Testimonials

Water Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd has worked in partnership with the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA) and Scatterlings of Africa (SoA) over the past two years. During this time, we had gained deep knowledge and insight in the conduct, operations, and performance of Scatterlings of Africa in their role as Professional Conference Organizer.

WaterGroup has found Scatterlings of Africa to be a proficient and highly professional conference organizer. Whilst WISA has worked on numerous occasions with SoA in the past, the December 2020 conference proofed to be challenging as we were necessitated to convert it from an in-person conference to a digital conference. SoA responded by acquiring the latest technology and demonstrating flexibility to change from the usual contact conferencing to a virtual platform. The development of appropriate applications, assignment of staff to support online services, media coverage, monthly meetings and recordings, and the execution of the 6-day conference itself were first class. A conference of this type is complex and involved several parallel oral presentations, workshops, keynote speakers with studio and panel debates, posters, side events, and exhibitions by service providers and WISA members.

In my role of Chairman of the Technical Committee, I found SoA to be an expert and professional organization and team, with capacity and capability to arrange a large conference with diverse elements in a rapidly changing environment. Their coordination, dedication, and access to friendly knowledgeable staff throughout the 2 year period leading up to the conference, are commendable.

I recommend Scatterlings of Africa for any related work or project that the reader may wish to pursue. We trust you will find this dedicated team as efficient and meticulous as we have over the past years of working together.

Dr Marlene van der Merwe-Botha
Chairperson: WISA2020 Technical Committee

I am writing this letter as a reference for services provided by Scatterlings Conference and Events. I recently had the opportunity to work with them when they managed the Virtual Indaba for the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LAISA). The Virtual Indaba took place from 3 – 5 November 2020 and replaced the annual LIASA Conference, an event that has also been managed by Scatterlings for LIASA over the past few years. The Indaba was our first attempt at a virtual event, brought about by the advent of Covid-19. From the start Scatterlings was on board with suggestions and proposals to enhance such an event and as this was a first for LIASA, this proved invaluable in determining the best way to organise the event.

The event itself featured recorded sessions which was done upfront and then uploaded to the conference platform. Each pre-recorded session also had a Live session whereby attendees could engage with the various speakers. While this formed the basis of the Indaba sessions, we also managed to host a live panel discussion as well as a session in studio, the latter recorded in a Cape Town studio with the LIASA President and President-Elect in attendance. This session allowed them to interact with the members of the Association. With the assistance of Scatterlings, the hosting of Live polls and Surevys also formed part of the Indaba to enhance the experience for the attendees. Scatterlings also managed to produce an opening video for the conference.

The management of the event was not just focused on the hosting of the Indaba but also the management of speakers, reporting on session interactions as well as managing any mishaps that might occur on any given day. The response of the Scatterlings team was always of a high standard and until the last day and beyond that, information and statistical reports were provided to LIASA to keep the Executive informed.

Our relationship with Scatterlings has been a long and enriching experience and the hosting of the Indaba certainly cemented that relationship. I would not hesitate in recommending them for the hosting of an event as their professionalism will ensure a successful experience.

Nazeem Hardy
LIASA President-Elect

As a Non-profit organisation we approached Scatterlings to support us in the organisation and hosting of our first ever virtual conference. As this was a new field for us, we needed a company to guide and support us throughout the process. The personnel of Scatterlings were very professional in all their dealings with us and were always available to help us with questions, information and solutions, sometimes on very short notice. The project manager, Marija Spasevski, and her team was always just a phone call away for assistance. Scatterlings was instrumental in making our virtual conference a huge success. The company shared their knowledge and experience with us to help set-up a conference platform that was easy to navigate and was available with technical assistance throughout the three days of our conference. Scatterlings also helped all the sponsors of the virtual meeting to set-up their virtual stands and ensured everyone gets the marketing opportunities as was communicated with them in a sponsorship prospectus. We would highly recommend Scatterlings to other organisations looking for someone to help them set-up virtual meetings or conferences.

Dr Anel van Zyl & Bradley Rayner
Chairperson MASAC

Last night it was my first ever event as a keynote speaker and it was absolutely AMAZING! I enjoyed every minute of sharing my heart and passion even though it was in a virtual setting.⁠

⁠ That being said, today’s post goes out to Scatterlings Conference & Events for organising and hosting an amazing virtual conference. ⁠

⁠ It is a three day conference so it is far from over, but my socks have been blown off in just the first evening already. It is an absolute pleasure to navigate and so user friendly, their portal has a member portal for networking and virtual coffee breaks, ‘exchange’ business cards and you can type your notes during a session. Then the portal allows you to export the contacts you’ve made and notes.⁠ ⁠ I am yet to be astounded for the following two days, thank you to Produce Marketing Association Fresh Connections and Scatterlings Conference & Events.

Retha Harmse
En Bonne Santé Dieticians/Dieetkundiges

I was a speaker at the Haemophilia Foundation’s annual (and now virtual) conference. What I liked about the way Scatterlings organised the event were the following:

• The communication was regular and easy to understand.
• They arranged for all the talks to be recorded beforehand. They also sent us tips about talking at online events. Things like using a headset, looking at the laptop camera, elevating your laptop on books, looking at a window, having a plain background, etc. Then they walked one through the procedure.
• The conference website was easy to navigate. The virtual exhibit actually worked easily.
• The speakers and session chairs were managed on Microsoft Teams behind the conference website. They spoke to us and counted us down. They suggested when question sessions should end, etc. The conference was upbeat. Scatterlings cared and made everyone feel at home.

Marius J Coetzee Emeritus Associate Professor
University of the Free State