Скачать или смотреть African Software Factories: Roderick Lim Banda at TEDxCapeTown

I am Roderick, an independent consultant in Enterprise Architecture and Software Architecture. I also co-founded a Chief Information Officer (CIO) Forum that is a social enterprise that has a strong partnership with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).

We manage programmes and initiatives that include research collaborations, skills development, job creation and internships. We help to create work and job opportunities for unemployed youths particularly from poorer and disadvantaged communities. We focus on aspiring computing and IT professionals who need assistance in developing software programming skills and experience.

I TEDx because I believe that we all can make a difference in small but meaningful ways. As a collective, when we share and collaborate, greater things can happen. We can encourage and inspire one another and help discover both knowledge and humanity in the process.

My idea worth spreading to present at TEDxCapeTown 2012 is partly about the process of creating software factories in Africa. But it is more about the people that create software and how we can develop them within the unique context of the time and place in which we live. There is a perception that Africa cannot be competitive in the field of software development because of poverty and poor standards of education, particularly in maths and science. My story is about why I believe software programming can be a pathway to structured thinking and why it should be adopted as a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)