27 October 2008 | 31 October 2008 | South Africa

A successful 11th TCI Annual Global Conference, took place in Cape Town, South Africa from 27-31 October 2008! With 400 participants coming from 54 countries and more than 70 speakers, we can say that the 11th edition of TCI Annual Global Conference was a great success and has contributed once again to highlight the role of cluster practitioners and economic development on the world map of competitiveness and innovation.

Apart from the quality of the sessions and speakers, Cape Town offered a good opportunity for people to meet with colleagues, policymakers, researchers, business entrepreneurs, cluster managers and facilitators and engage in lively discussions in a superb atmosphere.

Being the first TCI global conference in Africa, a particular emphasis was done on the role of cluster initiatives in emerging economies, and the sharing of lessons between cluster practitioners from both developed and developing economies.

Cape Town welcomed TCIs with open arms. The local team headed by TCI Director, Nigel Gwynne-Evans lined up a fabulous itinerary: a one-week programme beginning with cluster tours, the best chance to learn from 5 successful cluster initiatives in hig-tech, agri-processing, manufacturing, engineering, creative industries and services; the Clusters 101 course, a half-day introduction to clusters by cluster experts; the regional approach to competitiveness with regional sessions on India, Latin-America and PACF-Pan African Competitiveness Forum; and the Academic Summit that this year ran for two days alongside the main programme.

Globally, local and state governments are realizing the power of local clusters, and implementing initiatives to strengthen and foster the national and institutional structures that underpin them. More than 2500 cluster initiatives have been mapped globally with an overwhelming body of evidence showing the success of cluster initiatives, and their value as highly cost effective economic development tools.