Moot discusses use of info-tech in governance

LAHORE
The Information Technology University (ITU), in collaboration with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), Thursday hosted an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) conference at Arfa Software Technology Park.
The conference, titled “Emerging Technologies: Redefining Governance in the Information Age”, was attended by senior government officials, policymakers, academics and individuals from the development sector.
The conference focused on current trends in ICT which could be used to make service delivery in the fields of governance and development more effective.
ITU Vice-Chancellor Dr Umar Saif, who is also the chairman of PITB, spoke about initiatives carried out under him in Punjab (through PITB and ITU) to use technology for a wide variety of governance tasks. Dr Saif talked, in particular, about the anti-dengue application, the crime mapping initiative, the e-learn Punjab platform, the disease surveillance system, the school monitoring project, the DataPlug Platform, the vaccinator-tracking portal and the Citizen Feedback Model.
Other session focused on projects which use technology for poverty alleviation, better immunization strategies, making available job opportunities to the underprivileged and to promote entrepreneurship. The conference featured projects which have been funded by international donor agencies such as World Bank, GIZ, DFID and UKAID.
The conference ended with a presentation on and upcoming project to use technology to help the police department and a demonstration of the uses of World Bank funded platforms; DataPlug and OpenData Initiative, and their role in citizen empowerment. ITU Registrar Zaheer Sarwar said the conference was an important step in helping get the word out about emerging technologies for governance.