ICT4RD 2011, to be held from 1-3 November 2011 in Johannesburg, is the first African conference to apply these emerging technologies and practices to rural development, and provide new thought leadership at a time when the continent is poised for innovation and change.

The conference aims to bring together government officials, development practitioners, ICT specialists, investors, NGOs and social entrepreneurs from across Sub-Saharan Africa – and beyond – to confront the realities of rural development and explore the innovative use of ICTs to catalyze the growth of ICT4RD solutions for scale in Africa. To shape and inform the conference programme, we would like to hear from you if you are a:

• Project owner, implementer or consultant involved in an ICT project in support of rural development;
• Service provider, entrepreneur or developer with a solution that has particular relevance for rural populations;
• Researcher or expert with an interest in the impact of ICTs on rural development – in a specific geographical area or in response to a specific development issue;
• Policy expert - or policy-maker - with a view or perspective on the role and impact of policy on the use of ICTs for rural development;
• Funder or investor able to talk about the role of ICTs in programme development and implementation - how you determine the most appropriate technology, solution and solution provider, how you measure social and financial impact, and how you determine where to invest.
  

If so, SANGONeT invites you to contribute to the programme of ICT4RD 2011.

We are interested in ICT projects, solutions and experiences that focus on one or more of the following key areas:

1. Agriculture and livelihoods;
2. Financial services;
3. Utilities - water, electricity, sanitation, etc.;
4. Social services, including health and education;
5. Governance and accountability;
6. Other relevant issues.

We are also interested in contributions covering cross-cutting issues that affect the use, effectiveness and impact of ICT4RD solutions such as:

1. Policy;
2. ICT infrastructure;
3. Interoperability / integration of services;
4. Security;
5. Ownership;
6. Governance / accountability;
7. Research and development (platform for innovation and scale);
8. Measuring Impact;
9. Regional integration;
10. Financing, sustainability and scale;
11. Design and innovation.

We invite you to submit proposals for:

• A Panel - presentation of no more than 15 minutes about any issue highlighted above;
• A Showcase - talk about a project or implementation of a solution with a focus on lessons learned;
• A Failure - help us learn from your mistakes - can you “undefensively” talk about what went wrong and why?
• A coLab demo - demonstrate your solution, tool or product - quickly or in-depth;
• Something else entirely - got something that does not fit neatly into the above categories? Convince us...

For details of project submission and dealine please visit:

http://www.ngopulse.org/ict4rd/contribute.html