The first National Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Summit 2021 began today morning at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby. The summit was organized in an effort to bring private and public sectors to share experiences and ideas, interact with the key stakeholders, to discuss current trends in ICT and to chart a direction and inform about the anticipated National ICT policy 2022.
The ICT Summit is a three day event where various sessions with multiple speakers will be held to discuss the sectors or areas where ICT needs to focus to improve and enhance their work. The thematic areas for discussion through the three days would be:
- Internet access
- Digital skills and digital literacy
- Governance and project management
- Digital governance services
- Media and broadcasting industry
- Financial inclusion
- Digital ID and data governance
- Innovation and entrepreneurship
- Innovation in SME, agriculture and mining
- Cybersafety and Cybersecurity
Today’s sessions will be focused on e-Government applications, access and connectivity solutions and promotions, strategies for strengthening governance and accountability, more inclusive internet and innovative solutions to digital and financial inclusion.
Minister of ICT Timothy Masiu welcomed the keynote speaker and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape. The minister said that since 2018 the government has been bringing out changes in the infrastructure and connectivity. In the telecom sector alone there have been multiple changes like monitoring the acquisition of Digicel Pacific by Telstra which is subject to regulatory compliance.
Mr. Masiu also said that the government projects that within the span of four to five years mobile usage will jump up to 6 million users from its current 2.8 million users. ICT is no longer telecom; it now includes media coverage, finect, cloud technology and artificial intelligence. Understanding this broad scope of ICT and its benefits for the government, the government is supporting the Digital Transformation Policy.
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