Accelerating Visayas Potential with the 5th VICTOR Conference in Bohol
Last March 3 and 4, Bohol hosted historic events to propel the island province of Bohol and the Visayas region into unparalleled progress.
The 2 day event showcased what the industry could offer to the Filipinos in the provinces. The Visayas ICT councils also shared some of their best practices led by Stephanie Caragos, President of National ICT Councils of the Philippines (NICP) and CDO ICT Business Council.
Stephanie presented the organization’s vision and thrusts for the Philippines and gave recognition to the Visayas cluster’s continuous collaboration and inspiring teamwork.
Different industry experts shared their insights on the different sectors of the Philippines ICT industry. There were talks tackling the Philippines IT BPM roadmap 2022, the importance of cybersecurity for businesses and government institutions, talent development strategies and what the government can do, specifically the Provincial Governement of Bohol to help Bohol become an ICT industry giant.
Dan Reyes-president of the IT Business Process Association of the Philippines, Jonathan de Luzuriaga-president of the Philippine Software Industry Association, Penny Bongato-Talent Development Executive Director of IBPAP, Breyvan Tan-managing director of EC Council Singapore also shared their thoughts on how we can forward the IT industry in the Philippines which rakes in a whopping 22 biollion dollars of revenue employing around a million Filipinos not including the a million online freelancers in the Philippines during the 5th VICTOR Conference.
Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) Chairman Danilo Sebastian Reyes especially highlted how Bohol and its different stakeholders, the community, the educators and the government, must work together to achieve its goals of becoming an innovation hub.
Bohol’s 1st Education Summit and the 3rd Visayas Creative Congress
During the 5th VICTOR conference, another forum tackling the convergence of the education and ICT sectors. The 1st Bohol Education Summit discussed the needs of both industries and how they can work together to achieve their respective goals.
Governor Edgar Chatto stated that the ICT industry is considered by the pronvicial government of Bohol as the third engine to fuel growth of the local economy after tourism and agriculture.
He fully emphasized his commitment to the turn Bohol into an IT-BPM investment haven by signing a commitment along with Usec. Monchito Ibrahim of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)
Bohol ICT industry stakeholedrs also affixed their signatures and expressed their commitment in pursuing the IT-BPM industry specific 2017 Education Action Plan.
The education sector wasn’t the only industry that received much love during the 5th VICTOR conference.
The creative industry of Bohol also got the chance to hear from the best of the best in the Philippines creative landscape. Alvin Juban, the president of the Game Development Association of the Philippines or the “Emperor” as he is fondly called graced the 3rd Creative Congress with his presence sharing his insights on the game development industry in the Philippines. Other speakers were JD Abenaza — CEO of Zeenoh Games, John Dave Duenas — Manager of the Technology Business Incubator Center in Bacolod City, Xteve Abantor — Marvel artist and Creative Director of 13Headz Studios and UV New School founder, Genesis Rana.
Currently, the Philippines has around 650 plus IT BPM companies which contributes greatly to the Philippines’ economy.
Atty. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue also launched the eGov Awards 2017 during the 5th VICTO Conference adding 3 more categories to encourage the government sector to take full advantage of technology to further enhance their services to their constituents.
The 5th VICTOR Conference, 1st Bohol Education Summit and 3rd Creative Congress was sponsored by: Bohol ICT Council, Provincial Government of Bohol, Tagbilaran City Government, National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP), Bohol Investment Promotion Center, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Transcom, EC-Council and the Bohol Bloggers Collective.
Joanne Phillips, President of the Bohol ICT Council and Lai Biliran past president of the Bohol ICT Council both spearheaded the hosting of the 5th VICTOR Conference, Bohol’s 1st Education Summit and the 3rd Visayas Creative Congress.
