Bangkok--12 Dec--ICT
The Kingdom of Siam and The United States signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1833, formalizing diplomatic relations, similar to the Bowring Treaty signed on April 18, 1855 between the Kingdom of Siam and the United Kingdom that liberalized foreign trade in Siam. Since 1856 the Kingdom of Siam and the United States have been officially establishing diplomatic relations. This has been going smoothly, resulting in benefits for both countries, and they have been cooperating cordially in terms of trade, government, education, science and technology, including complementary assistance. 2013 marks 180 Years (1833-2013) of Thai-U.S. Relations.
The United States has been continuously developing and progressing in Information Technology for a long time. On July 13, 1960, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej provided highly significant IT inspiration to Thailand by visiting the IBM factory in San Jose, California, U.S. That event encouraged Thailand to think about using computers in the social and economic development of the country to keep abreast with developed countries.[1]
The ICT Development Index (IDI) is published by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is based on internationally agreed information and communication technology (ICT) indicators. It is a valuable tool for benchmarking the most important indicators which measure the Information Society. The IDI is a standard tool that governments, operators, development agencies, researchers and others can use to measure the digital divide and compare ICT performance within, and across, countries. The ICT Development Index is based on 11 ICT indicators, grouped in three clusters: access, use and skills.[2] Thus, the IDI can be used to indicate the varying levels of the Information Society. In 2011, the IDI ranked the U.S. at No. 15 in the world (scored 7.48 of 10) while Thailand was ranked at No. 92 (scored 3.41). The Internet World Stats found that the U.S. had 245,203,319 Internet users (as of June 30, 2012), or a penetration of 78.1% of the population (2012 est.: 313,847,465)[3], while Thailand had about 20,100,000 Internet users (as of June 30, 2012), or a penetration of 30.0% of the population (2012 est.: 67,091,089)[4]
On the special occasion of the 180 Years (1833-2013) of Thai-U.S. Relations, the Information and Communication Technology for All Club (ICT for All Club) as seen at www.ictforall.org, is a non-profit organization which is run in the public sector and strives to reduce the Digital Divide as much as it can. The ICT for All Club will hold the ICT for All Symposium 2013 on “180 Years (1833-2013) of Thai-U.S. Relations; ICT: Lessons Learned from the U.S.”. The Symposium’s objectives are to share knowledge and lessons learned about ICT developments in the U.S. in order to apply ICT development in Thailand. Around 40 participants will join the Symposium.
ICT for All Symposium 2013 on “180 Years (1833-2013) of Thai-U.S. Relations; ICT: Lessons Learned from the U.S.” will hold on December 21, 2013, 12:30 – 16:30 hrs. At the Conference Room 401, Software Park Thailand Building 3rd Floor 99/31 Moo 4, Chaengwattana Road, Klong Gleua, Pakkred district, Nonthaburi province, Kingdom of Thailand. Organized by The Information and Communication Technology for All Club (ICT for All Club)
On the special occasion will open address by Prof. Dr. Srisakdi Charmonman; CEO, Srisakdi Charmonman Institute of eLearning, President Emeritus, Siam Technology College, Asian Computer Man of the Year 1981, Father of the Internet in Thailand. Report to the Chairman by Thossaphol NORATUS ; President, ICT for All Club. Keynote Address on "ICT Experiences in U.S. from the past to present and looking towards the future" By Prof. Dr. Srisakdi Charmonman and Special address on "180 Years (1833-2013) of Thai-U.S. Relations" by a Representative from the U.S. Embassy Bangkok. After that, all of participants will discuss (share knowledge, experiences, suggestions and recommendations) on “ICT: Lessons Learned from the U.S. & apply for ICT development in Thailand”; Approach to Bridging the Digital Divide ; Strategies to improve the quality of life and promote lifelong learning for persons with disabilities, the elderly, and the disadvantaged in the Convergence Era by Thossaphol NORATUS President, ICT for All Club. Finally, Closing ceremony by Chana Rungsang President, South East Bangkok College Council
FOR MORE INFORMATION and Registration to participate in the conference
Please contact: Mr. Thossaphol NORATUS
President, Information and Communication Technology for All Club
P.O. Box 2, Ratchatewi, Bangkok, 10401 KINGDOM of THAILAND
Tel. (66) 0 8126 10726
e-Mail:
[email protected] website: www.ictforall.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ICTforAll.org
[1] Prof. Dr. Srisakdi Charmonman. (2007). Major ICT Leadership from HM the King of Thailand. [Online]. Available: https://sites.google.com/site/ictforallorg/Home/P04eLearningAP_MajorICTLeadership.pdf?attredirects=0/. (Accessed date: November 18, 2013).
[2] International Telecommunication Union (ITU). (2013). The World in 2013: ICT Facts and Figures. [Online]. Available: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx/. (Accessed date: November 18, 2013).
[3] Internet World Stats. (2013). Internet Usage and Population in North America. [Online]. Available: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats14.htm#north/. (Accessed date: November 18, 2013).
[4] Internet World Stats. (2013). Asia Marketing Research, Internet Usage, Population Statistics and Facebook Information. [Online]. Available: http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm#th/. (Accessed date: November 18, 2013).