“The Educational Cluster initiative is an innovative response, one that is based on collaboration and ‘new media’ to link together interested stakeholders from Government departments and educational agencies, academic institutions, FET colleges, content developers, content providers, infrastructure providers, donor organisations, NGOs, regional business as well as local community leaders.”
The S@ID cluster met in late January with interested stakeholders to plot a way forward for what is still an informal grouping. Fifty-five people, some of whom came from the Eastern and Western Cape, gathered at the CSIR Meraka Institute for the meeting, despite the major thunderstorm that had descended on Pretoria that morning; according to Dave Lockwood of Naledi3d, a good omen for the organisation!
Diversity of participation – reflecting a real need
A wide range of people, from diverse backgrounds and sectors were represented at the workshop, including stakeholders from large corporations such as Intel, SAP, Microsoft and Vodacom, and over twenty companies representing the SMME sector such as Naledi3d, Learnscapes and Moveecom. Similarly, non-profit organisations were also represented by organisations such as the Association for Progressive Communication (APC), Mindset, Young Engineers and Scientists of Africa (YESA), CampusNet, and Digi-Connect. Donor agencies, such as the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, were also at the meeting, and government was represented by national and provincial departments such as the Department for Public Service and Administration (DPSA), the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS), and the Tshwane Municipality respectively. Academic institutions were visible at the workshop such as the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), and government agencies were also present.
The workshop hoped to build on the purpose of the Educational Cluster initiative which is, as outlined in the invitation to stakeholders, to provide an essential link between the private sector and Government agencies in the form of public-private dialogue and partnerships, to address skills shortages at the national level and also to address the needs of regional economies and businesses more effectively. Thus the workshop’s main objective was to build upon these aims by providing partners with a space to actively engage and begin dialogue around how to collaborate in new ways to
nurture improved skills development in the country.
This is the final edition of the SAFIPA newsletter. The month of November 2011, marks the conclusion of this dynamic initiative.
