The Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT) has been providing networking, information and training services to Southern African civil society organisations (CSOs) since its inception in 1987. SANGONeT's mission is to be a facilitator in the effective and empowering use of information communication technology (ICT) tools by development and social justice actors in Africa.
As one of very few CSOs in Southern Africa dedicated to providing ICT services to the local CSO sector, SANGONeT will organise 5 one-day SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forums during 2003, called Thetha, which will focus specifically on the role and relevance of ICTs to CSOs. Thetha is a Nguni verb meaning let's talk, discuss, debate, share opinion/ideas and engage each other. The objectives of Thetha - The SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forum series will be the following: - To highlight and promote the practical benefits and opportunities provided by ICTs to Southern African CSOs; - To provide Southern African CSOs with an opportunity to reflect on the impact of ICTs on their work and to share lessons and experiences of common concern. The forums will focus specifically on the ICT challenges facing the CSO sector, highlighting and promoting practical benefits, opportunities and lessons learned to date. It will provide an opportunity to both CSOs which are ICT-enabled, as well as those organisations which are considering introducing ICT solutions to their work, with an opportunity to discuss issues of common concern and learn from one another's experiences. The first Forum will be held on Thursday, 27 March 2003 (14h00- 17h00), at the Parktonian Hotel, 120 De Korte Street, Braamfontein. The theme of this forum will be "ICTs for Development in South Africa - Challenges and Opportunities". Speakers will include the following people: - Keynote - Andile Ngcaba, Director General, Department of Communications - Government - Jack Shilubane, Government Chief Information Officer, Dept of Public Service and Administration - Private Sector - Hasmukh Gajjar - Past President of Black Business Council and Black Information Technology Forum and Current Chief Executive Officer of Consilience Technologies - Academic/Research - Luci Abrahams, Director, LINK Centre - Civil Society - Dumisani Hlophe, Sunday Times Political Editor The objective of the first forum will be to provide participants with a broad overview of current ICT policy and related initiatives in South Africa. If you are interested in participating in the first Forum, please contact Malefu Thibedi at SANGONeT before 24 March 2003 on: Tel: (011) 838-6943 Fax: (011) 492-1058 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Participation in the Forum is free of charge. For more information on Thetha - The SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forum, please contact Eric Muragana, SANGONeT's Media Coordinator at - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - or visit the SANGONeT website at - http://www.sangonet.org.za "Come Thetha with us" ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
