BACOLOD will be one of the venues for video conferencing during the nationwide launching of Convergence 2009 today, at TeleTech Bacolod.

The launching of Convergence 2009 is also a kick-off for the National ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Month celebration starting Monday until Tuesday.

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Convergence 2009, with the theme “Empowering the Filipino through ICT,” is a combination of the Cyber Corridor road show of the Commission on ICT and Ten Next-Wave Cities (NWC) talent caravan of the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP).

Bacolod Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, chairperson of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communication Technology (Bnefit), said the “kick-off will be at CICT office in Quezon City, Metro Manila and will also be participated in by Davao, Cebu, Pampanga, Lipa, Laguna, Cavite, Iloilo, Cagayan De Oro and Bulacan.”

She added that those who will participate in the video conferencing are from the academe, business process outsourcing (BPO) and representatives from local government units.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will speak at the venue in Quezon City Monday as part of the synchronized opening, together with Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, Commission on ICT Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III, Tholons chairman and CEO Avinash Vashistha, and CICT commissioners Angelo Timoteo Diaz de Rivera, Monchito Ibrahim and Consuelo Perez.

Meanwhile, Bnefit will also celebrate National ICT Month on June 29 and 30 with the theme, “English: Your Key to Global Competitiveness.”

Bnefit will provide about 50 English teachers from various Bacolod public schools with an interactive orientation Monday on the IT-BPO industry on the standards of the English language.

Batapa-Sigue said “Bnefit members have agreed to emphasize on the need to strengthen the English language skills of the local ICT human resource pool”. Bnefit, a pioneer member of the National ICT Conference of the Philippines, will also hold an inter-school English Olympics on June 29 and 30.

The activities will feature competitions and presentations on how the mastery of the English language can be a critical factor in the human capital development of the city and the province.