Hosted by the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Supported by the European Commission and African Union Commission, IEEE Africa Council, IEEE Uganda Section, IEEE UK and Ireland SSIT Chapter and IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee, IST-Africa 2020 is the fifteenth in an annual series of Ministerial Level Technology Research and Innovation Conferences addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Organised by the IST-Africa Institute and IIMC International Information Management Corporation, the IST-Africa Conference Series provides an international platform rotating around Africa to strengthen ICT-enabled Innovation, Science and Technology related policy dialogues within Africa and between Africa and Europe, as well as Global Development, Research and Innovation Cooperation and Community Building. It also provides an opportunity to showcase innovation and implementation capacity and pressing societal challenges, as well as identify potential partners for future research cooperation under Horizon 2020.

IST-Africa is a unique community that brings together key stakeholder groups from the public, private, education and research, societal sectors with end-user communities around the world, focused on cross-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary ICT and STI Research and Innovation addressing societal challenges. Each year, there is a particular focus on policy, research and implementation challenges and success stories from the host country perspective, as well as areas requiring coordinated interventions and priorities for the future.

Due to the unprecedented circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, to protect the health and well being of IST-Africa Community Members, IST-Africa 2020 will take place as a virtual event from 18 – 22 May.

FINAL PROGRAMME
The Final Programme incorporates 31 thematically focused sessions featuring over 95 presenters from public, private, education and research organisations in 21 countries as a single track event from 18 – 22 May. It incorporates a mix of plenary presentations and thematic paper sessions presenting results across the conference thematic areas.

Plenary Presentations include:
· Welcome Address – Hon. Elioda Tumwesigye, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Uganda
· Dr Phil Mjwara, Director General, Department of Science and Innovation, South Africa
· Research and Innovation for Sustainable Development – Future Perspectives – Fadila Boughanemi, Deputy Head, International Cooperation II (Asia, Africa, Middle East & External Relations), DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
· The Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-30) – Moses Bayingana, Senior Policy Officer for ICT, African Union Commission
· AfricaConnect: a Past, Present and Future Success Story for African Research and Education, Tom Fryer, Head of International Relations, GÉANT
· SAIS 2 – Supporting Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Southern Africa – Ilari Lindy, SAIS2, Namibia
· IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee – Supporting Sustainable Development – Paul Kostek, IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee Events Chair
· IEEE Africa Council – Vincent Kaabunga, IEEE Africa Council Chair

Thematic areas addressed in the Final Programme includes:
· Monday 18 May – eInfrastructure, Global Development, Societal Implications of Technology
· Tuesday 19 May – eGovernment, Content Technologies, eHealth
· Wednesday 20 May – Entrepreneurship, Next Generation Computing, CyberSecurity
· Thursday 21 May – Technology-enhanced Learning
· Friday 22 May – eAgriculture, Environment Sustainability

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION
Delegates who have not registered to date can avail of discounted early bird registration fees up to 14 May.
If you intend to participate, please complete registration as soon as possible as there is a fixed capacity in the online environment.

IST-Africa 2020 Call for Papers closed in December 2019 and was very heavy oversubscribed.