2nd EuroAfrica-ICT Forum - much to learn and many voices to hear!

The 2nd Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum on ICT Research organised by the FP7 EuroAfrica-ICT EU-funded project and supported by the African Union Commission (AUC - HRST) and the European Commission (EC - DG INFSO -International Relations Unit) under the Information Communication Technology (ICT) theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) successfully took place on 4 February, 2010.

As a partner in the EuroAfrica ICT project, the Meraka Institute of the CSIR led the organisation of the event, which took place at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This 2nd forum edition was organised as the only post-event to the AU 2010 Summit and the AU-ECA 2010 Summit Exhibition.

Held this year in the capital city of Ethiopia and aiming at paving the way for a strengthened and coordinated approach to foster Euro-Africa cooperation, this conference - the 2nd of its series (the first edition was held in Brussels, Belgium early in 2009) - provided a forum for discussions on recent developments and perspectives in the field.

In addition to a full agenda (72 chair-persons and speakers/panellists contributed to the programme), almost 300 delegates (including over 70 Europeans) from 44 different countries joined the event. They included policymakers, senior representatives from governments, representatives from international development cooperation agencies, ICT project managers, programme managers, heads of research labs, researchers, IT engineers, deans, directors, lecturers and researchers from universities and the higher education sector, managers of NGOs, professional associations, centres of excellence, trade unions and chambers of commerce, and industry stakeholders. Held over only one day, the event offered delegates the opportunity for many interesting and stimulating discussions.