Hitech Image of my HOME
Got this cool satellite image of gensan( a short name of a strange name) from the net www.wowgensan.com. I live here. My hometown. my family lives here. This is the southern tip of the Philippines. Still the tuna capital of the Philippines (with tuna soon to be an "endangered species" due to overfishing..thanks to the japanese voracious apetite for "sashimi" and pinoy's undying love for "sardinas"!).. This massive fish is the mascot of this place. maybe now it was manny pacquiao..I'm still trying to locate my house. Zoom zoom zoom..Somewhere on the left, near to that blue house. seen it? Just imagining. The most visible landmard is the airport on the left. So amazing seeing it from miles away without the people(children playing onthe beach) and the noise(angry wife, hand on the air,holding an axe,chasing her drunk husband!). So serene. If only i could zoom it more..technology always amazes us. Got this news from Mindanao Times recently:
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Mindanao businessmen will explore possible collaborations with their counterparts in the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) to establish the island as an international information and communication technology (ICT) hub in the next decade.
Jan Ced, director of the upcoming 4th Mindanao ICT Congress here, said they are eyeing neighboring economic centers within the BIMP-EAGA as springboard for the development of world-class ICT-related products and ventures from the area.
He said ICT stakeholders from various parts of Mindanao will discuss the potential regional collaborations during the MICT congress on Oct. 25 to 28.
Ced said the MICT congress will also tackle issues and mechanisms on e-enabling Mindanao for digital opportunities, developing the island’s ICT human resources, opportunities and challenges in the ICT outsourcing services, e-governance solutions and various new ICT technologies.
“Our goal is to make Mindanao, in particular, and the Philippines in general become the knowledge center in the Asia-Pacific by 2010,” he said.
Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. said the city would play a major role in the proposed BIMP-EAGA collaboration due to its strategic location and its being an emerging trading gateway in the region.
He noted the city has been an “ICT-ready” area based on the available ICT resources such as telecommunication providers, internet service providers and computer-related businesses.
“We have an advantage in terms of the movement of products because of the transshipment operations here,” he said.
Through the help of the Department of Trade and Industry, the city is currently working on a plan to develop an ICT park in the city.
So far, Acharon said several call center companies have signified their intention to expand their operations in the city.
Ced said the potential of the city to host a major ICT industry appears very encouraging, making some local business magnates consider investing on ICT-related ventures.
“ICT is undoubtedly the most effective means of rapidly distributing and gathering information. It is the government’s best bet to create more jobs for Filipinos,” he said.
Ced stressed the need to strengthen the training of local residents on skills required by the ICT industry.
“Government, businesses, libraries and homemakers will have to become internet-literate for them to carry out the demands of the industry,” Ced pointed out.
Meantime, Coralyn Espinosa, City Economic Management and Cooperative Development Office chief, said the city government is planning to tap the upcoming MICT Congress in positioning the city as an alternate ICT hub outside of Metro Manila.
“It is timely because we are promoting General Santos City as an investment destination for ICT industry,” she said, adding that they have prepared some incentives for prospective ICT investors in the area.
Simultaneous with the upcoming MICT Congress is the second e-Business Week Celebration in Southwestern Mindanao.
(Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews). Good news for the place. It's just sad that some people think that Information technology is nothing but "call centers". if they're really serious about their 2010 vision (wow, that's 5 years from now), they have to invest in education. AMA computer College is not enough for the human resources needed and we need quality as we compete with other countries like India. India became a mecca for Information technology because of its strong research and development center in top institutes like the Indian Institute of Technology. They don't have good airports like we do but their "software" products are world class. To become the "knowledge center", we need strong software development houses not just "call centers".