Pangasinan showcases IT breakthroughs in ICT gab

LINGAYEN, Philippines — Pangasinenses will have a chance to know more about the latest breakthroughs in information technology, the newest gadgets in the market, information technology (IT) solutions and processes by participating in the Pangasinan Digital Life ICT Congress 2011.

The five-day congress, which starts today at the Pangasinan Training and Development Center here, is another project of Gov. Amado Espino Jr. in a bid to position Pangasinan as the first digital province in northern Luzon.

Vanjie Padilla, social media strategist and congress moderator, said the province is expecting a huge number of participants, especially students and young professionals.

Padilla said the project will also serve as a groundbreaking for the province’s digital strategies to commence in 2012 such as provision of Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) to all towns, tele-medicine or online consultation, and online emergency response system.

The launching of the Libreng Konsultasyong Legal sa Barangay Project will serve as one of the highlights of the opening program, with the Region 1 director of the Public Attorney’s Office presenting the project synopsis.

Various topics will be tackled per day. Day 1 (today), prepared for high school students, will deal on “technology and the government,” while Day 2 will cater to college students enrolled in medical courses.

Day 3 is concentrated on “technology and the media,” while Day 4, dubbed as the “Geek Girls and Guys Bootcamp,” is for Web enthusiasts — programmers, developers, designers or anybody who is connected to IT.

Lastly, Day 5 will be exclusively for “technopreneurs” or the business sector with business and marketing through social media as main topics.

Speakers include Carlo Ople, social media manager of TV 5; JV Rufino, head of Inquirer Digital; Coy Caballes, social media manager of Globe Telecom; Vince Golangco, Video Online publisher; Col. Gilbert Sosa, a CIDG officer; Leo Querubin, CEO of Media Gateway; Sonnie Santos, cyber wellness advocate; Gary Viray, search engine master; Janet Toral, technopreneur; Jam Mayer, virtual events Maven; Jinky Umali, Web developer and designer; Azrael Coladilla, blogger; Noemi Dado, emerging media blogger and citizen journalist; and Roy Aguila, Multiply online merchant.

IT companies and exhibitors will display their IT wares, products and services during the event.

Interested parties may register online through the governor’s Facebook page, facebook.com/governorespino, and simply click Get Ticket. Registration fee is only P50.

Various contests will be held wherein awarding of winners will be conducted on the last day (Nov. 26).