Government’s annual technology conference GovTech will make its return as a hybrid event next week, following a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hosted by the State IT Agency (SITA), in partnership with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, the in-person segment of GovTech will be held at the Durban Exhibition Centre in KwaZulu-Natal from 13 to 15 September.

This year’s conference will be held under the theme “Digitisation and Digitalisation – Evolving Government Services”, with various government officials, including ministers from across the African continent in attendance.

Furthermore, the three-day conference will also welcome more than 2 500 delegates, consisting of ICT experts, governmental decision-makers, SMMEs, as well as public and private sector stakeholders from the ICT sector, according to a statement.

During the course of the conference, delegates will share their vision, knowledge, experience and expertise on digitisation, digitalisation, and other topics critical for the acceleration of digital transformation and service delivery in Africa, it states.

Molatlhegi Kgauwe, acting MD of SITA, says through innovation and SMME development, digital technologies open up new avenues for economic prosperity, innovation, job creation, and service access and the more SMMEs are exposed to these infrastructures, the wider the net of opportunities is cast.

“Besides people, infrastructure is the bedrock and the backbone of a country. The synergy between infrastructure development and information technology is critical to enable rapid progress, to leverage opportunities, and to provide solutions to the country and nation’s most pressing challenges.”

Now in its 14th-year, the conference has evolved over the years to become a premiere ICT conference, networking platform, and a hub for strategic ideas, to address the developmental and growth challenges in the country.

The GovTech 2022 conference will be structured in various tracks and topics as well as panel and roundtable discussions, providing conference delegates the option to participate in different streams and contribute towards reshaping the ICT agenda in Africa.

As the digital world grows bigger, through cyber security, the governments have to ensure that citizens can conduct business, communicate, and interact in a safe, agile, flexible and secure environment, states Kgauwe.

“Ultimately the aim is digital inclusion and collaboration to enable the continent – wide connectivity and solutions, and to provide skills and service delivery to all so that Africa, and indeed South Africa, is positioned as a leader of service delivery in the fourth industrial revolution.”

Tlali Tlali, Head of Corporate Affairs at SITA.

Tlali Tlali, Head of Corporate Affairs at SITA, says: “GovTech is a unique platform for pan-African public service decision makers to engage and discover new solutions and approaches to tackling our continent’s challenges and improving the lives of the citizens. As we move ever-faster in the 4IR, collaboration will become increasingly important for the African continent if we are to successfully harness emerging technologies and take our place in the global digital economy. Collaboration is necessary across borders and among sectors – including public sector, private sector and academia. Therefore, collaboration will be an overarching theme at this year’s GovTech.”

To register for the conference, click here.