NEWS

Thembeka Pama, GFS Global President.

Xhariep District Municipality wins bid to host GBFS 10th Annual Conference

Tourism remains a key driver of South Africa’s national economy and contributes to job creation. The tourism industry is a major contributor to the South African economy and employment of citizens. The sector contributes about nine per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Meetings, conventions, conferences and trade exhibitions – big or small –provide a significant financial boost for South Africa by stimulating the economy and promoting local development, while through the associated organised touristic activities, visitors are exposed to its warm welcome, beautiful offerings and destinations.

The South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB), together with the Free State Gambling Liquor & Tourism Authority, partnered with the Girls and Bafana Friendly Society (GBFS) to host GBFS’s tenth Annual Conference recently where critical issues of youth and women development took centre-stage.

The GBFS is the South African chapter of the international Anglican Church-based Girl Friendly Society (GFS) and has been deliberately set up to accommodate both genders in South Africa in recognition of the unique socioeconomic circumstances of the country.

The GFS is a philanthropic society whose original mission is to empower girls and young women holistically, encouraging them to develop their full potential through programmes that provide training, confidence building and other educational opportunities.

With the current issues faced by the youth of South Africa, such as genderbased violence and high unemployment rate, this conference was focused on addressing the following key issues; firstly, to empower women and young people (boys and girls); secondly, to encourage them to develop their full potential through programmes that provide training, and thirdly, to boost confidencebuilding and open other educational opportunities. Part of its focus is on holistic development of a young person by helping them achieve mental, emotional, physical and spiritual growth. It also has an exchange programme that was approved in 2014 by its World Council in Wales.

Mrs Thembeka Pama, GFS global president, said: “The intention of the exchange programme is for members who are still at school, in tertiary education institutions, and even those who are not at school, to receive exposure in other countries and learn different approaches to carrying out tasks and participate as volunteers at identified national or local government initiatives in those countries. The private sector and NGOs are also included for cultural exchange learning.”

Delegates attending GBFS Conference.

This is the first conference hosted under the recently launched National Association Project. The South Africa National Convention Bureau is a business unit of SA Tourism and is mandated to market South Africa as a preferred destination to host meetings, conventions, conferences and trade exhibitions — big or small.

The National Association Project aims to spread the economic benefits of hosting, conferences and meetings in smaller towns and villages.

Under the theme ‘Towards Good Citizenship: Warriors for a Caring Society’, this conference sought to address the question, how do we become warriors of a caring society? How are we able to go back to basics restoring the moral decay of society?

“For the first time in its existence, this conference included students and the unemployed youth on the agenda. More diverse views were presented, to ensure better quality of resolutions,” Mrs Pama said.

This year the conference took place in Xhariep District Municipality in the Free State Province from 30 September to 2 October 2021.

Gariep Dam is the most central point of the Republic of South Africa and is connected through an excellent road network to the Eastern Cape, North and South Namibia and Botswana. The Gariep Dam is on the Orange River, which lies about 48 kilometres north-east of Colesberg and 208 kilometres south of Bloemfontein.

Kenny Dichabe, chief executive officer for Free State Gambling Liquor & Tourism Authority, said: “The Free State Province is delighted to have hosted this auspicious conference that sought to engage the youth on issues that affect them and to expose them to opportunities that may better their lives. Amidst the global pandemic, South Africa is faced with two other pandemics; the high rate of unemployment and gender-based violence, which is mostly affecting women. This conference addressed these matters, and as a result, found ways to combat these issues. We thank SA Tourism for enabling small Province’s such as the Free State to host a conference that deliberates on shaping the future leaders of tomorrow.”

Ms Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo, Chief Convention Bureau Officer of the SANCB said; “The economic impact of hosting such a conference is very direct. Hosting meetings is a very important economic driver and will play an important role in the recovery of a distressed tourism industry. The people of Xhariep District Municipality have benefited immensely from hosting it, and many more that we hope to bring in future.”

The National Association Project aims to encourage locally-based associations, federations and societies to rotate their national meetings and conferences across SA, thereby spreading the economic impact of local meetings and conferences to villages, townships and small towns. This will usher in new opportunities for entrepreneurs and any tourism business owners who stand to benefit from the potential business delegate coming to attend the business event. The chosen host city for the event benefits through economic growth and this also provides an opportunity for greater touristic prominence for the relevant city and the broader region, which in turn, creates employment opportunities. This includes employment for the professionals hired to host the event, as well as for the infrastructure, service and logistics companies.

“The SANCB focuses its efforts on attracting conferences in economic sectors which government has identified as priority sectors for future development,” Ms Kotze-Nhlapo concluded.