Programme Director,
MD, Cisco South Africa, Mr Alpheus Mangale
Vice-Chancellor, University of Pretoria, Professor Cheryl de la Rey,
Representatives from the Department of Higher Education and other government officials,
Members of Academia,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I’m grateful for the opportunity to address you today. The 2014 Football World Cup has dominated our headlines and has been remarkable in many ways. Who would have imagined that World Champions Spain would be knocked out in the first round.
I am convinced that even Bafana Bafana, if given a chance to participate could have demonstrated a better show against Netherlands and Chile. Of course another reason that the World Cup is remarkable is that according to Cisco’s Visual Networking Industry report this World Cup will generate three times more data than that produced by Brazil in 1 month (Source: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/ip-ngn-ip-next-generation-network/white_paper_c11-481360.pdf).
We in South Africa are not blind to the technological changes sweeping the globe. The 2010 World Cup had more games streamed live than ever before and was dubbed the first ‘social media world cup’ because of the wide use of social media to comment on the matches. This year for the first time both President Zuma’s State of the Nation Address and his Response to the Debate were streamed live on YouTube. Both our National Development Plan and our broadband policy, SA Connect, recognise the importance of being part and parcel of this hyperconnected world. President Zuma committed our nation to implementing both these policies with fervour in this term of office and continuing with our vision for a bolder and better South Africa.
Cisco has over the years shown its commitment to the building of a new South Africa. Since 1999 it has invested approximately R100 million in training over 34 000 students in a variety of information communication technology (ICT) skills. This has occurred largely through the establishment of 64 Cisco Networking Academies across South Africa with plans to introduce another 200 Networking Academies into government schools and Further Education and Training (FET) colleges over the next two years. The fact that between 80% and 85% of all Networking Academy students are employed shows that Cisco is providing students with skills geared towards the needs of the ICT sector in our country. I applaud you for these excellent initiatives.
Even more commendable is that Cisco has partnered with our very own Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services since 2009, through our e-Skills Institute that has now been launched as the Ikamva National e-Skills Institute (iNeSI). I was able to visit the Institute’s Centre in Strand in the Western Cape on Friday and I must say that I am amazed by its capabilities. These are the good news stories we should be telling our citizens and the world.
I understand that this collaboration has resulted in the Networking Academies programme being introduced to 21 FET Colleges and has trained over 1 500 students as certified computer technicians. This will be extended to a further eight FET colleges this year. I extol Cisco for its vision and hope that more companies display the same commitment to building a better South Africa. At the heart of this initiative is the promotion of digital access and skills so that our population and country is fully able to unleash its potential in the digital economy.
This year’s World Cup has been the first time that goal-line technology has been used in a World Cup. The growing use of ICTs has become characteristic of the era in which we live. Currently over 2,4 billion people worldwide are connected to the Internet. By 2025 it is estimated that the majority of the world’s population will have, in one generation, gone from having no or limited internet access to having total access, most probably through a mobile device.
The theme for the 2014 World Economic Forum (WEF) was the ‘Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business.’ The rapid manner in which ICTs continue to transform all aspects of our lives was acknowledged. The WEF highlighted the shift towards “the Internet of Things.” Simply put it refers to the growing number of devices that are connected to the internet, and to each other. Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) predicts some 25 billion devices will be connected by 2015, and 50 billion by 2020 (Source: http://share.cisco.com/internet-of-things.html).
We’ve witnessed the growing use of smart devices to monitor everything from our sleeping patterns to our heart rate on a daily basis. But this is only the beginning of a technological revolution. Imagine a world in which your alarm clock wakes you up early because of a scheduled meeting, your wardrobe would have selected the appropriate clothing for the meeting, and your driverless car or maybe even one driven by a robot would have already worked out your destination and time of arrival before you even get into it. Literally millions of devices will be talking to each other.
In 1992 the entire internet traffic was 100 gigabytes per day. That’s probably the same amount of data some of you generate watching World Cup matches. Just ten years later this stood at 100 gigabytes per second. According to Cisco’s report entitled ‘The Zettabyte Era,’ in 2013 it stands at 28 875 gigabytes per second. While only 33 percent of internet traffic is generated from non-PC (personal computer) devices in 2013, it is predicted that by 2018, 57 percent of internet traffic will emanate from non-PC devices. (Source: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/VNI_Hyperconnectivity_WP.pdf)
This is the world we have to prepare for. The National Development Plan calls for an e-literate society by 2030. Among the priorities it highlights is “the Improving the quality of education, skills development and innovation.” I urge both Cisco and our universities to continue on this path of collaboration and innovation in delivering skills and learning solutions especially to our youth.
The launch of iNeSI earlier this year as a national catalytic organisation to coordinate and stimulate national e-skills development is our government’s recognition of the growing importance of e-skills to our economy and society. The development of the National e-Skills curriculum and competency framework and the establishment of a virtual network for e-skills knowledge production and transfer are further steps along the path to the widespread dissemination of e-skills.
Certainly we would like to continue our engagement with Cisco especially now that we are in the process of establishing an eReadiness Programme and Fund. More of this will be discussed at the upcoming National e-Skills Summit scheduled for November this year.
While our country has made much progress over the last twenty years in delivering a better life for all South Africans persistent inequality and poverty still plagues our country. President Zuma committed us to a growth target of five percent by 2019. Providing better access to educational opportunities will have a positive impact on the quality of life of our people as well as our economic prosperity. Addressing the shortage of ICT skills in our country and continent is an opportunity to be seized. Ensuring that our young men and women of our country have not only the e-skills, but also the e-astuteness to take advantage of the advent of the society of the ‘Internet of Things’ is vital to reaching this GDP target and overcoming the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and joblessness facing South Africa.
President Zuma in his response to the State of the Nation Debate announced the launch of Operation Phakisa, which is based on the Malaysian approach to fast-tracking delivery on priorities in the National Development Plan. I look forward to engaging with Cisco and other role-players in the ICT industry on how we can implement our ICT priorities more rapidly. I urge all to rise to the challenge, join hands in pushing for the e-skills revolution that will move South Africa forward.
I thank you.
