Digital Economy Summit to use a live holographic projection

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the first 4th Industrial Revolution SA - Digital Economy Summit on Friday at the Gallagher Convention Centre.

The Summit will be hosted by the 4th Industrial Revolution South Africa partnership (4IRSA), an alliance between partners from the public and private sectors, academia and civil society.

“In showcasing the advancements in technology and immense opportunities of the digital economy, the first-of-its-kind, live holographic projection of President Ramaphosa’s address will be transmitted to the Rustenburg Civic Centre in the North West,” the Presidency said in a statement on Thursday.

A 3D hologram is a projection that exists freely in space and is visible without the need for 3D glasses. It displays products, objects, and animated sequences three-dimensionally and enables seemingly real objects or animations to appear to float completely freely in space.

This method of using a 3D hologram opens up a completely new, revolutionary way of presenting products.

President Cyril Ramaphosa

“The inaugural Digital Economy Summit seeks to kickstart a wide-ranging societal dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

“This high-level dialogue, driven and informed by research from the universities and other national research institutions, aims to stimulate and curate a coherent national action plan that galvanises industry, labour, academia, public sector and society at large,” the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said.

The Summit will feature various breakaway sessions to interrogate key themes, including: competitiveness, concentration and inequality; the future of work and jobs; society, state and citizen; opportunities; critical success factors and the 4IR in the township economy.

Earlier this year, the President appointed 30 members of the Presidential Commission on the 4IR to assist government in taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital revolution and to identify relevant policies, strategies and action plans that will position South Africa as a competitive global player.