Infotech Network introduces pan African awards @ 10

Nigeria’s pioneer Information and Communication Technology (ICT) broadcast programme, AIT Infotech Network will be hosting Cyber Nigeria forum 2009, just as it is instituting African Information Society Merit Awards as part of activities marking its 10th year anniversary, reports CHARLES OKOH.

According to the producer and coordinator of the programme, Mr Bayero Agabi, part of the forum will afford participants the platform to discuss issues pertaining to the internet, security, online transactions, legislation, and internet based products and services, content cost and infrastructure.

He said the event’s overriding theme is Internet as a catalyst for the configuring of a new Nigeria and will be rounded off with a pan African award tagged African Information Society Merit Award.

“This is meant to reward those individuals, initiatives and companies who have kept the industry together in the past ten years. The theme of the event is to underscore the need to focus on the internet as it has become the defining platform for nations, organisations and individual’s success globally today,” he said

Agabi said the future will be completely internet based, and made reference to the role of the internet in the last America election, the power of the internet in the just concluded Iran election and the protests that follows, including new services like Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), IP radio, soft switches, online based media, businesses, transactions and even campaigns.

“We believe it is time we begin to take seriously the internet as a catalyst to move us forward in this century. Part of the highlights of the forum will be the unveiling of Thinktec Nigeria, an initiative meant to raise a national consciousness towards technology development, use and deployment in all sectors of the economy,” the coordinator revealed.

He commended Daar Communications for instituting the programme and funding it this far and call on the industry to help knowledge based initiatives like InfoTech through sponsorship, like they are doing to the entertainment and sports industries.

AIT InfoTech network, he recalled, started as Computer Link in 1998 and became InfoTech Network in 1999 in response to the need to preach ICT for development (ICT4D).

AIT Infotech Network has become Africa’s leading ICT programme reaching over 70 million audiences in Nigeria, United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), parts of Africa and Europe and the rest of the world where AIT signals are broadcasted via satellite.

In 10 years, AIT INFOTECH NETWORK www.aitinfotechnetwork.com, has become the only TV programme on ICT to win the prestigious UNECA/AISIAWARD twice for local content and over other 19 international and local awards.


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