Malaysia awaits the world of ICT
Malaysia is bracing for the arrival of some of the world’s greatest minds in ICT (information and communications technology) including almost 30 foreign ICT Ministers with just two days to go before the first of 13 events anchored by the 16th World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT 2008) kicks off on May 14.
More than 50,000 participants including 6,000 delegates and 44,000 trade visitors from over 80 countries will soon converge on the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and several other locations for 10 days of
congress, conferences and in excess of 2,000 structured B2B meetings as well as an exhibition covering some 100,000 sq ft of floor space.
With such a large congregation of global leaders in business, government and civil society, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said WCIT 2008 and its Related Events present Malaysia with the opportunity to showcase the nation as a serious ICT player on the world stage.
“This collection of events provides us with a platform to portray Malaysia as a preferred global ICT hub,” the Minister told a media conference at Parliament as a curtain raiser to WCIT 2008 and its Related Events.
“The goal is to attract foreign direct investors to Malaysia, to gain access to global markets for homegrown ICT products, to extend the benefits to the wider community, and to showcase Malaysia as a destination for tourism as well as MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions).”
During this period, the Minister said ICT sellers and buyers comprising global ICT players, local
companies and public institutions are expected to conclude trade and investment deals worth more than
RM300 million.
The Related Events include the:
- International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Terrorism (IMPACT), the main component of the World Cyber Security Summit;
- United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN-GAID);
- Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) E-Governance Asia Forum
- 11th International Advisory Panel (IAP) meeting for MSC Malaysia;
- World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Annual General Meeting;
- Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) Plenary Meeting;
- Mastering IT Project Management (MITPM) 2008;
- Grid Computing Conference;
- Cyber Development Corp Strategic Alliances Programme;
- Mobile Monday Global Forum;
- PC Fair International 2008; and
- PS3 (PIKOM Software and Services Showcase) 2008.
The participants for WCIT 2008 include more than 100 high-profile speakers who will share their
wisdom and experience on pressing issues such as the impact of ICT on outsourcing, education,
innovation, technopreneurship, healthcare, the environment and the future of the Internet.
WCIT Chairman Dato’ Badlisham Ghazali said: “This is a rare opportunity to listen to and gain valuable
insights from some of the world’s greatest minds on not only ICT-related issues but also other
technologies that are beginning to have an impact on the way we live and work.”
The global personalities include celebrity genome scientist Dr Craig Venter whose work in genetic engineering is exciting the world and who is credited with mapping the human genome sequence in
record time.
He joins such illustrious names as Google Chief Internet Evangelist Dr Vinton Cerf, widely acknowledged as the ‘Father of the Internet’, Microsoft’s Bill Gates – who will address the biennial global ICT forum via holographic technology – Intel Chairman Dr Craig Barrett, Dr Hamadoun Toure, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union, Dr Robert Atkinson of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Nobel Laureate Dr Rajendra Pachauri of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr Mark Mobius of Templeton Asset Management and many others.
Complementing the presence of these captains of industry are several national policy makers like Indian Minister of Communication and IT A. Raja, Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade Frank Heemskerk, Mexican Minister of Economy Dr Eduardo Sojo and Singapore Minister of Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Lee Boon Yang.
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