WITSA 2002 GLOBAL 

IT EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Adelaide Convention Centre

February 28, 2002

The 2002 Award Ceremony took place in the dining hall of the Adelaide Convention Centre. Master of Ceremonies Peter Berner (from ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation), WITSA President Harris N. Miller, WITSA Chairman George Newstrom, and Mr. Yujiro Sato, WITSA Vice Chairman for the Asia-Pacific. Pictures by EventPix (except picture #6).

Chairman's Award: 

q       NYC.gov 

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Brad Cable, Partner at Accenture's New South Wales Government Practice, receives the Chairman's Award on behalf of New York City from WITSA Chairman George Newstrom. Additional pictures from March 1, 2002 Awards press conference. Picture #2 by EventPix.

Public Sector Excellence Award:

q       Taipei City Government: CyberCity Initiative

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Dr. Shiou-Guang Wu, Chairman of the Taipei Research Development Evaluation Center, receives the Public Sector IT Excellence Award from Harris N. Miller, President of WITSA and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). Dr. Ying-Yeou Ma, Mayor of Taipei, received the Award from WITSA Chairman George Newstrom during a special WCIT2002 address on March 1 (pictures 6-10). Pictures #2 & 6-10 by EventPix.

q   O.N.C.E. - The Spanish National Organisation for the Blind 

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ONCE IT Executive Manager Dr. Lino Ríos Mejías, accompanied by his wife, receives the Public Sector IT Excellence Award from Harris N. Miller, President of WITSA and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). Pictures #2 & 4-6 by EventPix.

Private Sector Excellence Award:

q      FINNAIR 

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Harris N. Miller, President of WITSA and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), hands out the Private Sector IT Excellence awards to Mr. Eero Ahola, Senior Vice President of Corporate Business Development and Strategy at FINNAIR. Additional pictures from March 1, 2002 Awards press conference. Pictures #2-5 by EventPix.

q       Bank of Singapore 

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Mr David Tan Wei-Son, Senior Vice President of Bank of Singapore, receives the Private Sector IT Excellence Award from Mr. Yujiro Sato, WITSA Vice Chairman for the Asia-Pacific, and Chairman of Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (JISA). Pictures #2, 4 & 6-7 by EventPix.

Digital Opportunity Award:

q       Connectivity Agenda of Colombia

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Mr. Juan Santiago Uribe, Ambassador of Colombia to Australia, receives the Digital Opportunity Award from Mr. Yujiro Sato, WITSA Vice Chairman for the Asia-Pacific, and Chairman of Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (JISA). Pictures #2-4 & 8 by EventPix.

q       Hewlett Packard Digital Village Program

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Ms. Bess Stephens, HP's Global Director of  Philanthropy and Education, receives the Digital Opportunity Award from Mr. Yujiro Sato, WITSA Vice Chairman for the Asia-Pacific, and Chairman of Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (JISA). Pictures #2-4 by EventPix.

Special Recognition Award:

q   Mr. Mamoru Mitsugi, Immediate Past WITSA Vice Chairman for  the Asia-Pacific & Immediate Past Chairman of  Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (JISA)

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A special recognition was awarded to WITSA Vice Chair for the Asia-Pacific, Mamoru Mitsugi, for his long and dedicated service to foster cooperation among the IT industry worldwide. The awards were handed out by WITSA Chairman George Newstrom. Pictures #4-6 & 9 by EventPix.

Following the success of the inaugural Global IT Excellence Awards in June 2000, the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) announced seven winners of its 2002 Awards at the World Congress on Information Technology 2002 in Adelaide, Australia (WCIT2002). The awards honored exceptional achievements in the application of information technology around the globe and were presented to winners in three broad categories: Public Sector Excellence, Private Sector Excellence, and Digital Opportunity.  A special Chairman’s Award was also presented.

 “Candidates for these Awards were hand-picked by IT experts from around the world who are part of our 46-country WITSA industry network,” said Harris N. Miller, President of WITSA and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). “Each of the winners have demonstrated world-class achievements in their use of the latest IT products and services, and it was a natural choice to honor the winners here in Adelaide at the World Congress on Information Technology - the preeminent global IT executive conference.”

“WITSA was able to select some of the very best applications of IT from around the globe, based on a large pool of highly qualified candidates,” said WITSA Chairman George Newstrom.  “It was a particular honor for me to select New York City as the winner of our special Chairman’s Award.  The NYC.gov portal is a model of public service, meeting New Yorkers’ needs for government services, even in the face of ever changing challenges,” Newstrom added.

Candidates for Global IT Excellence Awards 2002 were nominated by IT experts from WITSA’s network of 46 global IT associations, then voted on by the executives of WITSA member associations.

About the Winners

CHAIRMAN’S AWARD

City of New York for their new portal - NYC.gov: Citizens of one of the biggest cities on earth can conduct more than 100 service transactions and access 50,000 pages of content on this intuitive, user-friendly portal.  An intention-based design allows citizens who know what they want to do, but don’t know where to go within the government, to easily perform their municipal transactions.  From viewing live traffic cameras to ordering birth certificates to paying parking tickets, NYC.gov is truly a one-stop government portal for all New Yorkers.  NYC.gov embodies bold and innovative ways for government to effectively meet citizen needs and improve access to vital City services.

PUBLIC SECTOR EXCELLENCE

Taipei City Government: Taipei CyberCity Initiative: Nominated by Information Service Industry Association of China, Taipei (CISA). Under its current administration, Taipei has become a true CyberCity. Leveraging its three cornerstones of e-Government, e-Schools and e-Community, Taipei’s initiative has developed an environment where all personal computers, servers and websites are connected to a backbone communications infrastructure.  Behind the vast technological infrastructure laid down in Taipei, there is the critical leadership and support from Mayor Ying-jeou Ma for the Taipei CyberCity Initiative. Since December 1999, Taipei City Government has offered every citizen, including residents and daytime workers, a free, life-long email account.

Taipei City was the host city of World Congress on Information Technology 2000. It was held from June 11 to 14, June 2000 with full sponsorship of Taipei City Government. The event was named as the “best ever” World Congress in its 20-year history. Contact: Dr. Shiou-Guang Wu, Chairman of the Taipei Research Development Evaluation Center.

ONCE – The Spanish National Organization for the Blind: Nominated by: Asociación Española de Empresas de Tecnologías de la Información (SEDISI).  ONCE has created a program to offer Microsoft technologies to disabled and blind citizens of Spain, with assistance from Microsoft Corporation. This program was started after an agreement was signed between Bill Gates and ONCE General Management in 1997 in Madrid (Spain).  Using accessible information and user interface technologies, ONCE has been able to develop products such as ONCE-Reader (Screen Reader) and ONCE-Mega (Screen Magnifying Module) to allow blind employees to work on equal terms as sighted employees in Spain. Contact: Dr. Lino Ríos Mejías, ONCE IT Executive Manager.

PRIVATE SECTOR EXCELLENCE

FINNAIR: Nominated by the Federation of the Finnish Information Industries (TIETOALAT).  FINNAIR offers to its frequent flyer passengers the eGate boarding solution designed and implemented by SysOpen Plc, allowing them to pass through a crowded airport and board an airplane without any waiting in line while maintaining the confidence that unauthorized persons cannot board that plane. Once at the airport, a FINNAIR passenger can check in and board the airplane by walking through a special gate that will remotely read his or her frequent flyer card and verify his or her identity, allowing immediate boarding with no hassles. See also the additional presentation. Contact: Mr. Eero Ahola, Senior Vice President, Corporate Business Development and Strategy.

Bank of Singapore Ltd. (BOS): Nominated by: Singapore Information Technology Federation (SITF). Bank of Singapore (BOS) in 2000 transformed itself into Singapore’s first pure Internet Bank. At its launch, BOS was the first in market to launch on-line loan and account opening applications; and first in market to put together a comprehensive suite of ASP services through alliance partnerships. In the future, plans include expanding into the Asia-pacific region on a “hub and thin spokes” model, aiding BOS in reaching its profitability targets.  Built to be rapidly scalable, this model allows for the regional expansion to ride on the capabilities already built for Singapore, thus requiring little further investment. See also additional background information. Contact: Mr. Philip Spencer, Chief Operating Officer.

DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY

Connectivity Agenda: The leap to Internet in Colombia: Nominated by: Colombian Software Industry Federation (FEDESOFT). The Connectivity Agenda is the set of strategies developed through specific programs and projects to allow Colombia to profit from the use of information technologies for its economic, social and political development. The development of the Connectivity Agenda was led by the President of the Republic, with active participation from the remaining governmental agencies and the private sector. Contact: Martha Rodriguez, Connectivity Agenda Director.

HP Digital Village Program: Nominated by: Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). The HP Digital Village Program combines technology, brainpower and collaborative energy to help underserved communities invent and realize their own visions for the future. Each of three Digital Villages is a vision of what technology can achieve with imagination and optimism.  Each Digital Village receives approximately $5 million worth of HP products, services, consulting and social venture capital over three years to implement their technology partnerships with community partners, such as schools and universities, local government, community services, churches, nonprofits and small businesses.  See also Community proposals; Digital Village backgrounder; FAQs; news articles and press releases. Contact: Ms. Bess Stephens, Global Director, HP Philanthropy and Education.