Hosting ICT2005 in Busan
- Korea first Asian country to hold ICT meeting on May 23
From May 23, the 7th Global Congress on Information and Communication Technology in Energy(ICT2005) will take place at BEXCO in Busan for three days and Lee Seung-hwan, organizing committee chairman, says the meeting will deal with a wide-ranging most recent subjects in the world energy industry for managers and experts so they would be able to create new values. He said CEOs of energy companies around the world will have a chance to take up key issues in world energy supply at the Energy Forum at the gathering, which has been drawing much attention already.
This year's meeting's theme will be the "Value Creation with Information and Communication Technology in Energy companies."
The Korea Gas Union since becoming a member of the IGU in 1986 has been doing its utmost in the activities of IGU's working committees and other areas, representing the Korean gas industry. Korea has successfully hosted GASEX in 1998, the IGU council meeting in 1999, the 13th international conference and exhibition on liquefied natural gas(LNG13) and as a result, the IGU requested KGU to host the 7th ICT meeting in Korea in early 2003 in recognition of Korea's ability to successfully host international events.
The world energy industry has been going through rapid changes at the present time due to deregulation and the rapid development of technology. The new energy technology will have an effect of uniting energy firms together and therefore, ICT2005 will point up the future direction of the energy industry.
Furthermore, the significant aspect of the global meeting is that its agenda will extend to all the energy industry not limited to the gas industry. Korea will be the venue for the meeting for the first time in Asia, away from Europe and the United States in recognition of the fact that energy has become an important global issue, boosting the technology exchange among energy industry around the world.
This will be a great opportunity for Korean energy industry to learn international energy technology and expand its international exchange.
In order to attract high-ranking leaders of the world energy industry, the meeting will include a CEO forum where they may be able to hold their own discussion.
The theme of the event's first day agenda will be "Deregulation and Competition at Environment." A keynote speech on "Power of Asia and the Development Prospect for ICT and Asia's Energy." The first session will be devoted to holding debate on "Deregulation and New Paradigm in Environment." The day's second session will be on changes in corporate ICT strategy according to M&As.
The second keynote address will be about "New Pioneer in Oil and Gas Industry and Using ICT to Upgrade Value." The third session of the opening day will be on the emergence of data transaction standards caused by market deregulation, followed by the fourth session, dealing with strategic dilemma-securing sharp mobility versus market organization.
Also scheduled is the CEO Forum, with the theme of Raising Value by Energy Companies through ICT.
The theme of the event's second day agenda on May 24 will be "Corporate Crisis Managemen"t, with the keynote speech entitled, "ICT in Changing European Energy Market."
The event's fifth session will deal with Enron's collapse and building new business strategy, followed by the sixth session devoted to the subject of corporate security and significance of ICT. The seventh session will take on such issues as supply suspension and minimizing failure risk. The eighth session is slated to deal with the subject of securing response in energy transaction.
The third day's theme on May 25 is reducing costs and boosting productivity with the event's fourth keynote speech, this time, on the current status of IT for energy industry and the utility industry's IT investment direction. The ninth session will be devoted to balancing of operation expense and customer satisfaction. The 10th session will be on boosting productivity through ICT with the 11th session on CRM,required for securing customers and retaining them. The 12th session will be dedicated to raising productivity through ICT II.
The event's fifth keynote speech will be on the prospect for ICT in the energy area, which will be followed by the event's 13th session on ideas to cut ICT costs. The 14th and last session will be devoted to the subject of a successful ICT operation model.
The organizing committee expects to have around 500 delegates and their companions at the Busan meeting and already more than 200 from some 27 countries have registered their names, although the number of domestic participants is limited so far.
ICT2005 will have the presentation of some 50 theses and the announcement of 30 posters, along with keynote speeches by world energy industry leaders and the CEO Forum. There will also be an exhibition and other social events for participants to enjoy along with their companions designed to introduce Korean culture.
Commerce, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Hee-beom has been invited to deliver the opening speech on May 23 and other speakers would include the president of the International Gas Union and Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Yoon Jong-yong.
In the evening, there will be a welcoming reception for all the participants and their companions at a garden of the Paradise Hotel in Haeundae, Busan, by the sea including a concert by the National Orchestra Company of Korea to make the party lively and free.
At the end of the three-day gathering on May 25, there will be a screening of film that captured the activities of the three-day meeting to make the event more memorable at the Theater Restaurant at Lotte Hotel in Busan.
There will also be a tour of famous locations in the Busan area for participants on May 22, a day before the opening of the three-day meeting. The itinerary would include such landmark tourist sites as Taejongdae and Yongdu Mountain.
On May 26, the participants will be invited to tour the LNG receiving terminal of the Korea Gas Corp. in Tongyong, South Gyeongsang Province, to learn about Korea's LNG industry first hand. Also scheduled is a pottery-making exhibition for companions of the participants to the meeting so that they may be able to experience first-hand Korean pottery making.
Participating in the exhibition would include the Korea Gas Corp., Daewoo Engineering and Construction, the International Gas Union, the World Energy Council, Gasunie of the Netherlands, and Gaz de France, among others, making the event a good opportunity to obtain industry information and conduct business.
The event in May will have three main segments including competing in a deregulated environment, managing risks, and reducing costs and improving performance under a theme of "Value Creation with ICT in Energy Companies."
Joining keynote speaker Vice Chairman Yoon of Samsung Electronics are CEOs of Shell Canada, Gasunie, Accenture, and Forrester. Participants to the CEO Forum scheduled for the afternoon of May 23 would include Chairman Kim Young-hoon of the Korea City Gas Association, and CEOs of such companies as Gasunie, Gaz de France and Forrester Research would participate in the panel discussion. They will discuss such issues as the prospect for the gas industry through the use of information and communication technology. There will also be a free discussion period following keynote speeches so that participants and speakers would be able to talk to each other.
Organizing committee chairman Lee said he would extend welcome to all of those who are going to participate in the meeting, hoping they would be able to share friendship and exchange information on various energy related matters to make the event truly a significant international gathering.
In order to have as many participants as possible, the organizing committee has been offering a special discount on registration fees, the chairman said, adding that the organizing committee would do its best during the remaining period until the opening to make the meeting a successful one. nw
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