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SACIA History Over time, our group expanded, and we began collaborating with several global organisations, including the International Association of Broadcast & Media (IABM) and AVIXA (formerly InfoComm International), to deliver industry-specific training to the market. We also organised regular trips to IBC and other international shows. For almost 20 years, the group operated informally, without a constitution or governance structure. In 2009, the Association was registered with CIPC as a not-for-profit company, and Kevan Jones was appointed as the Association’s first Executive Director. In 2014, SACIA was recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority as a professional body, and we launched our Certified BCT designations for the broadcast and communications industry and our Certified AV designations for professionals working in the audio-visual sector. These designations were both developed by building on the work done by the IABM and AVIXA, respectively, with our AV designations modelled on the CTS credential awarded by AVIXA. We also continued to collaborate with other Associations active in the broadcast and audio-visual sector, developing new professional designations in partnership with the SA Guild of Actors and the SA Society of Cinematographers. In 2015, SACIA merged with the Technical Production & Services Association (TPSA), and we launched professional designations for individuals working in the technical aspects of the theatre and live events industry. This marked the start of our expansion into the events industry. In 2018, we established the Event Safety Council as an organisation focused on promoting the adoption of professional standards in event safety, and in 2019, we merged with the Council of Event Professionals Africa (CEPA). These two developments reinforced our footprint in the events industry across business, sport and entertainment events. Over the last 25 years, we’ve expanded from our base in the broadcast industry to become a multi-faceted professional body active across the broad creative sector, with 16 professional designations that recognise the skill, knowledge and competence of individuals working across multiple disciplines. |
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| Gary Atkins 2009-2011 Gary served as SACIA’s first board chair following our registration as a not-for-profit company. Gary focused on establishing the Association as the premier training body for the broadcast and audiovisual industry in South Africa. Working closely with AVIXA (previously InfoComm International) and the IABM (International Association for Broadcast & Media), SACIA set the standard for training and skills development, with training built around AVIXA’s CTS credential. Directors: Bruce Genricks, Elaine Shellard, Dennis Feldman, Kevan Jones (Executive Director), Wynand Langenhoven |
| Bruce Genricks 2011-2013 Bruce was one of our founding directors and served as SACIA’s second board chair. He continued the work Gary had started in training and skills development, but expanded our activities to embed a strong focus on ethics and professional standards. Under Bruce’s leadership, we developed the SACIA Business Code, which commits members to a higher standard of ethics and service, and holds them accountable to those standards. He described how the SACIA logo should become synonymous with trust and quality. Directors: Bruce Genricks, Elaine Shellard, Sobi Mokholo, Kevan Jones (Executive Director), Wynand Langenhoven |
| Wynand Langenhoven 2013-2015 Like Bruce before him, Wynand was one of our founding directors who served as SACIA’s board chair from 2013 to 2015. Under his leadership, the Association transitioned from a trade association to a SAQA-recognised professional body, launching both our Certified AV designations for individuals working in the audio-visual sector, and our BCT designations for individuals working in the broadcast and content creation sectors. Directors: Bruce Genricks, Elaine Shellard, Sobi Mokholo, Kevan Jones (Executive Director), Thys Venter, Wynand Langenhoven, Gavin Olivier |
| Natalie Delport 2015-2017 Natalie served as board chair from 2015 and under her leadership, the board focussed on collaboration with a broader range of industry associations and stakeholders. During this time, SACIA merged with the Technical Production and Services Association (TPSA) and kick-started negotiations with the Council of Event Professionals Africa (CEPA), which was ultimately absorbed into SACIA in 2019. Directors: Wynand Langenhoven, Bruce Genricks, Kevan Jones (Executive Director), Abrie du Plooy, Natalie Delport, Bruce Schwartz, Cosmas Tshabalala, Stephen Motau, Elaine Shellard |
| Stephen Motau 2017-2019 Stephen served as board chair from 2017 and under his leadership, the Association focused on building our brand and enhancing our governance structures. During this time we continued the collaboration initiatives started by the previous board, establishing collaboration agreements with SASFED, the SA Society of Cinematographers and the SA Guild of Actors. We also completed a merger with the Council of Event Professionals Africa (CEPA) and established the Event Safety Council as a special interest group focused on promoting the adoption of professional standards in event safety. Directors: Kevan Jones (Executive Director), Abrie du Plooy, Natalie Delport, Stephen Motau, Tinus Smit, Sharif Baker (vice-chair), Wynand Langenhoven, Ilse Assmann, Roman Magis |
 | Sharif Baker 2019-2023 Sharif joined the board in 2017 and served as board chair from 2019. He encouraged the Board to adopt an aggressive transformation agenda, actively driving membership by black-owned companies, and creating affordable membership options for the black freelance community. By 2019, SACIA's footprint in the events industry had expanded to include event technical (TPSA), event safety (ESC) and event management (CEPA). Unfortunately, Sharif’s tenure as board chair was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed the events and entertainment industry from 23 March 2020 until 22 June 2022. During this time we focused on engagement with government and regulatory authorities, working tirelessly to represent the events and entertainment industry, and lobby for government support for a sector that was denied an opportunity to conduct business for 750 days. In addition to serving as board chair from 2019-2023, Sharif has also served as chair of the TPSA (2017-2019) and the Event Safety Council (2023-2025). Directors: Kevan Jones (Executive Director), Roman Magis, Tinus Smit (vice-chair), Sharif Baker, Uwe Beckmann, Sue Gannon, Aldred Dreyer, Wynand Langenhoven, Prof. Janine Lewis, Prof. Aaron Tshidzumba, Ilse Assmann, Ramadan Suleman |
| Tinus Smit 2023-2025 Tinus was first elected to the board in 2017 and prior to being elected board chair in 2023, he served as chair of SACIA’s Broadcast Industry Group (BIG). During his tenure, Tinus focused on rebuilding SACIA after an extended period in which all our revenue channels had been decimated by the COVID pandemic. Rather than delivering training in partnership with international counterparts, all of whom had transitioned to online training, Tinus encouraged the Board to focus on developing local training programmes for the broadcast, event management and event safety communities. SACIA also launched our Event Safety Summit, which has since become an annual event. Directors: Kevan Jones (Executive Director), Tinus Smit, Prof. Aaron Tshidzumba, Aldred Dreyer, Quinton Fredericks, Roman Magis, Rudi van der Vyver, Sharif Baker, Prof. Janine Lewis (vice-chair) |
