Techno experts connect in Pretoria
The IST-Africa 2006 conference and exhibition features 120 presentations on information and communication technology research by speakers from 34 countries. The event opened yesterday and is billed as an opportunity to understand better the issues that affect the adoption of technology in Africa, and also to discuss research co-operation.
The conference and exhibition is supported by the European Commission’s Information Society Technologies programme and is expected to become an annual event.
Speakers include Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena, Venâncio Massingue, his counterpart from Mozambique, and Heikki Tuunanen, the Finnish ambassador to SA. Companies present include Hewlett-Packard, SAP and Microsoft.
The speakers will share their knowledge, experiences and lessons learnt while conduction research into e-business, e-government, e-health, and distance learning projects. There will also be tutorials highlighting opportunities to participate in international research funded by the European Commission.
Mangena said the conference was a valuable platform to promote technology research cooperation between African and European partners.
It would strengthen SA’s close science and technology partnership with the European Union, and would help to harness the immense potential for information and communication technology innovation to promote sustainable development and fight poverty in Africa, Mangena said.
Ingo Juraske, a vice-president of Hewlett-Packard, said sub-Saharan Africa was one of the company’s fastest-growing markets. "While some might be overly concerned by the continent’s many challenges, HP sees the enormous potential and the innovation imperative that these very challenges create," he said.
INet-Bridge
Loading ...