Friday, July 23, 2010

int@j announce MENA ICT Forum 2010

It’s back. Jordan’s premier information technology event, has been announced and will be held on 10 October, 2010. It has been re-named the MENA ICT Forum.

Organized by the Information Technology Association of Jordan (int@j) for the 5th
time, the event will be held under the patronage of His Excellency Mr. Marwan Juma, Minister of ICT, previously head of int@j and well-known for his hard work for Jordan’s ICT sector.

At the event announcement, His Excellency said: “The MENA ICT Forum aims at establishing a leading position for Jordan to serve as a regional ICT hub and an internationally recognized exporter of ICT products and services.

Ayman Mazahreh, president of int@j and a long serving int@j board member, said that: “The MENA ICT Forum is the venue of choice for high-level decision makers from both the private and public sectors on local, regional and international levels.”
MENA ICT Forum will be supported by the USAID and Jordan Economic Development Program (SABEQ).

Laith Al Qasem, Chief of Party, said that “Jordan has a golden opportunity to enter the world of outsourcing due to the huge natural potential that lies within it. On both the public and private sector levels Jordan has launched its new campaign “Turn to Jordan…Your Smart Shore Destination”.

Having attended every ICT Forum in the past, I look forward to seeing what’s on offer this time round, especially with the more regional approach adopted.

The general program sounds good. The opening session will discuss Jordan’s journey and key accomplishments since 2000, followed by the “MENA at a glance” session with real life case studies and the current status of Arabic online content. The event will conclude by an interactive and informative session that articulates recommended practical steps to capitalize on various opportunities guided by investment incentives and legislative environments.

There is also a possibility that we, Jordan’s Internet entrepreneurs, may be contributing to the ICT Forum this year through the efforts of the newly founded Internet Cooperation Council (ICC) which aims to assist the country’s tech start-ups and investors and to build on Jordan’s reputation as a hot-bed of technology creativity and success. We’ll be telling you more about that soon.

In the meantime, we should all wish int@j the best of luck and we should all contribute through feedback, participation and spreading the good word about Jordan’s potential as a global ICT center.

zanasser@gmail.com