8 July 2013

The annual event organised by Telecom Namibia since 2007 will be held this year at the Safari Hotel in Windhoek on August 7 to 8, 2013.

This year’s summit is anchored on the theme “ICT – New Horizons”. The theme has been designed keeping in mind the great need for focusing on issues where industry can play a greater role in nation building, create an enabling social and business environment that will impact not only job creation with multiplier effect but also has bring technologies to schools, government agencies and businesses to help them to become socially and financially inclusive and globally competitive.

Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Honourable Joel Kaapanda, is billed as Guest of Honour of the Summit, which brings together key policy makers, Government functionaries, private sector, industry leaders, academia, media and other key collaborators in the ICT sector.

The two-day event would have a galaxy of speakers deliberating on a range of issues that are of importance to Namibia and Namibian ICT sector at the present moment.

Experts will speak on improving ICT ecosystems in the country, updates on developments in the ICT sector, the opportunities, challenges, broadening ecosystem, future trends and projections for the sector and to deliberate on the future course of action to catalyze the current opportunities and carve out a future growth path through a vision / roadmap for the ICT sector in Namibia.

The importance of this event also stems from the participation of a number of ICT companies working in Namibia such as: XON, Cisco, AVM, IBM, Torque-IT and Schoemans. These companies are showcasing the latest trends in ICT products and services in addition to benefits that Namibia could reap to reach a prominent rank in this industry.

“Six national ICT summits were held in the past have been resounding successes and so this year's gathering envisions following through and building on the excellence we have established in previous summits,” said Oiva Angula, Senior Manager: Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Telecom Namibia.

“Telecommunications in Namibia – and ICT by extension - is turning to be an Essential Service that ensures smooth functioning of citizens’ daily lives and businesses, helping them to become socially and financially inclusive and globally competitive. It is now evident that by building communications’ infrastructure and services, the overall and inclusive development of the country is accelerated,” Angula further said.

The summit being a much awaited flagship event of Namibian ICT sector, over 800 participants from the industry across the country are expected to attend the Conference at Safari Hotel in Windhoek.

8 July 2013

The Economist Businesswomen Club (EBC), a non-profit organisation for women in Namibia, launched the 16th cycle of the Namibian Businesswomen of the Year Award at a Press conference in Windhoek on 2 July 2013.

Sponsored by Telecom Namibia and Castle Breweries, the awards honour and celebrate women who have excelled in their fields. It also aims to inspire and encourage the future generation of women leaders to achieve their true potential and advance their status in the society.

EBC said that nominations are open and registration forms can be obtained from the Namibia Economist offices; it will be printed in the newspaper, or it can be collected from the regional offices of the Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI). Anyone who is associated with or knows an individual who meets the criteria can nominate that person as a candidate. This includes spouses, employees, bankers, small business agencies, attorneys, accountants and business consultants.

The awards will feature overall winners in the categories of business owner, private and corporate sector, community and Government, plus a special category, the Young Business Women. Winners of each of the first three categories automatically become eligible for the Namibian

Businesswoman of the Year Award.

Speaking at the launch of the awards, Oiva Angula, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications and Public Relations, said: “The awards are about celebrating and recognising the amazing contribution that women have made and continue to make to business and community life in our country.

“As a senior manager at Telecom Namibia, I have seen and experienced the power of a woman, as women in our company are playing a huge role and bring a much wider range of people skills and determination to the business to achieve strategic objectives and bottom line results. They are indeed making a fundamental contribution to the success of Telecom Namibia as employees in their various capacities.”

Angula added, “Our advice to all Namibian women is – enter these awards no matter what you do and no matter what the size and capacity of your business, as you have plenty to gain and nothing to lose. Participation in these awards will certainly only add further to your profile and marketability.”

Telecom Namibia and Castle Breweries have sponsored the awards N$79 000 and N$70 000 respectively.

6 May 2013

The 8th eLearning Africa conference will be held from 29 – 31 May at the Safari Conference Centre in Windhoek, Namibia.

The Namibian Government is reported to have budgeted N$5 million for the conference, which will be hosted by Namibia's Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Ministry of ICT. Up to 2000 delegates and 300 speakers from 50 countries are expected to attend the event, which will focus on trends in e-learning.

Namibia’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology Joel Kaapanda, said the conference theme is "tradition, change and innovation", which will examine experiences, projects, policies, partnerships and research that are shaping the continent's e-learning landscape.

The eLearning Africa 2013 Survey report will also be launched at the conference.