8 minute read
CASE STUDY
SATC Virtual Conference
About the Southern African Transport Conference
Advertisement
Dates: 5-7 July 2021
Conference organiser: We Are Virtual
Delegates: 85 institutions represented by delegates
The virtual conference noted an overall unique visitor attendance of 764 over the three days collectively. These visitor/attendee figures are further broken down per day as follows:
Registered Delegates 468, Streams/Tracks 7, Plenary Talks 5, Sessions/Talks 131, Speakers 84, Student Essays 5, Exhibitors 8
Country split of registered delegates: Countries Represented: South Africa 436, Botswana 1, China 10, Chile 1, Canada 1, Germany 3, India 1, Mozambique 1, Namibia 2, Netherlands 2, Nigeria 2, Sudan 1, Uganda 1, UK 2, USA 1, Zimbabwe 1, N/A 2 — TOTAL 468
The Southern African Transport Conference is the longestrunning transport conference in the Southern African region. Besides the presentation of research and technology transfer papers, capacity building – in the form of workshops – is also an important focus. The SATC has always served as a forum to share experiences and exchange ideas on current transport-related issues. In the past, sessions were included to discuss provincial and municipal transport issues, such as ‘Transport infrastructure provision’, ‘Establishment of transport authorities’ and ‘Transport performance indicators’. During discussions with the then- Minister Mac Maharaj, the importance of the SATC in the transport debate was appreciated and, in recognition of this fact, the Minister agreed to become the Patron of the SATC. Subsequently, Ministers of Transport from Jeff Radebe to the current Minister Fikile Mbalula have also also fulfilled the role of Patron, which has no financial responsibility. In conclusion, the SATC is recognised as the premier forum for the debate of current transport-related issues.
Early in 1980, a few representatives from the leading professional institutions in transport in South Africa and the Secretary for Transport, Adriaan Eksteen, agreed to setup an Annual Transport Convention (ATC). The ATC is now called the Southern African Transport Conference (SATC).
Objectives
To provide a platform for national and international dialogue on transport as a socio-economic development priority. To serve as a forum for discussion and information exchange on the implementation of transport policy, strategy and technology applications for all aspects and modes of transportation. To foster better cooperation between and engagement of all public and private sector stakeholders so that solutions may be sought, and action plans formulated. SATC is co-supported by the International Road Federation (IRF) and the South African Minister of Transport is the patron.
Website: www.satc.org.za
Virtual exhibition
Prof James Maina; chairman, SATC Organising Committee shared some of their insights.
During the time of Covid-19, what was the biggest challenge SATC Congress faced?
As a forerunner in the transport industry, it was/is important for SATC to remain visible and to report on current issues the transport industry is currently facing. Due to strict lockdown in 2020, the decision was made to offer a series of webinars on various topics pertinent to matters the industry was facing. The success of the webinars proved that there was nevertheless a huge demand for industry representatives to interact and exchange ideas and current information. The decision was then made to go ahead with an entirely virtual event in 2021, which we successfully concluded last month, with close to 500 delegates registered.
As the organiser, what were the benefits of running this as a virtual event for this specific congress?
With the series of webinars offered last year, as well as this year’s event, we were able to reach more delegates across the globe with this year’s congress. The conference had international delegates register from over 22 countries.
The conference also provided a platform for national and international dialogue on transport as an enabler of socio-economic development and served as a forum for discussion and information exchange on the implementation of transport policy, strategy and technology applications for all aspects and modes of transportation. Better cooperation between and engagement of all public and private sector stakeholders was one of the key issues debated and for which solutions are to be sought and action plans formulated.
A report with key issues and solutions is presented to the Minister of Transport after each conference.
• Eight exhibitors
• 1,022 stand visits
The event saw an average of 128 visits per exhibition stand with a total figure of 1,022 cumulative exhibition stand visits. Exhibitors had an average of 65 documents and/or videos downloaded per exhibition stand.
Rudi van der Vyver, chief executive officer, We Are Virtual offered some insights into the virtual congress.
What were the challenges experienced?
With a virtual event it’s a risk mitigation element to have all speaker sessions available as pre-recordings to avoid connectivity issues and low quality of the presentation should the speaker’s bandwidth not be adequate on the day of the live event.
Unfortunately, this is still an element which speakers don’t fully understand and buy into, but with SATC 2021 we had the majority of our speakers as pre-recordings (whether they were played out as prerecordings or executing a live presentation). With speakers that were pre-recorded this also allowed them to address audience questions more affectively, as they could focus on questions while their presentation was played out.
The biggest challenges were with senior officials and, specifically, governmental representatives who are not available for dry runs and testing nor willing to set time aside for pre-recordings even if done and coordinated by the events team. This is, however, not unique to virtual events, and we experience the same challenges with in-person events. Further to this, the only other notable challenge was, again, not exclusive to virtual events (but much more pertinent in the virtual space). We noted that delegates don’t read the pre-event communications which guides them on platform details and requirements. With virtual events we are at the mercy of the individual delegates’ PCs (personal computers) and the features available. These challenges were, however, expected and managed as well as possible, but we also had a dedicated support team available via phone and email to assist delegates with any challenges.
Prof James Maina; chairman, SATC Organising Committee shared some more insights.
Was there a CSI/Legacy programme linked to SATC 2021?
SATC offers two prestigious post-grad bursaries each year to fulltime M or D students (South African and SADC) in transportation working on their research component at a South African university.
The Board has also instituted a bursary for a deserving South African or SADC student studying for an undergraduate qualification involving transport to cover books, tuition and accommodation according to the University’s cost structure.
Each year, SATC has an essay competition which is open to all registered students (undergraduate as well as post-graduate) at tertiary institutions. The competition is held within the institutions and each institution selects its two winners.
Students are to prepare a five-page essay providing innovative solutions for the conference theme. Winning students and their lecturer receive a complimentary registration for the conference. Transport and accommodation are also sponsored by SATC. The conference also offers the following each year:
• The SATC Award for the ‘Best paper presented at the Conference’. The winner/s receive R16,000 plus a certificate.
• The SATC Award for the ‘Best Practical Paper’. The winner/s receive R16,000 plus a certificate.
• The SAICE Transportation Division’s Award for the ‘Best Paper by a Young Professional’.
• The ‘Distinguished SATC Fellow’ Award, in recognition of many years of meritorious service to the SATC and the transportation industry in South Africa. SATC also has a list of retired Honorary Members who receive free invitations to the conference each year.
Dev Oberholzer, Hatch
Lee-Thomas Smith, Student Essay Winner
Feedback from SATC
Jacqui Oosthuyzen, secretariat of SATC, said: “Presenting the conference virtually had its challenges but was a great way to embrace technology available to ensure that we remained relevant and at the forefront of the transport industry. Therefore, it was important for us to go ahead but it must be mentioned that feedback received from delegates was that they missed the personal interaction. Even with that said, I believe it is a remarkable achievement to have replicated an in-person conference experience. We were able to offer delegates and exhibitors high level interaction, with offerings such as our presenter live Q and A and networking rooms.”
Phil Hendricks, ATC board chair, said: “The successful running of the southern African Annual Transport Conference 2021 through total virtual means enabled the directors to continue to meet the annual needs of their many stakeholders in the industry and provide clear technological options for future annual conferences.”
Prof James Maina; chairman, SATC Organising Committee, said: “Over the last 39 years, SATC has become the go-to platform for the southern African transportation fraternity to meet once a year to share experiences and exchange ideas. It is a role that SATC will continue to play in the future, making use of technological innovations whenever challenging situations arise, as we demonstrated in 2021.”
