TECHWATCH
Durban ICC launches new online app As a leading meetings and conference centre on the African continent, the Durban International Convention Centre (Durban ICC) remains at the forefront of digital innovation and has introduced a new online app that will make the lives of delegates, stakeholders, exhibitors and contractors easier.
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he Durban ICC is the first convention centre in South Africa to integrate the what3words addressing system to assist its visitors to navigate their way around the complex. The what3words technology uses its unique approach to help visitors find the exact location of points of interest within the centre’s complex. what3words is a simple way to talk about location. They have assigned each 3-metre square in the world a unique
3 word address that will never change using three dictionary words. Lindiwe Rakharebe, chief executive officer of Durban ICC, said what3words is a simple and accurate way to help people find a precise location,
making it much easier to discover and tell others about various places and explore the world without getting lost. “The Durban ICC is the largest flat floor, column-free multipurpose event space in Africa. Incorporating the Durban International Convention Centre, Durban ICC Arena and Durban Exhibition Centre, the complex offers 112 000 m² of flexible exhibition and meeting space and has multiple entrances. what3words, which is far more accurate and reliable, will help our delegates and visitors easily find the correct entrances to our venues for their specific events. Deliveries will also be sent to the intended entrance and contractors will not struggle to find their way to our loading dock entrance to offload goods,” Ms Rakharebe said. Ms Rakharebe added that since the fourth industrial revolution has changed almost all aspects of human life, the Durban ICC team always strives to integrate cutting-edge technology into the centre’s daily operations in order to enhance each guest’s experience.
About what3words
According to the what3words website, the what3words API is a fast, simple interface which allows you to convert three word addresses to coordinates and vice versa. It features a powerful autosuggest function, which can validate and autocorrect user input and limit it to certain geographic areas. The unique addressing system is also already available in over 35 languages, including isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans making it accessible to a growing international audience.
8 Business Events Africa November 2019
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