For two years, the WeGO Secretariat has been co-organizing the annual Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on Smart Cities and e-Government with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The Forum has provided a great opportunity for high-level dialogue among development partners, policy makers, decision makers, and leaders in the smart city movement, and was held in Bangkok in 2015 and Phuket in 2016.
Building on the success of the past 2 regional forums, WeGO has again co-organized the forum with the ITU. This year, the forum took place in Bangkok on September 21-22, 2017, and was held in conjunction with the Digital Thailand Big Bang 2017, a tantalizing expo showcasing the latest digital technologies, and the Annual IoT Asia Pacific Summit. Aside from serving as a venue to share knowledge and best practices, the Forum also served as a platform for business matching, thereby enabling business opportunities and strengthening partnerships and collaboration among various stakeholders.
WeGO shared its knowledge and expertise by participating in sessions such as the High-level Discussion on Smart Sustainable Cities as well as setting the stage and foundation by providing the welcoming and opening remarks. Some of the participants from WeGO members included a delegation from Bangkok, Jakarta, Penang Island and Peshawar.
- Secretary General Nam and Program Officer Earl Burgos with Mr. Byung-jo Suh, President of NIA, and Mr. Chae Gun Chung, Head of UNPOG
- Ministers during the High-level Discussion on Digital Government
- Mr. Setiaji, Head of Jakarta Smart City, presented on their initiative through WeGO’s invitation
- Dr. Nam with Mr. Ioane Koroivuki, Director of ITU Asia-Pacific Regional Office; Mr. Malcom Johnson, Deputy Secretary General of ITU; and Mr. Byung-jo Suh
- The Bangkok Delegation
- Exhibition at Digital Thailand Big Bang 2017
- Welcoming remarks by Secretary General Nam
- Secretary General Nam speaking to Ms. Sri Mageswari, IT Executive at Penang Island
You can download the Program Guide here. More information on the event can also be found here, or please contact Mr. Earl Burgos at earl@we-gov.org. Hope to see you next year at the event!