SIKITEX-4 and 3rd e-North East Award Summit begin Thursday

GANGTOK, 20 Nov: The fourth edition of SIKITEX and the 3rd e-North East Award Summit 2012 is going to be held at Chintan Bhawan here in Gangtok on 22 and 23 November and is being organized by the Department of Information Technology, Human Resource Development Department and North East Development Foundation, informed KK Pradhan [Secretary, IT Department] while addressing a press conference at the venue this afternoon.
This edition of SIKITEX is being held with much stronger focus on how Information Communication Technology [ICT] tools and applications can provide need-based and sustainable solutions to the problems of connectivity, public service delivery and building trust in governments in North East India, he added.
There are going to be over 40 stalls from the NE States and various other private parties from over the country, of which 10 are also from Sikkim, informed Rajesh Verma [Principal Director, IT Department] and added that there will also be one stall displaying IT tools for the disabled. The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology [NIT] situated at Deorali will also be showcasing their digitization of the various scriptures of the monasteries of Sikkim, he stated.
SIKITEX was launched in the year 2009 as a flagship IT programme of Sikkim, he said and added that the focus of SIKITEX is on showcasing and exhibiting best ICT solutions and practices including e-Gov solutions relevant for public sector programmes across departments in Sikkim and other NE states. In the past three editions, more than 200 exhibitors, producers and innovators have showcased their innovative solutions, he informed.
Speaking during the conference, Syad S Kazi, Chief Executive of North East Development Foundation [NEDF] stated that the 3rd e-North East Award Summit, an annual feature and an initiative of NEDF would also be held in the evening of 23 November, after the IT event. This is the first time the award function is being held in Sikkim, while the first was held in Assam the second was held in Nagaland, he added.
This year, the Award Summit will recognize and felicitate 27 winners, special mentions, special jury mentions and finalists in as many as 12 categories, he said and added that this year there were a total of 81 nominations of which these 27 have been selected. The award summit is about scouting good practices in ICT for development and governance in NE India and the focus is on citizen services delivery, health, education, livelihood, enterprise promotion and youth and women empowerment in the region, he stated.
He further informed about the five technical sessions which will be held during the two-day event where 22 presenters and about 10 to 15 special invitees [well known personalities from the NE] will be delivering their presentations and addressing the gathering. The theme of the inaugural day is ‘Digital inclusion for inclusive growth in North East India.’
Others supporting this major ICT event as partners are North Eastern Council, National Internet Exchange of India, Digital Empowerment Foundation [New Delhi], NASSCOM, Internet Society, Sikkim Manipal University, Microsoft, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, VAR India, IAMAI, AVAYA and others.