| CHAIRMAN MESSAGE |
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As we usher in a new year, I would like to
take this opportunity to express my
heartfelt thanks |
for your wonderful
support and hard work for WITSA in 2008. To
recap,
we have come together to create the largest
and best-ever World Congress on Information
Technology. We have put forth many
resolutions that have impacted the creation
of public policy in areas of ICT. We have
enlarged our global network of contacts
through the recruitment of new members and
founding partners. WITSA is today an
independent organization with a focus on
public policy, global ICT trade and
membership benefits.
Let us keep up this momentum to realize the
great potential that WITSA has. Let us not
forget that amidst the global economic
uncertainty, ICT plays an important role in
shortening the recovery period and can help
position nations for the growth that is sure
to come again. It is a message of hope that
we have to bring to governments and
businesses alike.
Here’s wishing you a prosperous, inspiring
and happy 2009!
Dato’ Dan E Khoo
Chairman
WITSA |
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WITSA PROMOTION |
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Save US$350 on GPPS 2009 delegate ticket when you register and pay before February 28, 2009. Standard delegate ticket price is US$900.
Special package for WITSA Members - Every ten (10) delegate tickets sold will get one (1) free delegate ticket OR delegation of ten (10) from single WITSA member organization will get 10% discount.
WITSA together with GPPS 2009 Organizer, the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce’s Business Technology Division invite all WITSA members to participate in this international summit.
Click here for the invitation letter.
Click here to register and take advantage of the early bird promotion. |
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With the collaborative efforts between WITSA and IHS Global Insight, Digital
Planet: The Global Information Economy (2008 Edition), is ready for our members
to order. This publication provides detailed statistics on global ICT spending
covering 75 countries, 11 vertical market segments, and forecast data.
View the
Executive Summary and
Press Release here. The full report can be
purchased at only US$100, excluding credit card or bank wire fees and shipping
fees. To purchase, please contact Anders Halvorsen at
ahalvorsen@witsa.org.
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CALL FOR CONTENT: |
| KNOWLEDGE SHARING |
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WITSA aims to strengthen our national industry associations through the sharing of knowledge, experience, and critical information. Therefore, we seek your continuous support to provide us with materials on the below listed areas.
This information will be published in our quarterly e-Newsletter and deposited in our knowledge sharing portal (coming soon). Please send your materials to
yinfeng@witsa.org.
• Industry News and Updates
• Industry Best Practices
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Reports
• Grants Availability
• Market Intelligence and Survey Reports
• Upcoming Events 2009 / 2010 |
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WITSA PARTNERS |
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WITSA IN THE NEWS |
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WITSA held BOD Meeting in Hyderabad, India recently |
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WITSA held its Board of Director’s Meeting recently in
Hyderabad, India on December 1, 2008. Please
click here for the
BOD Meeting Report.
During the meeting the Board approved
WITSA’s 2-4-6 years Goals to bring WITSA to the next level.
Please click here for WITSA Goals. |
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WITSA Chairman won PIKOM ICT Man of the Year Award 2008
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| PIKOM, Malaysia honored two individuals and two organizations at the PIKOM ICT Leadership Awards 2008 Ceremony recently. WITSA Chairman and WCIT 2008 CEO, Dato’ Dan E Khoo was announced as joint recipients of the PIKOM ICT Man of the Year Award 2008. The award honors individuals that creates the greatest impact on the ICT industry in Malaysia, bringing it to the next level of development, prominence or visibility, and impacts the overall competitiveness of the country through the use of ICT. |
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| Director General of Intellect won the Editor's Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK IT |
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The leading IT publication in UK, Computing, announced the winners of its Computing Awards for Excellence 2008 recently. WITSA Director and Intellect Director General, John Higgins, received the Editor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to UK IT. Higgins has contributed a decade of his time in Intellect, growing the IT industry to be the second largest private sector contributor to the UK economy, behind financial services.
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| MexicoIT joined as new WITSA Partner |
| Please join us to welcome
MexicoIT as our new WITSA Partners joining Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, Virginia, the United States of America, Information Technology Industry Development Agency, Egypt, Uniglobal Services Outsourcing Inc., the Philippines, and Multimedia Development Corporation, Malaysia. |
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| Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN) joined WITSA as new Member |
We would like to welcome ITAN to the big family of WITSA!
“We at ITAN, representing the |
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| Nigerian ICT
Industry, are very pleased to join
WITSA during the recent BOD Meeting
in Hyderabad, India. With this membership
we have access to 67 countries' ICT
industry best practices in the area
of policy formulation, government
and academic synergies for the advancement of ICT and its penetration for development. This means that ITAN members now have more opportunities for trade and technology missions to explore what works in other member countries for local adaptation.” Jimson Olufuye, ITAN President. |
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COMMITTEE IN FOCUS |
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PUBLIC POLICY COMMITEE |
| WITSA Resolution for the 3rd Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Hyderabad, India |
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To-date, the Internet has grown in a
largely unregulated environment, and has
shown an ability to thrive in a wide variety
of market environments under competitive
conditions, delivering innovation,
productivity and opportunity to a growing
number of users in all parts of the world.
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Policy makers, both national and global are
considering a wide number of regulatory
approaches in dealing with challenges of
cyber security, access, spam and malware
management, intellect property protection
and many other issues. Check out WITSA Resolution and
Press Release on Internet Governance here.
In conjunction with IGF, WITSA together with the Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC) and Keidanren have organized the Internet Governance Forum Workshop themed “ICTs and an Environmentally Sustainable Internet: Another Challenge of Connecting the Next Billion Internet Users”.
Click here for the report.
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New Committees Established |
| During the Board of Directors meeting on September 4, 2008, three new committees were setup in addition to the existing Public Policy. The three committees are Global Trade, Membership and Finance / Audit / Compensation to be chaired Looi Kien Leong, PIKOM Malaysia, Ian Birks, AIIA Australia and Dr. Jorge Cassino, Argentina respectively.
Check out the committee objectives, framework, updated news and activities for
Global Trade,
Membership and
Finance / Audit / Compensation here.
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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT |
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INDUSTRY NEWS AND UPDATES |
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AEA, ITAA merge to form Technology Association of America.
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The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and the American Electronics Association (AEA) will merge to form Technology Association of America. The new organization will provide a stronger voice to represent technology-related companies.
Read
News Clipping on the merger of AEA and ITAA here. |
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| INDUSTRY REPORTS
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Malaysia: ICT Strategies, Societal and Market Touch (November 2008) |
| This is an inaugural publication published by PIKOM, Malaysia, aiming at providing data on ICT and its impact on society and economy. While the world is reeling from serious financial crisis, the ICT sector in Malaysia is poised for positive growth. Learn more on
Malaysia’s ICT Strategies, Societal and Market Touch here
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| Jordan: IT Industry Statistics 2007
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| This is an annual survey of the IT sector developed by the Information Technology Association – Jordan (int@j) to demonstrate the sector’s growth in terms of numbers and to determine the growth in market size, exports, investment attracted, and new jobs created. Check-out the detail of the
Jordan’s IT Industry Statistic here.
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| INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES
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Trinidad and Tobago: Data Protection Bill
2008 and National e-Business Policy
Framework |
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The Data Protection Bill 2008 seeks to protect the privacy of personal and private information of individuals which is entered into electronic format. Learn more on
Trinidad and Tobago’s Data Protection Bill
here.
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| The National e-Business Policy Framework is aimed at developing a vibrant and sustainable e-Business environment that will contribute to the transformation of Trinidad and Tobago’s economic paradigm towards one that has a significant knowledge base. Study the
Trinidad and Tobago’s National e-Business Policy Framework here.
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FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) COMPETITIVENESS |
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Malaysia: FDI Competitiveness Report |
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This report documented the competitiveness of Malaysia in the eyes of the foreign direct investors in the following areas; ease of doing business, market accessibility, social and political environment, infrastructure support, human Capital, investment incentives as well as living in Malaysia. Learn more about
FDI Competitiveness in Malaysia here. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS HIGHLIGHT |
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Event: |
WITSA BOD Meeting (1/2009) |
| Date: |
February 27, 2009 |
| Venue: |
Via Conference Call |
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Event: |
WITSA BOD Meeting (2/2009) |
| Date: |
May 27, 2009 |
| Venue: |
The Hague, Netherlands |
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Event: |
ICANN 34th International Public Meeting |
| Date: |
March 1 – 6, 2009 |
| Venue: |
Hotel Sheraton Centro Historico, Mexico City, Mexico |
| Website: |
http://mex.icann.org/ |
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Event: |
WITSA’s Global Public Policy Summit (GPPS) 2009 |
| Date: |
November 1 – 3, 2009 |
| Venue: |
Fairmont Southampton Hotel, Bermuda |
| Website: |
www.gpps2009.bm |
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Event: |
WITSA’s World Congress on Information Technology
(WCIT) 2010 |
| Date: |
May 26 – 28, 2010 |
| Venue: |
Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
| Website: |
www.wcit2010.org |
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ICANN 34th International Public Meeting |
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The 34th International Public Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will take place in Mexico City on March 1-6, 2009. WITSA is a founding member of
ICANN’s Commercial and Business Users Constituency. If you are interested in the domain name policy and other technical aspects related to the management of the Internet, this is the platform for you. The introduction of new generic top-level domain names, internationalized domain names (IDNs) and the phase-out of the Joint Project |
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Agreement (JPA) with the U.S. Department of
Commerce will be among several important
issues covered in this meeting.
Click here for more information on this meeting. Check out the policy update, including information on an e-crime workshop hosted by ICANN at this meeting here. Please contact Anders Halvorsen at
ahalvorsen@witsa.org if you are
interested to attend this meeting. |
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