Tenth ICT4D Conference To Focus On Impact For Development Sector. Takes Places In Lusaka, Zambia, 8 – 10 May 2018
By Zambian Developmental Media Alliance (ZADEMA)
Lusaka, Zambia, 18 April 2018: ICT4D Conference 2018, the largest event of its kind for the humanitarian development sector, this year aims at mapping out to the path for technology to make the maximum impact on improving humanitarian relief and development work.
President Lungu with Dr Christine Mwelwa Kaseba-Sata as Zambia’s new Ambassador to France
This 10th conference brings together over 600 ICT experts, programme managers and senior executives from 80 countries, from NGO staff to academics, technology business leaders, governments and UN agencies. The importance of the conference for Africa and beyond is reflected by the honour of Zambia’s President, H.E. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, being expected to deliver the welcome address.
“Simply put, our goal is to use technology as a tool to improve our programmes, whether in health, agriculture or emergency response, and to reach the most isolated communities; to take effective technology over the last and hardest mile,” said Michele Broemmelsiek, Vice President of Overseas Operations with Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
CRS is the Lead Organising Partner for the conference, the first of which it founded in Nairobi in 2010. The other Conference Partners are NetHope, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), DAI Global Health, the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), ICRISAT (Int. Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), iMerit Technology Services, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), SOS Children’s Villages, UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), UNESCO Chair in ICT4D at Royal Holloway University, and World Vision International.
“Whether it is digital mapping to accurately pinpoint the vulnerabilities of communities to flood and other natural disasters, or data capture to guarantee the distribution of vital health tools like mosquito nets, we are already using tech to make global development more dynamic,” said Broemmelsiek, “but we can do more and we can learn from each other’s experience and bring ICT use to scale. That is our purpose in coming together.”
The results of a major survey on the use, impact and challenges of ICT in the development sector will be announced at the conference. The survey results are also expected to inform the three-days of presentation, discussion and networking.
Among the groups confirmed as speaking at the plenary session are Facebook, the World Food Programme (WFP), Gartner Executive Programs, SAP Africa, The Great African Food Company, Farm Drive, Radiant.Earth, and USAID. The conference offers six parallel conference tracks on Agriculture, Health & Nutrition, Livelihoods & Education, Humanitarian Response, Digital Financial Inclusion, and Collaboration & Openness in ICT4D. Plus there will be a post-conference ICT4D Training Day for anyone wishing to further develop their technical or programme design skills.
Among the major exhibitors at the conference will be John Deere who will be featuring a tractor display and demonstration.
For more information, go to ICT4DConference.org
Media Contact:
Andrew Chinambu
Tel: 0977 564689
Kind regards,
On behalf of ICT4D
The 10th ICT4D conference is led by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), an international charity, and is organised together with a Partner Consortium of other
charities, UN agencies and private sector. The conference looks at the use of IT technology for development and humanitarian aid programmes and brings
together leaders in international and regional NGOs, government agencies, UN and donor organisations, the private sector, academia and the media.
On 8-10 May 2018, the ICT4D Conference will return to Lusaka, and take place at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre, with over 1,000 attendees
from over 50 countries, representing about 300 organisations, and with 20 exhibitions and 6 parallel breakout Conference sessions.
