2012 Cairo ICT begins tomorrow
Held at the Cairo International Conference Centre from 26-29 April, the international trade fair is reported to be one of the top events in the Middle East and North Africa region, covering the fields of IT, electronics, satellite and broadcasting, hardware and software, as well as internet and mobile services.
Communications and information technology ministers from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and North Sudan will speak alongside Egypt's communications and information technology minister, Mohamed Abd-el-Kader Salem, at the event's keynote address to discuss ways of connecting the continent.
This opens the door wide for many projects and ideas some of which have already been launched or implemented, while others wait for political issues to settle down to launch a number of new projects and a few more will be announced for the first time.
Hossam Saleh, executive vice president of Trade Fairs International, the company organising Cairo ICT says, "The coming round of the exhibition comes like spring breezes to give a boost to the ICT sector to soar to higher and wider horizons. Cairo ICT represents an exceptional opportunity for all participants to discuss challenges, future investment opportunities and the prospects of growth both locally and regionally."
World Summit Award
The four-day event will culminate with the World Summit Award (WSA), a global not-for-profit activity to select and promote best practice in e-Content production and creativity in innovative internet applications.
Having postponed the 2011 winners' event due to political turmoil, the award ceremony will take place in Cairo. From over 460 projects and 105 countries the WSA Grand Jury selected 40 WSA Winners in 2011.
Among the winners are three Egyptians, heralded for excellence in e-Content and innovative ICT applications, demonstrating the country's capacity to produce internationally acclaimed talent.
Specialised portal Erada addresses significant needs related to the knowledge and information empowerment for people with disabilities. Wael Zakeria, the portal's developer is blind himself. His innovation sprung from the desire to ensure visually impaired people can actively participate in Egyptian society.
Other Egyptian winners include El3ab.com, one of the leading online portals for internet based game play in the region. And, in the e-Culture and Heritage category, the production of Description de l'Egypte to multi-lingual DVD was recognised as a monumental achievement.
WSA is hosted by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), a governmental entity affiliated to Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, under the patronage of Salem.
Yasser ElKady, CEO of ITIDA, said, "We take our responsibility for growing and developing Egypt's position as a leading global outsourcing location very seriously. Hosting the WSA at Cairo ITC 2012 is the perfect opportunity to show the world that Egypt produces world-class technically proficient talent."
For more, go to www.cairoict.com.
