Nagaland: e-Naga Summit, another stride in march to become ‘IT hub of SE Asia’

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Dec. 21 (EMN): Director General of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Dr. Omkar Rai on Monday said that the e-Naga summit would create a foundation for future policy planning, not only for the north-eastern region but the entire nation.

He was virtually addressing the sixth edition of e-Naga Summit organised by Information Technology and Communication department, government of Nagaland.

The STPI, he said, has picked up an area where they are going to create a centre of excellence in the field of IT application in graphical design. This was because the STPI has understood the strength and talent Nagaland have, he added.

Rai appreciated government of Nagaland for creating STPI Centre in Kohima and also Network Centric Centre with well-built incubator, which he informed, would soon be operational.

While saying that Nagaland has been “very progressive”, he pointed out that the state’s aspiration to be IT hub of the South East Asia is absolutely genuine and is in commensurate with the ambition of the nation and SPTI. He also spoke about the future of IT industries in the North eastern region.

Advisor to IT&C, NRE and Science and Technology, Mmhonlumo Kikon, said that Nagaland is “very determined and committed” to become the next IT hub of the South East Asia.

Principal Secretary for IT&C, KD Vizo said that this year’s summit was conducted virtually due to the pandemic. He, however, assured that the quality of the summit was not compromised.

“We are aware that new technologies are emerging at a very fast pace and there is a need to balance ourselves so that while we adopt technology for promoting efficiency, accountability and transparency there is also a need to preserve and protect the core human values,” he said.

Resource person of the summit and Founding Partner of Future Navigator, Denmark, Liselotte Lyngso talked about the aftershocks and opportunities, and also the future scenario post-pandemic.

International Consultant on e-Gov, Cyber Security and Smart Cities & Lecturer at University of Minho, Portugal, Sara Fernandes spoke on cybersecurity and the need to raise awareness level about cybersecurity issues in the governments and businesses.

Senior Cyber Expert, Estonia, Merle Maigre dwelled on Cyber Hygiene and the need to maintain good cyber hygiene at the national, organisational and individual level.

Founder and Group CEO of the New Call Telecom International, Great Britain, Nigel Anthony Eastwood shared his view on the ‘enormous potential’ of Artificial Intelligence to augment human intelligence and increase efficiency.

Director of International Affairs Unit, The Education and Youth Authority, Estonia, Heli Aru-Chabilan, dwelled on the future of education and about innovative tools used in Estonia to provide an easy way for parents, teachers and children to collaborate and enable continuous learning even in emergency situation such as Covid-19 pandemic.

Former Chairman, Telecom Consultancy of India (TCIL), Vimal Wakhlu shared about the emerging technologies, opportunity and challenges.

Centre Director (eGovernment Leadership Centre), National University of Singapore, Ashok Kumar Seetharaman, elaborated on the use of technology for digital government services in Singapore.

Altogether 1,111 people participated online in the virtual summit.