as president.
“You cannot buy what I have learnt in this time – it’s priceless,” she says. She adds that the IITPSA Special Interest Group events were a particularly important benefit of IITPSA membership and urged members to participate in these events.
“That one hour that you attend could change your life – it changed mine. I met Tony Parry at an industry event nearly a decade ago, which led me on this remarkable shared journey with the IITPSA professional community,” Exner notes.
Commenting on his appointment, newly-elected president Mashegoane says: “This demonstrates the confidence vested in me from members and the board to lead IITPSA in this era of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).
“My plan is to take IITPSA closer to the communities in which we operate, have our professionals at the centre of 4IR through participation and to make IT professionalism fashionable.”
According to Mashegoane, promotion of ICT needs to start from elementary education level with practical innovation technologies and solutions being showcased to people.
“We also need professionals to play a role of ambassador in order to promote and give guidance to the uninitiated.
“We find ourselves in a scenario where our youth unemployment is very high, and there’s an introduction of the 4IR. This poses both a risk to further marginalise those who don’t have access to technology and jobs, or an opportunity to break the mould. ICT has a lot of potential to improve the plight of South Africans and, in my view, is equivalent to mining in the 19th century,” he concludes.
ICT industry's professional body
IITPSA is a professional body recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority.
Established in 1957 (as the Computer Society South Africa), the institute aims to further the study, science and application of ICTs; maintain and promote codes of conduct and ethics for its members; define and promote standards of ICT knowledge; promote the formulation of effective policies on ICT and related matters; and extend the knowledge and understanding and usage of ICTs in the community.
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