CTO Forum 2014 at Dhaka set to Drive Commonwealth ICT Initiatives

With an aim to initiate availability of better ICT infrastructure and solutions in the Commonwealth nations, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation Forum 2014 is set to take place from the 8 - 10 September 2014, at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The Forum is the premier ICT conference of the Commonwealth drawing high level participation from ICT ministries, regulators and operators from across the Commonwealth and beyond and is hosted this year by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the Ministry of Posts Telecommunications & Information Technology (MoPTICT).

The theme for the 2014 conference will be ICTs for Development: From Access to Inclusive and Innovative Services. The 2014 Forum will focus on key aspects of ICT access and utilisation including infrastructure, connectivity, applications, value added services, data and security.

Key topics to be discussed include:

*       Building a sustainable ICT Infrastructure: challenges and opportunities

*       Evaluating the benefits of e-Commerce in emerging markets

*       Mobile technologies, applications and VAS

*       Creating an efficient e-Governance system

*       Transparency and Open Government: The role of Open Data

*       Cloud-Based Business Process Outsourcing

*       Financing technological developments in the Commonwealth

Some of the key speakers participating in the event include:

*       Honourable Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, People's Republic of Bangladesh

*       Sunil Kanti Bose, Chairman, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

*       Professor Tim Unwin, Secretary-General, Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation

*       Juma Kandie, Chairperson, Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation and Director of Human Resources, Communications Commission, Kenya

*       Dr  Eugene Juwah, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission

*       Reshan Dewapura, Chief Executive Officer, ICT Agency of Sri Lanka

*       Mohammad Azad Rahman, Operations Officer, International Finance Corporation

*       Tenzin Dolma Norbhu, Lead ICT Policy Specialist, The World Bank

The Forum will be followed by the CTO's Council meeting from 11th to 12th September, where the country delegations (led by policy makers and regulators) set operational plans for the Organisation for the next financial year.