Ministry of ICT Kenya to speak at 2nd Aid & Development Africa Summit

(Aid & International Development Forum)

With Aid & Development Africa Summit fast approaching, Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF) is excited to share the agenda and recently confirmed speakers, who will deliver invaluable insight into technological innovations and best practice to improve aid delivery and development strategy in sub-Saharan East Africa.

Taking place on 28 February – 1 March 2017 at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, the Summit will bring together 300+ representatives from UN and government agencies, NGOs, donors, development banks and the private sector. By attending Aid & Development Africa Summit 2017, the participants will gain practical advice from over 70 speakers and discover innovations in mobile technology and data strategy to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sammy Itemere, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Communications & Technology, Kenya, will give an opening keynote address on the first day of the Aid & Development Africa Summit. Dr Olawale Maiyegun, Director of Social Affairs at African Union will deliver a keynote speech on second day of the Summit.

The first panel on Mobile Technology Innovations to Support Community Resilience will be moderated by Brice Rambaud, Regional Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Internews. The speakers will discuss the impact of mobile devices on development work and utilizing mobile technology to better reach and engage communities. Mathias Lardinois, Program Coordinator, Belgian Development Agency (BTC) will share best practice and lessons learned for scaling mobile-based initiatives while Ronald Rwakigumba, Uganda Country Coordinator, Agri-Fin Mobile, Mercy Corps will present a case study on mNutrition and mAgri programmes in Sub-Saharan East Africa.

The second panel at Aid & Development Africa Summit 2017 is dedicated to Data Strategy to Support SDGs, highlighting the importance of shared platforms and data exchange among aid and development stakeholders. John Lippman, Deputy Associate Director for Language Programming, Voice of America will moderate the discussion. Mark Irura, Project Manager and Technical Analyst, Development Gateway and John Gathairu, Head of ICT, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights will look into latest trends in data collection and management. Furthermore, Jack Kaburu, Manager, Global Knowledge and Information Management, Catholic Relief Services will address challenges and benefits data sharing through crowd sourcing and open source knowledge solutions.

Alpha Bah, Chief, Global ETC & IT EPR Branch (RMTF), UN World Food Programme (WFP) will lead a panel on Emergency Communication, Connectivity and Social Networks. Empowering local communities to take leadership roles and be primary agents of their own response is paramount to building resiliency. Martin Mbalu, Field IT Service Delivery Manager, PATH, Nenad Bojovic, Director, Network Operations Center, International Rescue Committee and Ida Jeng, Director, Global Communication and Strategy, Refugees United (REFUNITE) will outline examples and future opportunities of how innovation and partnerships in ICT can become more agile, localized and connected. Special focus will be given to innovation in technology with relation to youth engagement and employment.

Growth of mobile money in Sub-Saharan East Africa and what this means for the development sector will be covered in panel on Cash-Based Programmes & Financial Inclusion, with speakers including Andrew Karlyn, Regional Advisor, Africa, USAID and Richard Lankas, Quality Assurance Lead & DBA, World Vision International. Driving digital inclusion, as well as coordinating and enabling policies which promote financial inclusion are on the agenda. Karen Peachey, Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP) will debate what partnerships and collaborations are necessary for electronic payment applications, while Pauline Wambeti, Country Director, Nuru Kenya and Shaun Hughes, Head of Analysis, Trends and Innovation, WFP will share their view on the use of cash transfers in the emergency context.

For more information about Summit agenda and speakers, visit http://africa.aidforum.org/agenda

The participants will benefit from 8+ hours of structured networking sessions with key players in Africa’s humanitarian aid and development sector in order to strengthen foundation for effective collaboration and influence regional development and humanitarian goals.

To register your participation at the Aid & Development Africa Summit 2017, click here. Please note that places are limited.

For all enquiries, please contact Alina O’Keeffe, Head of Marketing, Aid & International Development Forum at marketing [at] aidforum.org

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[This event announcement was published as part of the media partnership between HornAffairs and the Aid & Development Africa Summit 2017]