The 14th PASCAL International Conference [1] took place in Pretoria, South Africa. It was excellently organised by the Belgium Campus iTVersity and University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Local Economic Development.
The venue and the African spring weather were delightful. It was high time PASCAL returned to Africa. This was only the second PASCAL conference that was organised in Africa, the first being the 9th PASCAL International Conference in Gabarone, Botswana in 2010.
Please find a compilations of highlights featured below and attached.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CONFERENCE
Trends 2017: Between Cities and the Rural: The Role of Universities in Developing our Societies
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| 14th PASCAL Postconference Report [2] | 649.96 KB |
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14th PASCAL Conference - entrepreneurship and technology use
The 14th PASCAL Conference - and the first in South Africa - brought stakeholders, practitioners and academics together for three days of productive, intensive discussions and presentations.
Coming at a critical time in the political and economic development of South Africa, the Conference highlighted how much can be done in the absence of coherent, sustained leadership; or put another way, why the development of civil society and partnership are so important. Academic papers and case studies illuminated many fascinating insights into what works at the local level, raising questions about how to roll out and expand community initiatives.
Entrepreneurship - both in the normative economic sense of small firm creation and growth, and in the wider meaning whenever individuals take responsibility to get something done - became a major theme, as did the interplay between technology and its practical application. The summaries and conclusions bear close attention.
Our deep appreciation and warm thanks go to Enrico Jacobs, Marius Venter, and Jannie Zaaiman.