Empowered Administrators Conference 2025

Revolutionising Office Support for a Smarter Future

Harnessing the Power of AI in Administrative Functions

18 & 19 September 2025

Venue: Elangeni Hotel, Durban

From Customer Centricity to AI Empowerment: Our Journey Together

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

DATE & VENUE
18-19 September 2025
Southern Sun Elangeni

ATTENDEES
Office Administrators
Business Professionals

SPEAKERS
Industry &
Topic Experts

2 Day Conference

Discover Trends

Discover latest trends! Improve your skills set and learn new technology trends to improve efficiency. Learn how to start conversations with your peers during EAC breaks and at the gala dinner. Show curiosity about what others are doing. Engage and discover new opportunities. Don’t be afraid to use this time to tell your peers about your career aspirations, interests and most importantly, pay attention to what they are doing.

Registration

The registration fee is R4,000.00 which includes a two-day conference and gala dinner only.

We will provide contact details of near-by hotels to registered delegates only.

SPEAKERS

Why attend Empowered Administrators Conference (EAC)

This two-day conference is meticulously designed for office professionals operating within higher education institutions, governmental agencies, corporate environments, and a diverse array of organisations seeking to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their everyday functions. Throughout the conference, participants will engage in comprehensive explorations of innovative methodologies that can significantly augment efficiency and effectiveness across a range of tasks.

By the end of the event, attendees will have gained invaluable insights and practical tools for seamlessly integrating AI into critical domains, including project management, time management, travel planning, and minute-taking.

This conference aims to equip professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to excel in an increasingly dynamic technological landscape. The emphasis will be on the practical implementation of artificial intelligence to optimise and enhance administrative functions, helping professionals thrive in their dynamic roles.

Founders' Welcome Note

Welcome to the Empowered Administrators Conference 2025!

From Customer Centricity to AI Empowerment: Our Journey Together

Twelve years ago, the Empowered Administrators Conference was born out of a vision to elevate the role of ofﬁce professionals—shifting perceptions and unlocking potential in one of the most critical engines of organisational success. We began with a sharp focus on customer centricity, understanding that service excellence was the bedrock of professional value.

As the workplace evolved, so did we. We expanded our mission to sharpen technology skills, enabling administrators to embrace digital tools that enhance efﬁciency and communication. From mastering productivity platforms to developing an agile mindset, our delegates became indispensable, tech-savvy assets in their workplaces.

But technical skill alone isn’t enough. That’s why we infused our programme with strategies to enhance professional- ism, emotional intelligence, and project management. We nurtured a generation of conﬁdent professionals who lead initia- tives, build strong workplace cultures, and rise into roles once thought beyond their reach.

In recent years, we have focused on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a shift that redeﬁned the skills landscape. We have tackled automation, digital transformation, and the reshaping of administrative functions. You have responded with agility, courage, and a commitment to continuous learning.

And now, as we gather for our 13th conference, we enter a new frontier: Artiﬁcial Intelligence. AI is no longer a distant concept; it is here and transforming how we work. This year, we focus on helping ofﬁce professionals adapt to AI, embrace it, and make it work for them. Whether using AI tools to streamline workﬂows, improve

decision-making, or enhance creativity, the future belongs to those who are ready to lead with human and artiﬁcial intelligence.

As the Founder, I am profoundly proud—not just of the skills our delegates have acquired but of who they’ve become. I’ve watched administrators rise into management roles, start businesses, return to study, and mentor others with conﬁdence. You’ve grown not only as professionals but as people—with resilience, purpose, and power.

This conference is more than an event—it’s a movement. And if you’re ready to grow, to lead, and to thrive in the AI era, then this is your time.

EAC Convener and Founder , Mbali Mkhize

Reﬂections on the Empowered Administrators Conference (EAC)

As the Co-Convenor of the Empowered Administrators Conference (EAC) at the Mangosuthu University of Technology, it’s an honour to reﬂect on our journey—from the initial idea to a truly transformative experience for ofﬁce professionals like you. The EAC was designed with you in mind, aiming to provide knowledge and a sense of community and empowerment in your daily roles.

From the beginning, I focused on building a strong network of stakeholders. By collaborating with organisations for block registrations, we’ve ensured that professionals across departments can beneﬁt together. This not only boosts participation but also fosters invaluable peer learning among colleagues. It’s all about helping you grow as a team and sharing strategies and insights that can elevate your workplace.

I cannot emphasise enough how pivotal our sponsors have been in this journey. Their trust in the EAC’s vision enabled us to invite top-notch speakers and curate an exceptional experience for every delegate. Their support has allowed us to expand our outreach and create a powerful platform for empowerment and growth.

We are incredibly grateful for their partnership, which makes this journey possible.

Our commitment to maintaining a reliable stakeholder database is central to our success. This dynamic tool allows us to communicate effectively, ensure easy registration, and build lasting

relationships with individuals and organisations that return year after year. We are here for you, and we want to grow together!

We’ve consistently chosen relevant themes like “Reporting to Multiple Bosses,” “Project Management for Admin Professionals,” and “Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace.” These topics resonate deeply with the challenges you face daily. At the EAC, you’ll ﬁnd strategies to tackle these issues head-on and a supportive community ready to lift one another up.

Looking ahead to EAC 2025, we are charting a new path. With the emergence of AI, there’s understandable trepidation in our profession. However, we are committed to equipping you with the tools and knowledge necessary to harness the power of AI as a supportive ally in your work. We’ve secured some of the best speakers who will share tested insights from various sectors, enabling you to advance conﬁdently into the future.

Our promise remains: we are here to help you shine. Join us at the EAC, where your growth matters, and together we will redeﬁne what it means to be an empowered ofﬁce professional.

EAC Co-Convenor, Zama Sishi

EAC TEAM

The EAC Awards

The awards are a platform the conveners of the conference created to honour and reward various aspects of an administrators’ work. Good work has to be positively acknowledged so as to inspire administrators to stay on focus, deliver better outputs and give their clients a positive experience. From the front office administrator to the ones who work behind the scenes, the administrators’ work is about getting things done for the benefit of their clients. Clients’ needs are ever changing in line with technological changes and annual programmes, these place demands on administrators that these awards seek to reward. The awards are in four categories; Customer-Centric, Ubuntu, Techno-Savvy and Brand Ambassador.

Customers are the reason we do business.

Customer Centric Award

Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu.

Ubuntu
Award

Technology is here to stay.

Techno-savvy
Award

Brands have identity,

Brand ambassador Award

Customer Centric Award

Customers are the reason we do business.

Customers are the reason we do business. Whether you call them students, clients, buyers, customers or applicants; they are your bread and butter. Without them there is no business. This category recognizes the administrator who puts the customers’ needs at the top. Who has the necessary patience to handle all the pressures that come with dealing with customers and make organizations deliver on their customer service goals, turnaround times and queries.

Ubuntu Award

Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu.

This isiZulu idiom aptly captures this category. Ubuntu is about humanness, empathy and humility. Customers bring along to our workplaces their lives, their challenges and sometimes their baggage. When we deal with them and help them find their solutions, we often have to also deal with them holistically. For the administrator who knows that customers are human; who treats customers and stakeholders with dignity, empathy and go beyond the call of duty and looks beyond their job description.

Techno-savvy Award

Technology is here to stay.

It will change what we do. That change is not constant but carries on relentlessly. Administrators are constantly asked to learn new technologies, find ways of communicating with customers in effective and technologically friendly ways. When we embrace technology, we can reach more people cheaply and efficiently. So, for the administrator who has embraced technology, who is on top of his or her game, a solution finder, a technology literate one.

Brand Ambassador Award

Brands have identity, they are part of our lives, indispensable, ubiquitous and necessary.

From the phones we carry to the shoes we wear, our world is made up of brands. Each brand has a promise carried through in its mission and campaigns. An administrator is part of the brand they work for, they live the brand promise, through what they do each day. This category rewards the administrators who dresses the part, looks the part and acts the part. He/she professionally lives in a way that delivers the brand promise, professionally and efficiently.

Commendations

A very BIG thank you for an exhilarating, adrenaline-charged conference experience of empowerment for us office administrators….I see Brenda strutting her stuff down the passage very confidently these days

We thoroughly enjoyed all sessions with such cutting-edge speakers which we could identify ourselves in similar scenarios.

Was definitely worth the drive to and from Pietermaritzburg

Looking forward to 2023 EAC Conference