The World Information Technology & Services Alliance (WITSA) committee has chosen to meet in Johannesburg in September, which could aid SA in its desire to host the World Congress on IT (WCIT) in 2010.
Information Industry SA (IISA) represents SA at the WITSA. IISA president Adrian Schofield says if SA won the right to host the WCIT, it would raise the profile of the local ICT industry, and give government and business the chance to showcase the country to the world.
"SA competed against Russia and Sri-Lanka to host the meeting in September. While the steering and public policy committees of WITSA will meet to discuss business issues, it is an ideal opportunity to showcase the country to the delegates," he says.
SA will submit a formal bid to host the three-day WCIT in 2010, which will cost around $10 million. A decision will be made at the WCIT in 2006, which is being held in Austin, Texas. Malaysia will host the event in 2008.
Schofield says WITSA is a business-driven alliance of 60 countries, which works together to improve the business environment around the world for ICT.
The 2004 WCIT was held in Athens, Greece last week and saw a host of international speakers addressing telecommunications, IT, e-democracy and e-government issues over the three-day conference.
Schofield says on the final day of the congress, ministers from many of the countries attending the event signed a declaration on technological developments in the service of the citizen, emphasising the critical role played by ICT in improving the quality of service rendered by governments.
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