Project partners pay tribute to SAFIPA

Thiru Naidoo-Swettenham hard at work at the successful SAFIPA 2011 Conference

The most recent ICT capacity building partnership between South Africa and Finland – the South African Finland Partnership (SAFIPA) – which was the successor to the COFISA project, comes to an end in November 2011.  The project has run over a three-year period managed by a core trio of locally-based personnel, overseen by a Steering Committee which included stakeholders from within the South African and Finnish governments, and with supportive roles undertaken by the CSIR Meraka Institute.

SAFIPA has began winding down active operations with the final programme analysis and reporting process beginning in late October.  Perhaps setting the tone for these final reports has been the SAFIPA Conference 2011 which was held on the 19th and 20th October at the CSIR International Convention Centre.  At this time the programme was hailed as a success by project donor- and implementing-partners alike.

“We have played with the best.”

Representing the CSIR Meraka Institute at the conference was Executive Director, Lourens Cloete, who also took on the function of Conference Programme Director and Master of Ceremonies.  Lourens described this bilateral programme as significant in terms of broadening the information society in South Africa; meeting this challenge through partnerships to develop networks and enable cross-sector cooperation, whilst leveraging ICTs to make this goal possible.

Lourens stated that Finland is currently at number 5 on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. He says, “In SAFIPA, we played with the best and have learnt a lot about Finland.   And vice versa, I’m sure.  A key thing that SAFIPA has done is to build a community of people interested in the issues of ICT for development and entrepreneurship.”  Lourens applauded the 25 projects that were supported by SAFIPA and which were chosen by the SAFIPA team with a combination of insight and a good instinct for innovative possibility:  “These are all projects with very real potential and some of them are realising this potential.”

Dr Jyrki Pulkkinen of the MInistry of Foreign Affairs

Two notable Finnish representatives at the conference, who provided insight and context to SAFIPA, were Aki Enkenberg and Jyrki Pulkkinen, both from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).  Aki Enkenberg is the Counsellor for Science, Technology and Innovation at the Embassy of Finland in South Africa, and Dr Jyrki Pulkkinen is the Senior Advisor within the Information Society and Science, Technology and Innovation for Development within the MFA, based in Finland.  Jyrki, who presented in the conference’s opening plenary, outlined the ten-year bilateral relationship between Finland and South Africa, which has taken the form of a number of initiatives beginning with an education-specific initiative called SCOPE, progressing to the broad innovation-focussed COFISA, and culminating in SAFIPA.   He said, “Today we celebrate the conclusion of the SAFIPA programme which has been one of the landmarks and flagships of the partnership.  It is my hope that SAFIPA has been able to utilise all the lessons learned from these other initiatives that have taken place in South Africa.”

Jyrki critiqued the technical and innovation landscapes in both South Africa and Finland.  Of Finland, who used to hold the number one position on the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index but has since dropped, he cited the reason not due to less innovation taking place, but rather to a lack of efficacy in innovation.  And for South Africa, who used to be comparable to Estonia on the Index, but now occupies the 54th position whilst Estonia sits at number 33, he highlighted several challenging issues:  “If you look at South Africa’s profile, there are aspects that make it difficult to compete.  It is not the innovation system that leaves South African at number 54 out of 140 countries; rather it is the basics of health, education, technology readiness, and infrastructure that need attention.  And these are the particular areas that SAFIPA has supported.”

Aki Enkenberg took part in the closing remarks of the conference and encouraged stakeholders involved in the broad bilateral programme to now take stock of the experience; to look back and to learn.  He said, “This conference has been a good platform for contemplating what we have done and how we can work together in the future.   It has highlighted the spirit of cooperation, collaboration and network that we have being trying to build, and has been an excellent showcase of the projects that have been supported by the programme.”  Aki urged that this should not be seen as the end of SAFIPA but rather an opportunity for stakeholders to actively take the learnings and opportunities from this programme, and implement these in the future.  He said, “It is now about institutionalising some of the learning and practices of the programme, and making sure that, collectively, we do not lose these.”

Building the South African information society

Takalani Nemaungani, Director of Global Projects and line manager at DST

The South African government was also vocal in their support and commendation of the SAFIPA programme.  Representing the South African Government were Isaac Maredi, Director for ICT at the DST, and Takalani Nemaungani, the Director of Global Projects and the line manager at DST, who together with Mr Mmboneni Muofhe, the Chief Director in the International Resources programme, was the DST representative responsible for SAFIPA. Isaac Maredi gave the conference opening and welcome address on behalf of the Director General of Department of Science and Technology (DST).  He said that it was with mixed feelings that he addressed the close of the SAFIPA programme.  He said that he was saddened because this valuable programme – borne from a long-standing relationship between DST and MFA – was now coming to an end.  But he added that he was also filled with satisfaction to see how SAFIPA had helped the South African government make great strides towards building an information society:  “We pride ourselves that SAFIPA has been aligned to Government’s broad socio-economic mandate.  SAFIPA has supported projects with a focus on e-education, e-health, rural development, innovation and entrepreneurship.  These are key areas that Government has prioritised and will continue to do so to improve the conditions of our people.”  In this regard, Isaac went on to say that SAFIPA had ensured that its projects supported the development of applications and solutions.  And further, SAFIPA’s key goals, namely institutional capacity building, support of the information society, the development of new solutions for end users, and the creation of networks and information dissemination, have been significantly achieved.

“A partnership of equals”

Takalani Nemaungani, spoke at the conclusion of the conference.  Having been closely involved with SAFIPA it was fitting that he share his insights.  Takalani, who gave a warm and heartfelt address, said that he was expressing the views of the DST when he said that there was a great sense of satisfaction and pride in what SAFIPA had achieved.  He said:  “Looking at the kind of resources that have been invested in this project, and being able to positively compare these to the outputs that have been delivered; looking at the capacity-building that was done and the new initiatives that were created; looking at the extent of the partnerships, synergies and networks that have evolved through this programme:  our view is that this has been a worthwhile investment.”   Takalani also thanked the partners and network that had been involved in the SAFIPA initiative and extended a special thanks to the MFA, the long-standing relationship with the DST he described as being a partnership of equals.

Takalani also mirrored the thanks given by Lourens, Aki and Jryki, to the SAFIPA project management team consisting of Kristiina Lähde, Thiru Naidoo-Swettenham, Lorraine Shikwane and Cleophas Dzinotyiweyi, who had contributed to the success of this programme.   In ending, Takalani raised the question that has been on everyone’s minds throughout the conference:  what does the future hold for some of the SAFIPA-supported initiatives, entrepreneurs, innovators and communities that have been involved in this project?  He said that the DST is both a flexible and open-minded department, which is always willing to engage with stakeholders on new ideas and new possibilities.  He said that, perhaps, this could be seen as the beginning of another opportunity that could be explored:   “I would think that there will be some challenges going forward. But I believe that the future will be bright, as long as we all use the lessons learned from SAFIPA.”