Convergence 2009, the national cyber road show, targets about 5,000 visitors for its Bacolod and Negros Occidental stop next month. The event set on September 11 and 12 is a project of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology’s (CICT) to promote its services in four strategic areas, namely, Cyberservices, Human Capital Development, eGovernment Development, and ICT Infrastructure.

In a meeting with CICT last week, Bacolod Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue as chair of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology (BNEFIT), Inc. was tasked to assist the CICT and its partners, and the Business Processing Association Of The Philippines (BPA/P) and Coordinating Council Of Private Education Associations (COCOPEA).

Batapa-Sigue said she is very excited to usher in knowledge and opportunities to closely attune the city and the province to global trends and initiatives in the ICT-based outsourcing and off-showing industry.

Its objectives are to promote the Philippine Cyber Corridor and the Next Wave Cities; ensure the supply of talent for the BPO-IT industry; increase awareness on the use of ICT; and enable Small and Medium Enterprises to spur its growth through technology.

For their part, BPAP and COCOPEA aims to highlight their key programs such as the BPO-IT Career Caravan, Community eCenter Program, BizSpark, Service Science Management and Engineering, eSkwela, iSchools, Creative Content Development Project, Nettop ng Bayan, eLGU, eBayad and eSerbisyo, among others. These will be featured through the plenary and break-out track sessions, exhibits, call center job simulation, career assessments and job fair, among others.

For Bacolod, our official dates are September 11 and 12, but locally we will make September 10 and 13 as event dates for exhibitions to enable this road show to gather thousands of participants from the academe (students, teaching professionals and school administrators), graduates, parents, private sector practitioners, potential investors, career shifters, returning OFWs, retirees, IT entrepreneurs, Local Government Units, and other stakeholders.

Convergence 2009 will feature various activities such as Learning and information sessions from CICT, key ICT industry leaders, BPO-IT experts and local government & ICT prime movers; BPO-IT job fair and talent caravan with on-site BPO-IT career assessments and counseling; site tours of nearby BPO-IT sites and BPO-IT job simulations; and the “BPO-IT Coffee Chat”, an interactive forum of key ICT and BPO-IT leaders with local stakeholders. There will also be lots of activities on the side courtesy of other organizations.

As part of its mission, BNEFIT aims to assist local government units and the national government especially in designing programs that will complement the educational system and integrate ICT therein to produce a more competent and job-ready workforce and to establish a strong network and various linkages with all academic, formal and non-formal, technical and vocational training institutions in Bacolod and Negros Occidental in order to formulate, consolidate and implements strategies and programs that will address the challenges and gaps identified in the ICT sector, Batapa-Sigue said.

For more information, one may reach (034) 433-9011 local 220, (034) 709-6135, email bnefit2007@yahoo.com or visit www.bnefit.org.

CONVERGENCE 2009
Empowering the Filipino Through ICT

What is Convergence 2009?

Convergence 2009 is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) road show that is aimed at pursuing objectives according to the Commission on Information and Communications Technology’s (CICT) four strategic areas: Cyberservices, Human Capital Development, eGovernment Development, and ICT Infrastructure. These objectives are:

1. Promote the Philippine Cyber Corridor and the Next Wave Cities;
2. Ensure the supply of talent for the BPO-IT industry;
3. Increase awareness on the use of ICT; and
4. Enable Small and Medium Enterprises to spur its growth through technology.

This two-day road show with the help of The Business Processing Association Of The Philippines (BPA/P) and Coordinating Council Of Private Education Associations (COCOPEA) aims to highlight key programs such as: BPO-IT Career Caravan, Community eCenter Program, BizSpark, Service Science Management and Engineering, eSkwela, iSchools, Creative Content Development Project, Nettop ng Bayan, eLGU, eBayad and eSerbisyo, among others. These will be featured through the plenary and break-out track sessions, exhibits, call center job simulation, career assessments and job fair, among others.

This road show will gather participants from the academe (students, teaching professionals and school administrators), graduates, parents, private sector practitioners, potential investors, career shifters, returning OFWs, retirees, IT entrepreneurs, Local Government