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Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Cabaero: How far is Cebu from Silicon valley?
By Nini B. Cabaero
Beyond 30
Cebu will play host this week to a huge gathering of information and communication technology (ICT) leaders in the Philippines and Asia.
Dubbed as the “Cebu ICT 2005,” the affair is expected to surpass in terms of participation and speakers any similar summit ever held here.
The conference to open tomorrow at the Waterfront Hotel is being billed by organizers as a “mega event” with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and officers of international big-name companies attending.
Organizers promised that the “invaluable learning, branding, networking and teamwork that the international conference-cum-exhibition will afford the various stakeholders of the ICT industry will serve to push Cebu as a significant player in the ICT and IT-Enabled Services (ITES) industry.” It added, “That the Philippines, in general, and Cebu, in particular, is poised for such growth in ICT is one of the ‘best kept secrets’ in the global ICT industry.”
The first time Cebu was chosen as venue for an IT summit was in 2001 when speakers asked what Cebu can offer to propel the country into great information technology (IT) or ICT heights.
Four years ago, the “Cebu is IT” summit ended with an enumeration of what would make Cebu into Asia’s Silicon valley, that place in California known for its high-technology industries. The elements needed to make Cebu the IT capital of Asia are: physical infrastructure, excellent education to produce a skilled workforce, a strong entrepreneurial drive, access to venture capital and government support. (From “Cebu bids to become Asia’s Silicon Valley,” Sun.Star Cebu, March 20, 2001 issue)
Officials said IT must become a “way of life” for Cebuanos or be like “danggit, otap or dried mangoes,” meaning the Cebu name must be almost synonymous with IT or e-business, before Cebu could claim the level of Silicon valley.
What happened since then were the formation of organizations batting for the growth of the industry, the opening of the IT Park and the setting up here of numerous call centers that are considered as IT-enabled services and are employing thousands of the young Cebu workforce. These are not small accomplishments, and the gains since 2001 have brought the city forward.
Yet Cebu, or the whole Philippines for that matter, is not a Silicon valley, is far from being one or may never be a Silicon valley. Not when IT or ICT is absent from everyday affairs. Not when the cost of purchasing equipment is beyond the ordinary man’s reach. Not when what catches the public’s fancy more than learning about technology is learning how to use the technology to download the “Hello Garci” ringtone.
(ninicab@sunstar.com.ph)
(June 21, 2005 issue)
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