The Information and Communications Association of Jordan, int@j held a press conference on Wednesday August 24th at the King Hussein Business Park to announce the launch of the Middle East & North Africa Information and Communication Technology Forum , on 9-10 November.
This year’s MENA ICT forum comes at a time the world is witnessing rapid technological developments manifested in the coinage of terms such as “The Internet Economy” and “Digital Economy” among other global concepts which affect and influence business sectors, governments, and societies in MENA and beyond.
In specific, this year’s forum focuses on a number of critical sectors and industries, such as education, healthcare, clean energy, commerce, financial services, transport and logistics, media, and humanitarian causes. Within each of these parallel sessions, global experts will demonstrate how those are impacted and enhanced by modern technologies such as the internet of things, big data, mobility, artificial intelligence, unconventional payment and finance mechanisms, 3D printing, data security, cloud computing, and augmented reality. Moreover, the forum’s plenary sessions focus on the important subject of growth-hacking MENA ICT industries, and tackle both aspects; what companies need to grow into global mega corporations, and what governments need to provide to facilitate and foster exponential growth rates.
int@j’s Chairman Dr. Bashar Hawamdeh highlighted that “Digitizing the Economy” is a major driver for sustainable economic development. He added “This year’s forum is an important opportunity for both decision makers and individuals,” underscoring that the deliberations and topics that will be discussed in the forum will shed light on how new technologies will change daily lives of everyone considering the application of new technology trends and their impacts on the economy.
int@j’s CEO Nidal Bitar considered the timing of holding the forum as critical due to the need of utilizing all factors of the ICT sector to cope with the changes Jordan is going through. He said that the MENA ICT Forum will urge decision takers to ease procedures and introduce legislations that will embrace these changes and needs.
He explained that “what differentiates this year’s event is the economic aspect of the forum and discussing issues that interest a wide spectrum of individuals beyond those working in various ICT specialty areas. This will materialize through discussing the impacts of these changes on the daily lives of everyone, in addition that the forum is considered one of the biggest regional events that hosts experts in all walks of technology.”
It is noteworthy that the MENA ICT Forum started in 2002 and is held biennially with the aim of building a vision for the ICT sector in the Middle East. The forum serves as a platform for the latest trends and developments in technology and showcasing various experiences of the world through speakers in different fields. The MENA ICT forum is viewed as one of the technology-related most prestigious events in the region and is vastly attended and followed by interested parties locally, regionally and globally.
