SANGONet's Executive Director will be speaking in Washington about Mobilizing for Development: Civil Society and ICTs in Southern Africa

Event 17 of 146

IREX Speaker Series: Technology Serving Civil Society Presents

David Barnard, Executive Director of the Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT)
on Mobilizing for Development: Civil Society and ICTs in Southern Africa

When: November 13, 2008, 12:30 - 2:00 pm
RSVP by November 10 to: techseries@irex.org or call Swathi at (202) 628-8188, x140
Light lunch will be served


For ICT development expert David Barnard, mobile phones are about more than making calls. Mobile technology is fast becoming a way to make a difference in the development of Southern Africa and the broader African continent. Barnard's organization, SANGONeT, recently organized the MobileActive08 Summit in Johannesburg. The rapid proliferation of mobile phones in Southern Africa presents opportunities to raise HIV/AIDS awareness, teach basic math, link farmers with produce purchasers, and disseminate agricultural techniques. Barnard will talk about not only the potential of this tool, but his experience in applying it to Southern Africa's challenges. He will also share his knowledge of the broader trends that have shaped ICTs role in the region's development, including socio-political factors, the NGO sector, and the ICT environment.

Founded in 1987, the Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT) enhances the effectiveness of Southern Africa's civil society organizations by helping them integrate information communication technologies (ICTs) into their daily efforts. Closely linked to South Africa's transition from Apartheid to democracy, SANGONeT is one of the few ICT NGOs in Africa and continues to serve civil society and promote regional development. The presentation will highlight SANGONeT's role in an ever-changing ICT and development landscape in Southern Africa.

Barnard is the Executive Director of SANGONeT, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. His areas of expertise include the roles of the international development community and NGOs in Southern Africa, corporate citizenship and the involvement of the corporate sector in development issues, and the contribution of ICT to development processes.

IREX is an international nonprofit organization providing leadership and innovative programs to improve the quality of education, strengthen independent media, and foster pluralistic civil society development.  IREX's Technology Serving Civil Society speaker series was initiated in April 2007. The series hosts practitioners with grassroots experience using technology in innovative ways to increase the effectiveness of community and civil society initiatives throughout the developing world.  This event will also involve dozens of IREX-administered telecenters throughout Eurasia. Virtual participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and submit comments beforehand. For more information about this series, please contact IREX at the email address above.

This speaker series is funded by the People Technology Foundation USA and contributions from Friends of IREX.

Organizer: IREX

Event Location: IREX, 2121 K Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC

Start Date: 2008-11-13 7:30

End Date: 2008-11-13 9:00