The implementation and success of Thetha forums in South Africa has attracted extensive local and international interest and recognition from a wide range of NGOs and funders with an interest in raising awareness of ICT issues among NGOs in the Southern African region.

As a result of this interest, and with the support of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Finnish Embassy in South Africa, in July 2006 SANGONeT will start expanding the Thetha initiative to the rest of Southern Africa. Thethas will be held in Namibia, Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho and Angola during the period July-December 2006.

Given the similarity in the ICT issues facing many Southern African countries and the region as a whole, the regional expansion of Thetha forums will provide an opportunity for NGOs and other stakeholders to learn from various regional ICT trends and developments, and deepen the ICT policy and application processes on an individual country basis.

Departing slightly from the South African Thetha model, regional forums consisted of a two-day event, focusing on both ICT policy issues and practical technology applications. The expanded model ensured that participants were exposed to a full spectrum of ICT issues, providing sufficient opportunity for learning, networking and information-sharing. Regional Thethas hopefully became strategic platforms in support of mobilising NGOs around ICT policy and related issues of common concern.

These events were closely linked to country-specific and broader regional ICT policy processes, thus encouraging and strengthening civil society participation in this regard. SANGONeT worked closely with various national institutions (government, semi-government and other relevant agencies) to ensure that regional Thethas provide a strategic mechanism to raise NGO interest and participation in policy processes. The regional events aimed to complement and support, and not duplicate, similar or related initiatives currently being implemented in the rest of Southern Africa.

SANGONeT identified a strategic national NGO coordinating body in each of the five countries to assist it in the planning and implementation of the events. The intention was to develop the capacity of these organisations to continue implementing events similar to Thetha in the post-event phase.

Representatives of these organisations participated in a one-day Thetha planning meeting on 10 March 2006 in Johannesburg.