Rinchi
TechInAfrica – Digital Economy Summit (DES) held on July 5th at Gallagher Convention Center in Midrand, South Africa. It was broadcasted live via holographic projection to the Rustenburg Civic Center in the North West, hosted by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) and North West local government in collaboration with Vodacom and Nokia.
Addressing keynote speech at the summit, President Ramaphosa talked about the 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution) and how to provide citizens with skills to thrive in a digital society.
As part of SA’s 4IR efforts, the president has given the mandate to the DCDT to lead the initiative, appointing a 30-member commission on assisting 4IR policies, build a framework for the implementation of a multi-sectoral 4IR strategy, as well as monitor and evaluate 4IR initiatives to bring SA as a competitive global player in 4IR.
During DES, SA also launched the Fourth Industrial Revolution South Africa (4IRSA) which is a collaborative initiative between DCDT, Telkom, Deloitte, Huawei, Vodacom, and the universities of the Witwatersrand, Fort Hare, and Johannesburg.
Speaking of DES, the event brought together all key players to share insights and build plans regarding 4IR strategy. The two-day event aims at seeking and stimulating national action plan among industry, labor, academia, public sectors, and society.
Besides the president, other speakers at DES were Dr. George Friedman, Prof. Adam Habib, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, and officials from Telkom, Huawei, and Huawei. The event featured sessions on key themes, such as competitiveness, concentration, and inequality; the future of work and jobs, society, state, and citizens; opportunities; critical success factors; as well as the 4IR in the economy.
Source: itweb.co.za
