Digital Festival: Set to download the future

There will come a time when the dreams of 1980s sci-fi fans are finally realised.

No longer bound by trivialities like gravity or the petrol price, Wi-Fi-powered cars will float around the stratosphere like the ungainly grandchildren of Apollo 13. Professor Christo Doherty, the head of the digital arts department at the University of the Witwatersrand, is hoping we don't miss the boat.

"South Africa has been slipping behind. Leadership [in the digital space] has been taken over by places like Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria. For instance, Nairobi has had an innovation hub in operation for a couple of years whereas we are only setting one up now," Doherty said.

To that end he, together with Professor Barry Dwolatzky, has started the Fak'ugesi: Digital Africa Festival. Covering everything from programming to game design and 3-D printing, the festival's organisers hope to inspire a new generation of explorers to foray into uncharted digital territory.

Fak'ugesi is an umbrella event comprising a collection of smaller events, workshops, standalone conferences, exhibitions, workshops, courses and the odd party aimed at promoting digital innovation and creativity.

"The intention of the Fak'ugesi festival is to activate the broader Braamfontein area as a place that is exciting and attractive to the kind of people who can be innovators and creators," he said.

These digital innovators and creators will have a space to call their own in the form of the Tshimologong precinct. Started as part of an ambitious project to create an innovation hub in Braamfontein, the precinct will see software designers and programmers set up shop in repurposed buildings.

Tshimologong will host seminars, skills development courses and LAN gaming sessions.

An accusation often levelled at those preaching technological advancement is that it seldom aids the poor.

"One of the things about digital technology is that it drops in cost. When cellphones were first introduced, the perception was that it was something for a small elite. Now, due to the nature of digital technology, there is hardly anyone in South Africa who doesn't have one," said Doherty.

• The Fak'ugesi: Digital Africa Festival runs until September 27, with the official opening party this Friday at 6pm. For more information visit www.fakugesi.co.za

To Do

Fak'ugesi will feature a number of headline events. Among those not to be missed are:

A maze

Bringing together some of the biggest names in indie gaming and digital arts from Europe and Africa, A MAZE offers anyone with the slightest interest in having fun the digital means but without having to delete your browser history afterwards. September 8-13

Unyazi

For better or for worse, modern music has moved into the digital space. All one needs to become a musician is some basic computer literacy and a computer with an operating system that doesn't use floppy disks. Unyazi explores the latest innovations and trends in electronic music as well as offering beginners a number of workshops.September 9-13

Creative futures

Three days of exchanges, collaborations and parties with a bunch of British, African and local creatives at the forefront of digital music, art and performance. If you are nice to them they might even invite you to an exclusive techie party. September 10-12