Hosted by the Government of Tanzania through the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Supported by the European Commission and African Union Commission and Technical Co-Sponsored by IEEE, IST-Africa 2012 will take place from 09 - 11 May 2012 in Dar es Salaam.
Part of the IST-Africa Initiative, which is supported by the European Commission under the ICT Theme of Framework Programme 7 (FP7), IST-Africa 2011 is the seventh in an Annual Conference Series which brings together senior representatives from leading commercial, government & research organisations across Africa and from Europe, to bridge the Digital Divide by sharing knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and good practice and discussing policy related issues.
IST-Africa 2012 will focus on the Role of ICT for Africa's Development and specifically on Applied ICT research topics addressing major societal and economic challenges, which is part of the European Commission's Information Communications Technologies (ICT) Theme of FP7. The Conference Programme combines strategic keynote presentations, technical and policy papers, case studies, workshops, an exhibition and social activities.
IST-Africa directly supports the goals of the Africa-EU Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space, the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST) and the Consolidated Plan of Action for the African Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE).
In the context of focusing on the Role of ICT for Africa's Development, the Opening Plenary on Wednesday 09 May will feature a high level dialogue on Implementation of the Africa-EU Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space. The Closing Plenary on Friday 11 May will focus on Initiatives Supporting Development of Regional Science, Technology and Innovation.
Tanzanian researchers, government officials, SMEs and relevant NGOs who are working in the area of applied ICT and do not have projects to support their participation are invited to apply for a Waived registration fee. Please fill out and submit the application online before 20 April. The number of waived registration fees to be offered will depend on available resources. Please clearly state why you should be supported and specify ongoing ICT initiatives being undertaken.
The Joint Expert Group (JEG8) for the 8th Africa-EU Strategic Partnership for Science, Information Society and Space is being hosted by the Government of Tanzania through the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology in association with IST-Africa 2012.
The JEG8 Meeting will be officially opened on Tuesday, 08 May from 09:00 - 11:00am, followed by two parallel tracks focused on Information Society and Space from 11:30 - 18:00:
- IST-Africa Living Labs Thematic Working Group Meeting (organised by the IST-Africa Initiative)
- GMES & Africa Workshop (organised by BRAGMA)
The IST-Africa Living Labs Thematic Working Group Meeting is participatory in nature and requires participation for the full day (11:30 - 18:00). Pre-registration is required as part of IST-Africa 2012 Conference registration.
The Scientific Programme for IST-Africa 2012 is based on an open Call for Papers which closed in late November 2011.
The Final Programme consists of two plenary sessions and 48 parallel sessions featuring over 180 presenters from government, commercial and research organisations in 39 countries.
Confirmed plenary speakers to date include:
- H.E Mohammed Gharib Bilal, Vice President of Tanzania
- Honourable Prof. Makame Mbarawa, Minister of Communications, Science and Technology
- Dr. Florens Turuka, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology
- Dr. Hassan Mshinda, Director General, Tanzania National Commission for Science and Technology
- Moctar Yedaly, Head of Information Society Division, African Union Commission
- Kostas Glinos, Head of Unit GEANT & e-Infrastructures, DG Information Society and Media, European Commission
- Enrico Strampelli, Head of Operations, European Delegation, Tanzania
- Ambassador Sinikka Antila, Embassy of Finland, Tanzania
- Ambassador Lennarth Hjelmåker, Embassy of Sweden, Tanzania
- Prof Luis Magalhães, European Co-Chair of the Africa-EU 8th Partnership, Portugal
- Dr Rached Hamza, DG, CERT & African Co-chair of the Africa-EU 8th Partnership
- Prof John S Nkoma, Director General, Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority
- Mr Jerome Morrissey, CEO, GESCI, Kenya
- Dr Jyrki Pulkkinen, Senior Adviser, Information Society & STI for Development, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
- Prof. Samuel Wangwe, Executive Secretary, Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA), Tanzania
- Mr Anthony Maduekwe, Program Specialist, UNESCO, Tanzania
- Jussi Hinkkanen, Vice President, Corporate Relations and Business Environment, Nokia Middle East and Africa
- Catherinerose Barretto, KINU, Tanzania
- Ms Fadila Bougahemi, International Relations, DG Research, European Commission
- Moses Bayingana, ICT Expert, Information Society Division, African Union Commission
- Kristiina Lahde, Chief Technical Advisor, TanzICT Programme, Tanzania
- Philippe Dongier, World Bank, Tanzania
- George Mulamula, DTBi, Tanzania
The goals of the IST-Africa Conference Series are Community Building to facilitate EU-African research cooperation and successful exploitation of research results, to stimulate take-up of RTD results by industry, Small and Medium Sized Businesses and the public sector, to promote knowledge sharing between commercial organizations, government agencies and the research community, to exchange experiences about the current state of eAdoption at a sectoral, national or regional level, support International Cooperation and open up the European Research Area (ERA) to Africa.
The IST-Africa Conference will provide a collegiate setting for presentations and discussions of national and regional developments, issues of concern and good practice models. It will also provide an excellent networking environment for delegates to discuss problems, share knowledge, obtain feedback, and learn more about opportunities to participate in ICT Calls under Framework Programme 7 (FP7).