World Congress on Information Technology to be Held in Montreal - ONE Vision for a Global Digital Society

MONTREAL, March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) will be held in Montréal, from October 22 to 24, 2012, at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal. Every two years, the WCIT is organized in a different country under auspices of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) and it has become the world's leading information technology gathering, with prominent speakers, leading thinkers, and business leaders from all over the world invited to participate.

This year's WCIT will bring something new, and perhaps unprecedented, to the world stage. A World Tech Jam kicks off WCIT 2012 from June 5-7, with 20,000 online contributors collaborating and sharing their ideas, their passion, and their insights on a massive scale into the creation of a true bottom-up Global Digital Society Action Plan. "When compared to conventional engagement techniques, jamming or digital brainstorming has many advantages," said Anthony Williams, WCIT 2012 Program Chair. "And for the first time, IT users around the world will lead the conversation. This event will give users a voice - this is a giant step for the IT world and a first."

One of the results of the Jam will be a Digital Agenda that will have influence on the WCIT 2012 program. Think of it as an action plan for realizing opportunities for digital innovation that can inform, inspire and guide decision makers in sectors ranging from public administration and health care to education and science. The Digital Agenda will be unveiled to the Congress delegates, ICT stakeholders, and government, academic and community leaders during the closing ceremony of WCIT 2011 and then presented to the WITSA as a tool for policy development, educational curricula, corporate citizenship programs, and much more.

Convened under the theme of "ONE Vision for a Global Digital Society", WCIT 2012 will be a fast-paced three-day conference featuring more than 100 high-profile speakers and attracting up to 3,000 delegates and 300 media from more than 80 countries. The conference's objective is to impact economic and social development through the exchange of policies, practices, trends and ideas on ICT and it will feature topics that discuss ICT`s role in the economy, environment, government, healthcare, education and mobility.

"WCIT 2012 will bring together world-class keynote speakers and leaders of government, industry, academia, and civil society for broad discussions on how ICT technologies shape and help today's digital society by placing the user at the center of the event," said Francois Morin, CEO of WCIT 2012. "It will showcase canadian technology innovation to a global audience, creating business opportunities for Canadian entrepreneurs, and attract foreign investment."

The Congress will feature the following parallel events:

• The United Nations' World Youth Summit Awards (WSYA) will be co-hosted with the WCIT 2012. The WSYA selects and promotes best practice in e-content and new media, demonstrates young people's potential to create outstanding digital content, and serves as a platform for people from all UN member states in their efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are eight concrete goals to eradicate poverty and inequality worldwide. They were set in 2000 by the UN and should be reached by 2015.
• An exhibition featuring the latest advancements in ICT products, services, and applications, including government pavilions showcasing the expertise of leading ICT countries.
• A B2B event with structured business meetings for 200 to 300 Canadian SMEs that aims at renewing or developing multinational and cross-industry contacts and partnerships - strategic, commercial, financial, and technological - between companies from both developed and emerging economies.
• Approximately 200 Canadian companies will be selected and invited to attend the WCIT C200 Investment Forum. The program will provide a premium networking opportunity between the selected Canadian companies seeking investment and invited members of the International ICT Investment community.
• Unique showcases of Canadian Innovations and Young Global Innovators, where presenters will demonstrate world-changing ideas and answer questions from the audience.

About the World Congress on Information Technology

The World Congress on IT (WCIT) is a bi-annual event where politicians, CEO's and academics discuss opportunities and possibilities that IT applications offer. This world congress is a unique collaboration between the international ICT industry, users and governments. WCIT is organized under the auspices of WITSA (World Information Technology and Services Alliance). A premier global ICT congress, WCIT brings together more than 3,000 global leaders in business, government and academia from over 80 countries to impact economic and social development through the exchange of policies, practices, trends and ideas on ICT. Since its inception in 1978, WCIT has become the world's leading information technology gathering with prominent speakers from all over the world. Past congress speakers have included, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, and Mikhail Gorbachev, to name but a few.

For more information, please visit http://www.wcit2012.org

About WITSA

The World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) is a consortium of more than 80 information technology (IT) industry associations from economies around the world representing more than 90 per cent of the global ICT market. Founded in 1978 and originally known as the World Computing Services Industry Association, WITSA has become an increasingly active advocate in international public policy issues affecting the creation of a robust global information infrastructure. WITSA has a real impact on the global ICT environment. It strengthens the industry at large by promoting a level playing field and by voicing the concerns of the international ICT community with multilateral organizations, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the G8 and other international arenas where policies affecting industry interests are developed.

For further information:

Or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Steven Ross
Morin Public Relations
+1-514-289-8688 ext. 236
steven@morinrp.com

Julie Smithers
APEX Public Relations
+1-416-660-4224
jsmithers@apexpr.com