As COVID-19 is continuing to spread in new places across the globe, including Nigeria; and given the latest WHO guidance on top of the increasing number of travel restrictions, Catholic Relief Services has decided to postpone the 12th ICT4D Conference, planned on April 21-23, 2020 at the Sheraton Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria. A new date for the conference will be announced as soon as possible.
We are deeply disappointed by this turn of events. However, the health and safety of our conference participants, the ICT4D community, and the people we serve in our programs must be our highest priority. At this point, we feel that the risks of running this global event outweigh the benefits. The effects – actual and projected – of this unpredictable virus are becoming evident across all aspects of our lives, with most of our participants facing travel restrictions or are needed by their organizations to prepare for their responses to the outbreak.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our participants and partners.
It has been a very difficult decision for us to postpone the event. We’d like to thank our Consortium partners, sponsors, exhibitors, media partners, advisors, CRS colleagues, and event planners for all their support and enthusiasm over the past six months – especially for reviewing over 600 speaker applications and developing an exciting program. Having invested a great deal of time and resources, we’re genuinely disappointed not to be able to host the global ICT4D Conference in Abuja this April. But we trust everyone appreciates how important the well-being and safety of our participants is for all concerned.
We will of course support and collaborate with our partners and participants during the coming days, and update on new dates and developments for the 12th ICT4D Conference.
We are exploring options to make some of the planned agenda content accessible online, for example via our monthly ICT4D Webinar Series. More to follow from us shortly.