Dear Members, Colleagues and Friends

I would like to extend a heart felt welcome to you all by inviting you to enjoy true South African hospitality in Cape Town in March 2012.

The theme of SIOP Africa 2012 is “Celebrating African Excellence”, this in an attempt to shift our focus to the innovative and constructive work that many of us are doing, mostly with very limited resources.

The symbols which appear in the logo are taken from the Adinkra alphabet of Ghana, which seemed fitting, as we take the baton from Lorna Renner and her team and build on the fine example set for us in Accra last year.

The first symbol “hwemudua” is the “measuring stick”, signifying quality control and is the representation of excellence. The second, “nkyinkyim” or “twisting” represents dynamism, initiative, versatility and overcoming adversity. These are ancient African principles which we need to own and celebrate. There is still much work to be done. Let us re-double our efforts as we strive to improve cancer outcomes for children across the continent.

Use the weekend which follows the meeting to take in the many wonderful sites Cape Town has to offer: take a ride up the cable car to summit Table Mountain, shop and dine at the V&A Waterfront, enjoy miles of pristine beaches along the Atlantic Seaboard and False Bay, take the funicular to Cape Point and visit some of the worlds finest wine lands in Stellenbosch.

These are amongst the many delights that await you in the Mother City. Of course, we will be doing some work!

We hope that you will use your time to benefit from our distinguished international guest speakers, share your experiences and knowledge, network with colleagues and begin to forge new partnerships across the continent.

Welcome, welkom, wamkelekile!
Marc Hendricks
Chair, LOC, Cape Town

Location