ictQATAR Forum Mulls Business, Social and Policy Issues of Mobile Technology

Doha, February 04 (QNA) - Technology experts and entrepreneurs Saturday mulled on how the increasing use of mobile phones, tablets and touch screen devices using versatile operating systems is fundamentally changing the way the global community communicates socially and does business and commerce. The interactive forum titled 'Everything Mobile', which opened here today and organised by the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology, ictQATAR, is exploring the role of communications technology, content, applications and trends in monetizing innovative ideas in the Arab world from a business, consumer and regulatory perspective. Leaders in mobile technology, social media and digital commerce from all over the world presented at the event, which was free, open to the public and attracted around 500 attendees day. Experts spoke on topics like mobile commerce, finance, mobile entertainment and games, applications, hardware, mobile public services, location-based services, security and regulation. Key representatives from some of the most successful media and ICT organizations including Yahoo! Middle East, LivingSocial Middle East and Al Jazeera are participating in the forum. Founder of Digg.com and co-founder of Milk Inc. Kevin Rose, the first speaker at the forum, delved on 'Disruptive Mobile Applications, Gamification CEO Gabe Zickermann spoke on the benefits of using innovative games to engage children to study mathematics and increasing cognitive skills of corporate professionals and Twitter's Social Innovation and Philanthropy division head Claire Diaz Ortiz spoke about 'Mobile for Social Good'. This forum is timely and relevant for technocrats, innovators, policy-makers and consumers in the Middle East, particularly Qatar where hand-held mobile devices penetration is deep. According to ictQatar, the country's mobile subscription rate is 142% with smartphones making up a significant percentage. ictQATAR Publications Manager Kholoud Al Ali said, "Mobile is truly changing the way we communicate with friends and family, the way we do business, how we learn and how people around the globe access information. This forum aims to share the latest best practices and international thinking about where mobile communications trend is heading and its impact on Qatar." "As the mobile devices become more and more sophisticated, so too does the content consumed on them and the policy considerations around them. ictQATAR aims to remain at the forefront of innovative technology, understanding its impact on society and preparing the right environment for innovation through technology," she added. The second day of the forum will have a more policy and device focus, with keynote talks from Kip Meek, a former policy maker with the UK s telecommunications regulatory authority Ofcom and current CEO of Everything Everywhere, and Tomi Ahonen, author and former Nokia executive. The forum will close with a panel featuring all keynote speakers who will broadly discuss the future of mobile from a range of perspectives. On Sunday night, ictQATAR will host a Tweet-up for the local community featuring Claire Diaz Ortiz. She will focus specifically on her work with Twitter and highlight her book 'Twitter for Good: Change the World One Tweet at a Time'. The Tweet-up will take place at the Sharq Village & Spa at 6pm on February 5. (QNA)