Cyber Security Symposium Africa (CSSA)

Cyber Security Symposium Africa (CSSA) is a cyber security initiative spearheaded by the ICTS department at the University of Cape Town (UCT). It aims to connect all parties who are involved with – or have an interest in – cyber security in Africa.

The Situation

CSSA required assistance with promoting their first cyber security symposium. This including building an audience for the symposium, as well as distributing communication about the event.

Search for a Solution

The ICTS department at UCT was referred to Inspired Publications for assistance with their annual report. The brief was to make the report visually appealing, engaging and interactive. The resulting report was so well received that Inspired Publications was subsequently approached to assist with the first CSSA symposium, including building an audience and all communication related to the event.

Objective:

Create awareness of the inaugural CSSA event and reach out to new audiences, outside of the university environment.

Desired outcome:

The establishment of a diverse audience of interested parties for the CSSA. The distribution of effective and engaging communication related to the event.

What we did

Inspired Publications provided the following services:

  1. Designed an appealing and engaging annual report for UCT’s ICTS department.
  2. Used the report to build an audience of those who viewed or downloaded the report. This landing page was initially hosted on Inspired Publications’ own automation platform.
  3. Based on the success of the audience building exercise, CSSA requested their own automation platform to build an audience for their upcoming symposium.
  4. Developed a look and feel for the symposium.
  5. Produced all communication relating to the event, including sponsorship requests, publicity and speaker communication.
  6. Designed and created content for the official CSSA website.
  7. Hosted a back-up website for the UCT ICTS department, in the event of the main site being targeted in a cyber-attack.
  8. Created and posted content on CSSA’s social media platforms.

The Result

CSSA’s inaugural symposium was a great success, attracting a diverse audience and invested sponsors, including Inspired Publications. Planning for the second symposium in 2020 was interrupted by the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa. Plans are, however, now in place to host a second physical symposium in 2022, reaching out to diverse groups, including law enforcement agencies, political institutions, schools and the general public.

Cyber Security Symposium Africa (CSSA)