Oro to host National ICT Summit in November
THE National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) on Wednesday, October 11, announced that Cagayan de Oro City will be hosting the 9th NICP Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Summit this November 16 and 17.
The summit will be attended by stakeholders and ICT councils composed of the academe, local government units, and industries that work together to attract investments and to drive innovation and ICT development.
"We are targeting about 700 participants as a minimum coming from all over the Philippines, we also have some delegates coming from other countries as well, in fact we have speakers coming from other countries," NICP President Stephanie Caragos said, adding that about 50 speakers will attend the summit.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and NICP will also launch the Digital Cities PH program on the first day of the summit with theme: CDOx or Countryside Digital Opportunities Exchange.
"This is our version of smart cities. Right now there is a global movement of cities becoming smart cities, how big data is affecting even our policy making process in the city level," Bacolod lawyer Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, NICP Founding Trustee, said.
Caragos said they will have discussions in the summit about the next generation of skills and work force in the industry, adding that with the spotlight on Cagayan de Oro City and with a lot of visitors especially larger companies coming over, they are hoping that the visitors will be able to see the city’s economic boom.
"We hope that they also ALONG Gov. M. Cuenco Ave. in Cebu City, a repository of creative pieces like textiles, chairs, and home decors made out of abaca, raffia, and bamboo are displayed for the public to see.
This is where the Material Innovation Center (MATIC) see the growth that we have right now. And when they do see that we hope that they will also consider Cagayan de Oro City as well as a location for them to set up their companies and be able to employ many of our graduates here in Cagayan de Oro City," Caragos said.
On the second day of summit lies, a joint project of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Since 2008, it has served as a venue for small, and medium-sized enterprises and exporters to find new is the 6th eGov Awards or Awards for Excellence in ICT for Good Governance for Local Government Units.
The eGov Awards is an annual search for the best practices in local government units.
"Our eGov Awards, which started on 2010, is an awarding system for local government and innovative materials that they can use for production.
Inspired by the demand for innovative and sustainable materials, especially among Europeans, MATIC aims to assist more small and medium enterprises and exporters to develop units which integrate ICT into their system," Sigue said.
She also said for the last five years, they only have two categories but this year, they added three more.
Sigue added that there will be 39 entries from all over the Philippines, including Cagayan de Oro, taking new products made of inidgenous materials--especially now where competition from China in terms of mass production and affordability haunt the local creatives.
For DOST Cebu Director Tristan L. Abando, standing out from among the rest is what local creatives need to focus on.
“We are really banking on the design and the creativity of our products because it is difficult to compete with China in terms of mass production,,” Abando shared in a press conference yesterday.
To compete, Patricia Kyle Mendoza, ECCP MATIC project officer, encouraged local creatives to stand out in the global market by producing products of artisan quality.
“Ours (in Cebu and in the Visayas) is more of the artisan quality, niche items. There’s added advantages like sustainable production and consumption. We also want to make sure that there is fair trade between the communities and the manufacturers. We also want to highlight the use of indigenous part of the eGov Awards, with 25 local government units participating.
The two-day event is supported by the Department of Trade and Industry, Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Cagayan de Oro ICT Business Council, and the City Government. materials,” Mendoza said.
More than just a repository for material swatches and resources, the MATIC facility in Cebu City has become a venue for design industry players, a link to materials and design experts, as well as a gateway to technology suppliers.
On Wednesday, it launched the Design Technology Fusion Expanded (De-Tech Fusion Ex), an expansion of the resources and collection of innovative materials of MATIC where local creatives can collaborate in partnerships within the Southeast Asian Creative Cities Network (SEACCN) and provide additional training, including the further development of the hablon industry in Argao.
Managed by ECCP and supported by DOST, MATIC is also in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and in collaboration with the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF), Cebu GTH, FAME Foundation, and AFOS. SunStar Philippines