Trinidad and Tobago ICT Business and Innovation Symposium 2008

On Sunday November 16, 2008 the Government of Trinidad and Tobago through the Ministry of Public Administration will be officially launching a two-day ICT Business and Innovation Symposium at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

 

This first ICT Business and Innovation Symposium is the single, largest, ICT-business networking, information sharing, promotion and awareness initiative staged in Trinidad and Tobago to-date. The Symposium is  geared towards raising awareness and promoting uptake of the new tools available in the global knowledge-based economy; it will also highlight investment opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago and the Region while setting an agenda and vision to invigorate the business and public sectors to fully embrace opportunities presented by Information Communication Technologies or ICTs.

 

Moreover, the high visibility, size and comprehensive nature of the event will highlight and confirm to the local and international private sector, Government’s commitment to the development of ICT capacity as a value added sector in itself and as an enabler for other sectors. It will cause the international community to recognize Trinidad and Tobago as an emerging regional hub in the dynamically expanding regional and global ICT economy.

 

Objectives

This Symposium,  is expected to become an annual event,which will serve to inform and mobilize the national business community and other societal stakeholders on the opportunities available in and to Trinidad and Tobago as a result of our advancements towards a knowledge-based economy. This marquee event will feature international speakers of the highest caliber who will motivate local business executives and the wider business community into action. It will therefore serve to highlight the role of ICT in the achievement of Vision 2020 and showcase national advancements in telecommunications liberalization, e-Government initiatives and regional e-Commerce success stories.

 

Audience

 

The Symposium will target regional business leaders, public officers, industry experts, academia and the media as well as international ICT professionals including internationally recognized keynote speakers and presenters.

 

 

ICT is a catalyst for change and advancement in thinking and in service transformation, in innovation, in education and in entrepreneurship and these are some of the topics that will be addressed at the Symposium.

 

Timely Intervention

This event is a timely intervention by the Ministry and its partners – the eBusiness Roundtable, e TecK and UTT – as T&T attempts to traverse the crossroads in its development thrust.

 

The national economy has been successfully fueled by the energy sector however, diversification remains critical to economic sustainability.

 

One step towards achieving sustainability is by harnessing ICT for economic gain.

 

This is the position held by the Minister of Public Administration, the Honourable Kennedy Swaratsingh, who at an earlier symposium held on Friday May 9, 2008 – “e Government, Sharing the Vision” – at the Hyatt Regency Hotel,  described success stories from developed and developing nations where ICT-enabled societies have strengthened their productive and competitive capacities.

 

However, ICT penetration and usage need to attain critical mass before it will make a significant positive impact on a country’s economy.

 

This Symposium therefore, is another step towards creating and sustaining that critical momentum here in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean region.

 

The event is supported by Platinum sponsors First Citizens and TSTT – two local organisations that have embraced ICT-led growth and have successfully been the vanguard of their respective industries. Other sponsors include, NORTEL, ANIXTER, UTT and ETeck, Dell, Memory Bank Computers Limited, Fujitsu Transaction Solution (Trinidad) Limited, and the Tourism Development Corporation.