November 16’s episode of Vigattin Radio on Radyo Inquirer was another apt and insightful discussion about the nature, scope and activities of the National ICT (Information Communications Technology) Confederation of the Philippines (NICP). Ms. Lizabel ‘Wit’ Holganza was the honorable guest that morning who aside from being the president of the NICP is also the CEO of Manuscript Inc. and ZipIT Solutions Inc.
Ms. Holganza started her talk with demarcating the nature and role of the NICP. She avowed that NICP comprises of ICT Councils from different cities outside the National Capital Region. Individual ICT Councils are made up of IT players in 42 cities within Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. These ICT Councils work with their respective local governments and local academes to open up the workforce’s mind to the many opportunities Information Technology has to offer. These opportunities don’t just create many jobs—they also enhance the members of the workforce’s capabilities and productivity. She said ICT Councils are all under the umbrella of NICP.
NICP’s main goal is to educate people on the many potentials of Information Technology as well as to have an exchange of ideas and best practices of champion IT players. This exchange of thoughts and systems is reflected in the NICP’s annual ‘Summit.’ The Summit is an annual conference attended by the 42 ICT Councils wherein special points of discussion are tackled. Though this year, NICP decided to postpone the Summit due to the calamities faced by the Visayas Islands where the summit was sipposed to be held.
Ms. Holganza also highlighted the EGov Awards (Jesse Robredo Memorial Awards) being the flagship program of NICP, which recognizes local government units (LGU) that embed pioneering ICT innovations in their governance processes and is held before the end of the year. This award giving body categorizes its awardees in two: the ‘Government to Customer Empowerment’ are pioneering IT initiatives by LGUs that improve basic services to their constituents, and the ‘Government to Business Award’ that focuses on founding IT initiatives that encourage a better business environment and encourage more investments for cities. In partnership with NICP through the EGov Awards are Microsoft Philippines and the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government).
For inquiries and information about the many interesting and helpful programs of NICP, please send an email at nicp.secretariat@gmail.com or visit their website at www.nicp.org.ph
As the episode came to a close, another ‘bigatin’ guest, Mr. Ruben ‘Benz’ De Guzman, was introduced for his ingenious technological security inventions such as the Anti Carnapping Device (that addresses not just carnapping but also carjacking), the Energy Saver; a power factor corrector, and the Anti Akyat-Bahay System which is a system of security motion sensors, alarm and call protocol that triggers force entries within a facility. Mr. De Guzman can be reached at 02-6243675 or 0949-910-7003 and through his website www.slt.com.ph.
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