Taiwan to host 2017 World Congress on Information Technology

2016/08/04

The World Congress on Information Technology, to be held in Taiwan next year, aims to attract major industry players from home and abroad to showcase the latest trends in information and communications technology with an emphasis on smart city applications and services, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs Aug. 3.

“In response to global trends toward open and smart ICT technologies, we intend to introduce advancements and applications from around the world in these areas at the 2017 congress,” said Shieh Lon-fon, deputy director of the Information Technology Electronics Division at the Industrial Development Bureau under MOEA. “We also plan to use this opportunity to demonstrate Taiwan’s strong capabilities in hardware and software integration,” he said, adding topics related to broadband technologies, cloud computing, Internet of Things, open data and wearable devices will also be addressed at the congress.

Organized by IDB Sept. 10-13, 2017 under the theme “Fulfilling the Promises of the Digital Age: Building and Sharing the Dream,” the event will consist of conferences, business-to-business matching events, ICT awards and speeches at Taipei International Convention Center as well as a special exhibition on Taiwan’s smart city technologies at Taipei World Trade Center. This will mark the second time the country has staged the event, having previously served as host in 2000.

Shieh said during the congress his bureau will organize a one-day tour of local 4G smart city initiatives, mainly in Taipei City, New Taipei City and Taoyuan City in northern Taiwan, to enable international guests to experience these services firsthand. He noted, for instance, that part of the tour will focus on Taiwan’s smart transportation solutions, highlighting such advances as the nation’s freeway electronic toll collection system, YouBike public bicycle rental service, and eBus, a platform providing passengers with real-time information on bus locations.

Dubbed the Olympics of the ICT industry, WCIT is the flagship event of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance, whose members comprise 90 percent of the global market. First held in 1978, the congress typically draws more than 2,000 academics, business leaders and government officials from over 80 countries. The 2000 edition held in Taiwan featured such heavyweights as Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp., John Chambers, then CEO of Cisco Systems Inc., and Carly Fiorina, then CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=246716&ctNode=2194&mp=9)