Making its debut on African soil, the conference will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Bureau (CTICC). Expecting up to 800 delegates, the conference is expected to have an estimated economic impact of R15,3m.
The scientific programme covers a wide-range of areas including adult and paediatric hearing aids, diagnostic audiology, e-Health, electrophysiology, special populations and a focus on the future priorities for the profession and science of audiology. Attending the three day line-up will be leading experts from the USA, Europe, Australia, UK and other world regions, who will impart insights on cutting-edge translational and clinical research.
“South African audiologists through their organisations including the South African Association of Audiologists (SAAA) and the South African Speech-Language-Hearing Association (SASLHA), in partnership with the South African Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, won the bid to host this world event in audiology. This will be the first time in the 65 years of their existence that the International Society of Audiology will have their meeting in Africa. We look forward to host delegates and presenters from more than 40 countries. We extend a warm South African welcome to our colleagues and their partners from around the globe," commented Susan Strauss, National President SAAA and Chairperson of the local organising committee of the conference.
One of the main themes of the conference is to make audiology services accessible to all people. South Africa and other African countries in particular, have a lack of trained audiologists and hearing health care service providers.
“We are thrilled to welcome health professionals and delegates from across the globe to this inaugural biennial congress, dedicated to the vital service of enabling hearing. Statistics reveal that close to 40 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa are living with a permanent disabling hearing loss. With Cape Town being a spring board into the rest of Africa, hosting the 2018 World Congress of Audiology in the province creates a unique opportunity to stimulate awareness and promote audiology and hearing health across the African continent,” commented Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris.
The Western Cape’s Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Wine, added: “We are delighted that the World Congress of Audiology has chosen the Western Cape to host their first ever conference on the African continent which shows real confidence in our meetings and conferencing tourism offerings. We look forward to hosting the delegates and showing them all that Cape Town has to offer and wish them fruitful discussions around the important issues facing audiology on the continent.”
Wesgro’s Head of the Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau, Corne Koch, concluded: “Meetings of this nature creates more than just economic impact to tourism. It leaves legacies and develops our local knowledge economy. It is particularly fitting to the region, as two of the top Higher Education Medical Facilities in sub-Saharan Africa are located in Cape Town and Stellenbosch. The academic stimulus created through such a congress brings unsurmountable knowledge sharing into the province.”
Wesgro is Cape Town and the Western Cape's official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and receives its mandate and funding from the Western Cape Government's Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the City of Cape Town.
Issed by Wesgro Media Team, 11 October 2018