Saturday, November 14, 2009

2nd National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP)

The Metro Clark ICT Council (MCICTC) hosted the 2nd Philippine National ICT Summit 2009 at the Jasmine Function Hall, Fontana Convention Center, Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga last November 5-7, 2009. The summit was themed “One ICT, One Nation”, signifying unity in the midst of diversity.

Around 4,000 ICT delegates here and abroad attended the event dubbed “How Information and Technology Councils can help one another to grow productively competitive alongside our Asian counterparts in the still growing IT industry.”

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo opened the 3-day summit, which aimed at recognizing the importance of ICT in advancing today's growing business activities here and abroad. The summit was also in line with President Arroyo’s vision to make the Philippines globally competitive in the ICT industry. Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III, chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), introduced the President.

In her keynote speech, the President highlighted the flourishing business process outsourcing (BPO)-IT industry in the country and its major contribution to economic development. The industry started with 4,000 BPO workers in 2001, now it has a workforce of over 400,000.

Arroyo also cited the government's efforts to further develop the Philippine Offshoring and Outsourcing industries, investing heavily in research and development, telecommunications infrastructure and IT-related skills training. CICT was also created to provide an enabling environment for the growth of ICT.

She also congratulated the fast ICT growth in Clark, Pampanga, running third to Metro Manila and Metro Cebu in the country's Cyber Corridor. The National Outsourcing Association of the United Kingdom has selected the Philippines as the “Offshoring Destination of the Year,” proving once again that the country ranks as a top offshoring hub in the world.

Following the President’s speech was a presentation by Secretary Roxas-Chua titled "Philippine Position in ICT and Global Trends of BPO IT Industry."

Other topics discussed included Philippine BPO Industry, Taking the Center Stage by Jonathan Rosenberg, President, Cyber City TeleServices; Developing Cutting-Edge Technology for the Benefit of Society by Cesar Flores, International Sales Director, Smartmatic International; and, Development of Clark Freeport Zone by Mr. Benigno Ricafort, president and CEO of Clark Development Corporation (CDC).

Speeches and presentations were also made by Clark International Airport Corporation Present and CEO Victor Jose I. Luciano; Dennis Wright, president of Peregrine International (Global Gateways Logistics City); Angeles City Mayor Francis Nepomuceno (Sharing Best Practices: Angeles City ICT Position); Globe (The Philippines World-Class Connectivity Infrastructure and TxTConnect Raffle Quizzes) and, Iris Hester Tan-Chiu, IBM Philippines (Smarter Planet Innovation Initiatives).

Lastly, the following topics were also covered in several other discussions: Voters Education; Special Kick-Off Workshop with IT Educators, ICT Council Leaders, & Academic Institutions by SMARTMATIC TIM; CICT: Kapihang BPO; CICT: The Philippine Cyber Corridor; Bizpark Program; Technopreneurship Program; The Philippine Business Registry; Social networking of Aspects of Voter’s Education; CICT: PSIA Developers Connect; Technology Showdown by Saver’s Digital Hub; Competency Standards Development and Certification; Integrating ICTin Education; Providing ICT-Enabled Opportunities for Out-Of-School Youth and Adults; Creative Content Development; National Computer Institute- Government’s ICT Training Arm; Low Cost Computing; Product Options: Mobile and Broadband Communications Services; Technology Imperatives; Regulations and Governance of Mobile and Broadband; and, Communications in the Philippines.

The summit also had business matching activities, seminars by Smartmatic on automated elections, exhibitions and displays, cultural presentations, street dancing and musical show.

Also featured was CICT’s “Convergence 2009: Empowering The Filipino Through ICT converges with BPAP Talent Caravan,” highlighting its key programs/projects like the Community eCenter Program, BizSpark, Service Science Management and Engineering, eSkwela, iSchools, Creative Content Development Project, Nettop ng Bayan, eLGU, eBayad and eSerbisyo and the Business Processing Association of Philippines’ (BPA/P) Career Caravan activities like career talks, call center job simulation, job fair and career assessments.

The Summit became the platform for all IT-related industries in the Philippines to share best practices, broaden linkages, learn the latest IT-technologies and learn from the wisdom of the experts here and from around the world through the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP).

MCICTC, a member of the NICP, is one of the emerging ICT Councils in the Philippines that envisions of transforming the Metro Clark as one of the preferred IT and BPO destinations in the country. The council’s mission is to promote the development of the ICT industry as an effective instrument for investment and job generation.

The NICP, comprised of 30 ICT Councils, represents the national venue of united partnership for the Philippines ICT industry. It is the hub of super regions in Asia with ready information technology platforms for investment destinations.

The 2nd NICP was spearheaded by the Clark Development Corp. and Cyber City Teleservices Inc., and co-sponsored by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and Peregrine International, ComClark, and Savers Group of Companies. Government agencies that assisted in the event included the Department Trade and Industry (DTI) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

The Clark Investors and Locators Association, Philippine Society of Information Technology and Educators (PSITE), Fontana Leisure Parks, Technology Education and Skills Development Authority, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Stotsenburg Hotel, Angeles City Government, Mabalacat Government, and Smartmatic-TIM Corporation also contributed in the conduct of the summit.

For more information about MCICTC, you may call them at (045) 599-5353 or visit their website http://www.metroclarkict.com/summit.

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