Pretoria - South Africa’s participation at the World Communications Forum (WCF) indicates that the country recognises Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) as a critical enabler of economic activity in an increasingly networked world, says Communications Minister Faith Muthambi.
On Saturday, the South African delegation will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to attend the 2017 week long WCF. The delegation will be led by BrandSA trustee Muditambi Ravele and Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) acting CEO Donald Diphoko.
“It is critical for our country to remain globally competitive…ICT is a critical enabler of economic activity in an increasingly networked world. Government ability to communicate with citizens is critical in the delivery of services, deepening democracy and the ability of citizens to interact with government, so we hold the view that the WCF will help us to enhance government communications in order to be accountable as well as to set the agenda of public discourse,” the Minister said.
Minister Muthambi, who was the Co-Chairperson of the WCF in Davos last year, will not be part of the annual event where communication professionals, CEOs, representatives of Ministers and the media participate.
This respected international platform is intended to cover different areas of public affairs, media, digital services, branding and related aspects.
Yanina Dubeykovskaya, General Director of the WCF summit President of the WCFA association said: "Our Forum’s uniqueness in 2017 lies not only in its extended format and its shift – from the global village of Davos, to the global capital, Geneva – but also in marking the higher level of development of the communication industry, in revealing the new professional identity of the worldwide communication community!
“We can now clearly and unambiguously declare that, today, communication has become a key driver of human development and humanity itself – intangible and non-material, communication is the very resource that contains a true potential for positive future changes”.
As a global community, WCF is responsible for:
- formation of the Global Communication Agenda; developing integrated state communications, such as country branding;
- offering Win-Win solutions to all types of conflicts;
- fostering the growing influence of intangible assets, such as: reputation, trust, branding, and intensifying their impact on the development of countries and businesses;
- the search for new money as an equivalent of social influence;
- development of a more social identity of business: social awareness, consciousness;
- turning crisis into opportunities;
- focus on the individual and the task for personal development through all communication disciplines;
- development of creativity and revealing the innovation potential of different countries and communities;
- promotion of the modern forms of education and self-development;
- development of global communications, global communities, and global culture; and finding a spokesperson for humanity.
-SANews.gov.za
