The ICT event of the region, Connecting Rural Communities Africa Forum 2008, organised by the intergovernmental Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation and hosted by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education, Malawi will return to Africa in August 2008. This forum is now in its third year and is regularly attended by Ministers of Communications, Heads of Regulatory Authorities and industry giants. Offering you the unrivalled opportunity to network with the industry and public sector elite, this is an event you simply cannot afford to miss.

Join your peers and discuss best practises for connecting rural Africa at the continent’s largest rural ICT forum devoted to connecting the last mile.

Key Highlights:

MINISTERIAL ROUNDTABLE

Honourable Minister, Patricia Kaliati, Ministry of Information and Civic Education, Malawi

Honourable Minister, Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, Ministry of Information and Communication, Sierra Leone

Secretary of State, Fatim Badjie, Ministry of Communication, Information and Technology, Republic of The Gambia

Deputy Minister, Honourable Dr. Maua Daftari, Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports,Tanzania

(please click here to see full list of invitees)

REGULATORS ROUNDTABLE

Dr Allexon Chiwaya, Director General, Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority

Mr Salomao Manhica, Director and Chairman, Mozambique National Institute of Communications

Mr Charles J K Njoroge, Director General, Communications Commission of Kenya 

Ms Elizabeth Kachamba, Acting Director/Vice Chairperson (CAZ Board) Ministry of Communications and Transport, Zambia

Mr Alagi Gaye, Director General, Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, PURA, The Gambia 

(please click here to see full list of invitees)

OPERATORS ROUNDTABLE

Mr Renato Goodfellow, Solution Manager Middle East and Africa, BT

Mr Vitalis Olunga, Head of International and Wholesale Services, Safaricom

Dr Jones A Killimbe, Director General/CEO, Rascom

(please click here to see full list of invitees) 

USF AGENCIES

Mr Bob H Lyazi, Fund Manager, Rural Communications Development Fund, Uganda Communications Commission

Mr Abraham Kofi Asante, Administrator, Ghana Investment Fund form Telecommunications

(please click here to see full list of invitees)

DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

Mr Edmund Katiti, ICT Policy and Regulatory Advisor, NEPAD

Mr Osmond Mugweni, Executive Director, UNDP Africa

Mr Stephen Settimi, Senior Fellow and Advisor, USAID Bureau of Global Health Informatics and Knowledge Management 

(please click here to see full list of invitees)

Workshop Day:

Workshop 1 - The Commercial Case for HSPA and LTE in Africa:

Mr Nicholas Williams, Director Regulatory Affairs – Sub-Saharan Africa, Ericsson

Workshop 2 - Satellite for Connecting Rural Communities:

Senior representative, European Satellite Operators Association