The 13th instalment of iWeek promises a renewed focus on value-adding free training sessions running in parallel for the duration of South Africa’s annual Internet industry gathering.Altogether, a whopping 22 training sessions are being presented by leading industry figures and topics range from online safety for teachers presented by CoZa Cares Foundation to rights protection mechanisms for the new geographic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) presented by the ZA Central Registry (ZACR).
Techies will find further delight in what the rapid deployment guidelines will mean for broadband penetration, while the beginner guide to broad-based black economic empowerment will explore practical ways to transform South Africa’s Internet industry. The ISPs and law enforcement agencies training session is sure to be of interest to everyone from network engineers to CEOs.
Taking place from 17 to 19 September 2014 at the Indaba Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre in Fourways, Johannesburg, this annual fixture on the local web calendar is again co-hosted by the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) and the ZACR. Partners are the ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA) and the Wireless Application Providers’ Association (WAPA).
The promise of free attendance has traditionally been a big drawcard for iWeek. For the past several years, ISPA has worked hard to make this conference even more relevant to more people by forming lasting relationships with likeminded organisations.
ISPA Co-chair Marc Furman said that the free nature of iWeek was primarily due to the continued support of sponsors who also facilitate the attendance of phenomenal speakers such as Siya Xuza, who promises to be a highlight at iWeek 2014.
Siya is the keynote speaker for the plenary session on Friday, 19 September. Although just 25 years of age, he has received considerable media attention as a South African-born rocket fuel engineer and energy company pioneer who has been received at America’s White House and the Nobel Prize ceremonies in Sweden.
This year’s sponsors include such iWeek stalwarts as Broadband Infraco (Gold Sponsor), Liquid Telecom (Silver), Vox Telecom (Silver), American Tower Corporation (Bronze) and Miro (Bronze).
“The welcome support of our sponsors and co-hosts means we’re able to offer a stellar line-up this year with a renewed focus on a broad range of topics as well as offering practical training running as parallel sessions,” says Furman.
He added that iWeek topics included Internet policy, governance and regulation, trends in fixed line and wireless Internet services, domain name developments, Internet exchange points, cyber-security, spam and ISP best practices.