India is all set to host World Information Technology
Forum (WITFOR) 2012 tomorrow in Vigyan Bhawan,New Delhi . The fifth
edition of the coveted event is being organised by the International
Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), in partnership with the
Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DEITy), Ministry
of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India.
The Forum opens tomorrow with the inaugural address by Shri Kapil Sibal,
Minister of Communications and IT & HRD, Government of India. Other
key speakers at the inaugural function are Mr. Janis Karklins,
Assistant Director General, Communication and Information Sector,
UNESCO, Shri Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for Communications and IT,
Government of India, Mr Leon Strous, President, IFIP and Shri J
Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information
Technology, Government of India
WITFOR will focus, on use of ICT in agriculture, education, health and
e-Governance, within the overall theme of ‘ICT for Sustainable Human
Development’. Representatives from over 30 countries will share their
knowledge, views and best practices in the use of IT for governance and
delivery of key public services, brought together on a common platform
that will allow them to showcase successful, working models of the use
of ICT for development.
WITFOR was born out of the need for emerging economies and developed
countries to collaborate and harness the potential for digital
technologies for sustainable development. Since its inception in 2003,
World IT Forums have been held four times–in Vietnam (2009), Ethiopia
(2007), Botswana (2005) and Lithuania (2003). The activities of the
Forum are broadly guided by the World Summit on the Information
Society`s (WSIS) Plan of Action, in order to help achieve the UN
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The participation in WITFOR has
risen from 600 to 1,500 in six years, bearing testimony to its robust
content and the diversity of attendees. The WITFOR conferences help
bring together a variety of stakeholders to discuss, debate and analyse
ways in which ICT is powering the engine of growth and development in
the emerging economies for policymakers and practitioners to share
knowledge on ‘ICT for development’ with their international counterparts
who are facing similar challenges in their countries.
With over 80 speakers from around the world, WITFOR 2012 aims to bring
together a unique mix of policymakers and political leaders, social
entrepreneurs, academic researchers, practitioners and executives, both
from the private and public sector. Leaders from multilateral
organisations like UNESCO, UNDP, the World Bank and from regional bodies
like the West African Health Organisation will share their experiences
in meeting the challenges of globalisation and sustainable development.
Other attendees include high-level dignitaries from the governments of
Bangladesh, Canada, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Moldova, Paraguay, as well as
senior members of academia and from across South Asia, Latin America,
Europe and Africa. The Forum, aimed primarily at fostering an informed
debate among policymakers, will also bring together senior bureaucrats
and technologists from South Korea, Canada, Nigeria, Kenya, Malaysia,
Estonia, Moldova and Secretaries to the Government of India – both from
the Centre and the states.
WITFOR is an important international event that places the host country
on an international platform to showcase its achievements. So far, India
has hosted only regional ICT/e-Governance international events and
partnering in WITFOR 2012 will give Indian Policy Makers as well as
Industry and opportunity not only to learn from other countries but will
also open avenues for further cooperation and business development
especially for innovative products such as Aakash and value added
services delivered on Mobile Platforms. Also, WITFOR 2012 will give
Indian States an opportunity to showcase their premier e-Governance
projects and give international delegates an opportunity to visit such
projects across India
The Forum will discuss the role of IT interventions in bringing about
greater transparency in governance, issues of privacy and security while
dealing with public databases, financial inclusion and ways of
leveraging wireless technologies. It will also debate challenges related
to the training of health workers, capacity building, evidence-based
decision making to improve health outcomes, the role of government in
primary healthcare, and the role of ICT in creating digital content,
bridging the skills gap and the digital divide, as well as improving
productivity, food security, knowledge transfer in the agriculture
sector.
As a country with enormous ICT capabilities and equally immense
socio-economic development challenges, India attracts significant
international attention for its efforts to exploit the developmental
potential of ICT. At the same time, Indian policymakers and
practitioners can learn from the experiences of other countries. WITFOR
2012 will provide a unique opportunity for sharing knowledge on
mobilising ICT for development, among a diverse range of professionals
engaging in this effort in many countries with a variety of development
challenges. WITFOR 2012 will provide a valuable forum for understanding
how the power of ICT can be harnessed for sustainable development.
With nearly 1200 registrations , delegates are drawn from the public and
private sectors across India, as well as from Africa, Europe, Asia and
Australia, including participants from Greece, Poland, Finland, Croatia,
Paraguay, South Korea, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and
South Africa. Indian delegates include senior government officials from
various states, public enterprises, private sector and academia, from
all across the country, as well as independent researchers, ICT
enthusiasts, students, entrepreneurs and members of the academia and
development practitioners.
WITFOR 2013 will be held in Paraguay.
