Carter (second right), flanked by (from left) moderator Jeff Sandhu, Tapscott and Singh, during the plenary session.
KUCHING: The International ICT Infrastructure and Digital Economy Conference Sarawak (Idecs) 2017 has unfolded a new dimension of development and growth for industry players in the state.
The inaugural two-day conference with the theme ‘Transforming Sarawak Through Digital Economy’ was launched by Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) yesterday.
A mind-blowing keynote address on ‘Winning in the Second Era of the Digital Economy’ was delivered by Tapscott Group Inc. chief executive officer Don Tapscott, who is one of the world’s leading authorities in innovation,
media and the economic social impact of technology.
Tapscott, who is recognised as the fourth most influential speaker alive by Thinkers50, has authored and co-authored 15 widely read books, including Blockchain Revolution, Radical Openness, Microwikinomics, Grown Up Digital, New Solutions for a Connected Planet and Paradigm Shift.
“It was a mind-blowing talk,” said a delegate, Jason Voon, when met by The Borneo Post.
According to him, the usage of cryptocurrency will evolve the future of the world economy and the way trading is carried out, especially through the usage of ‘Blockchain’ – a leading software platform for digital assets.
The first day of the conference yesterday was attended by about 1,500 delegates comprising senior civil servants, business leaders, young entrepreneurs, community leaders, think tanks and university students.
Other speakers who took the stage yesterday were International Data Corporation (IDC) Europe chief analyst Philip Carter; Digital News Asia chief executive officer Karamjit Singh; Stanford University Doctoral Programme in Communication director Prof Jeremy Bailenson; Lazada Malaysia chief executive officer Hans-Peter Ressel; International Data Corporation IDC Asia/Pacific Government and Education head Gerald Wang; Sarawak Information Systems chief executive officer Dato Teo Tien Hiong; Swinburne University of Technology Digital Innovation and Translation director Prof Jugdutt (Jack) Singh.
Plenary sessions entitled ‘Enabling Technologies and Infrastructure for the Digital Economy’ and ‘Transforming and Transitioning People, Government, Commerce and Industries to be Digital-Economy-Ready’ were also held.
Today, World Bank Digital Strategy and Government Analytics advisor Randeep Sudan will be the keynote speaker on Strategies for Integrating with the Global Digital Economy which starts at 9am.
Other speakers today will be Grab Malaysia country head Sean Goh; Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre executive director Ehon Chan; Connectloud Inc Asia Business head Kumaran Singaram; Neuroware co-founder and chief executive officer Mark Smalley; and Sacofa managing director Zaid Zaini.
Abang Johari and State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani will be the honoured panellists at the conference wrap-up session with the title ‘Transforming Sarawak Through Digital Economy’.
Meanwhile, Idecs also features over 30 exhibitors who are either experts or actively engaged in utilising digital technologies at the lobby of the BCCK which is open to the public free of charge.
Among the exhibitors are AirAsia, Google, Sarawak eGovernment Services, Grab Malaysia and all the major local telecommunications providers.
Hosted by the Sarawak government, the conference is jointly organised with the Sarawak Centre of Performance Excellence (Scope) and Sarawak Information Systems (Sains).
Among the dignitaries attending the launch yesterday were Deputy Chief Ministers Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas and Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing, State Legislative Assembly speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar, cabinet ministers and assistant ministers.