By Hassan Zaggi
Following the daily spread of Covid-19 and the travel restriction placed in most countries of the world, the Catholic Relief Services has cancelled the earlier scheduled 12th ICT4D Conference.
The Conference was earlier planned to hold on April 21-23, 2020, at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria.
While apologizing for the inconveniences caused to participants and partners, the group, however, said that 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.
“It has been a very difficult decision for us to postpone the event,” the statement noted.
The Catholic Relief Services, however, commended its 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,” the group further explained.
