DOHA: The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQatar) will be hosting the first Qatar ICT Conference and Exhibition (Qitcom), from May 24-26, 2011, a move done by the government IT body to support the rapidly growing ICT market seen to expand to $3.7bn by 2013.
The conference which will be held at the Doha Exhibition Center will be an opportunity for ICT leaders in Qatar to engage with global industry leaders and see first-hand the latest offerings and advances from major ICT enterprises.
"Qatar recognizes the enormous value a vibrant ICT sector can have in our advancement towards being a diverse knowledge-economy. ictQatar is committed to growing and developing the ICT sector here, and we are aiming to accelerate the contribution of ICT to Qatar's economy and workforce over the next five years," said Marwan Mahmoud, Executive Director of ICT Industry Development at ictQatar
Mahmoud said there is a need to connect local leaders with the global ICT industry to help spur investment and locally grown innovation.
Already, many exhibitors confirmed their participation at the QITCOM including local companies such as Qatar Datamation Systems (QDS), World Connection, Total Soft, Atcom and Ictus Projects. Qitcom has also received ample support from multinationals, with industry leaders such as IBM, Huawei, SAP, Microsoft, Alcatel-Lucent and Oracle signed up to exhibit at Qitcom 2011 and considerable being received interest from many other big industry players.
Numerous prominent speakers have also confirmed to attend and impart their expertise during the conference including former Apple Chief Evangelist and Co-Founder of Alltop.com Guy Kawasaki, ictQatarSecretary General Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, Chairman of the United States Access Board's Planning Committee, Phil Jenkins, Former Head of Usability & Accessibility at BBC Future Media Jonathan Hassell, and Regional Manager Gulf at Google Mohamad Mourad.
The conference and exhibition will run concurrently throughout the three days of Qitcom. The conference has a theme for each of the three days: Innovate, Connect and Transform. The "Innovate" day will feature a keynote address by Guy Kawasaki and have sessions focused on Arabic digital content, digitization and mobile development. The "Connect" day will explore broadband ecosystems and models for broadband deployment and development, as well as cloud computing and integrated government. The "Transform" day will address mobile payment, smarter cities, assistive technology, and enterprise mobility.
ictQatar selected IFPQatar to be their organizing and event management partner for Qitcom 2011 based on their track record of organizing successful large-scale conferences and exhibitions in the region - most notably Qatar Career Fair and Project Qatar.
© The Peninsula 2011
