Accra, February 23, GNA- Ghana will host the 12th Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) conference in Accra this March.
Scheduled from March 19 to 20, with training workshops on March 18 and 21, the conference founded by Catholic Relief Service and a consortium of ICT experts will bring together a community of professionals and learn from each other on how to apply rapidly evolving digital technologies to accelerate the end of poverty, hunger and preventable disease.
A statement signed by Mr E. Maaweh Tanga, a Communication Development professional and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said the ICT4D Conference was a dynamic interdisciplinary gathering of about 600 inspirational leaders and thought-provoking speakers from public, private and civil society organizations from across the humanitarian and international development community.
“The global conference explores how Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) and data innovations are making a measurable difference to the lives of millions of people and increasing the impact of humanitarian aid and development projects.”
He said the conference aims to promote global knowledge sharing and capacity building on ICT4D and digital development to promote a more effective use of technology for good.
“Highly interactive and hands-on, the conference attracts a diverse audience of technical advisors and senior executives from renowned global companies and organizations who are passionate about discussing innovative solutions to emerging global challenges.”
Mr Tanga said the agenda of this year’s conference would focus on three main themes. The theme ‘Digital to Tackle Wicked Problems’ which highlights the important role of digital and collaborative solutions in tackling socially complex, sometimes contradictory and often changing problems.
“This theme highlights key issues such as food security and agriculture. Climate change adaptation & mitigation. Digital health? Conflict, peace building, social cohesion. Youth engagement and employment. Digital inclusion? and Digital Cash’.
He said the theme would also include multiple sessions focused on innovations in using geospatial data for development and humanitarian outcomes and how the latest advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning could be applied for social good.
The third theme, “Local Leadership for a Digital Future” will feature discussions highlighting opportunities and approaches for building responsible, sustainable and local digital institutions. Much of the focus will be on digital public goods and digital public infrastructure, as they are increasingly recognized as essential for societies to reap the benefits of digital transformation.”
The local partner, he said, was the Ministry of Communication and Digitization (MOCD) the official partner of the Government of Ghana for the 2024 ICT4D Conference.
Bringing together a mix of local expertise from all public services and specialized agencies and ministries, MOCD coordinates the full participation of Ghana’s public sector actors to enrich the conference and highlight the theme of local leadership. MOCD is a key partner in the local organizing committee of the conference.”
He said that as the Ministry is tasked with leading Ghana’s digital transformation and digitization of public services, MOCD was strategically placed to coordinate with CRS and their partners to deliver a colorful and exciting event this year.
“The ministry is expected to share Ghana’s record of successfully developing policy initiatives that have significantly impacted many sectors of the economy, such as the introduction of Mobile Money interoperability, the first of its kind on the African continent at the time.” .
The event was first held in Ghana in 2013. Since then, it has toured the world and introduced a virtual session in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the statement, Nora Lindström, Senior Director of ICT4D at Catholic Relief Services (CRS), said: “Every year I am amazed by the incredible examples of how the responsible and effective use of technology and data allows us to increase our impact in scale. I am particularly excited about the upcoming Conference as it will bring together the global ICT4D community in person after a long time.”
GNA