Fast forward to digital Africa 2030. 

2020 ended on an optimistic note for the Institute, as we partnered with two leading IT industry events which reminded us that there is life beyond the pandemic we are currently grappling with. Indeed, we are on the threshold of a new decade, which we hope will become the defining moment for African digitisation.

 

IITPSA partnered with AfricaCom and AfricaTech, anchor events of the new Africa Tech Festival, which was held online from 9-12 November. The event drew over 12,000 registered attendees to consider crucial issues such as connecting the next billion, digital skills and education, and digital tools for empowerment across the continent.

The IITPSA also partnered with the IDC South African Government Congress on 25 November, where thought leaders and government officials engaged on a digitally transformed public sector to drive development and public service.

 

These events again brought home the fact that we have only 10 years left to 2030. We will need to fast track efforts to achieve the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which, among other things, seeks to bridge the digital divide and harness technology to address major global challenges such as poverty, climate change and conflict. The African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy (2020 – 2030)reminds us that we will have to work together across the continent to reap the benefits of the 4IR and ensure that nobody is left behind.

 

To achieve the goals we set ourselves for 2030, we will have to collaborate across industries, across countries. We will have to conduct our work with the greatest integrity, for the good of all. And we will have to move quickly: we have a great deal to accomplish in the next decade.

 

Thabo Mashegoane
IITPSA President & Board Chairperson