The Philippine Geomatics Association Inc. (PhilGeo) hosted this year's celebration of World GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Day yesterday at the RCBC Plaza Auditorium in Makati City. The theme for the day's seminar was "Unity in Geomatics."
Geomatics refers to a field that systematically integrates the acquisition and management of geographic location and relationship (spatial) data for scientific, administrative, legal and technical purposes. World GIS Day is an annual event celebrated globally to create greater awareness among the youth, especially students, about geography and geographic information. For the past two years, the Philippines has joined other nations in commemorating the event through the conduct of seminars, conferences and other activities to encourage the greater use of geographic information in various fields through innovative applications. Secretary Heherson Alvarez was the keynote speaker at the World GIS Day celebration. PhilGeo chairman Virgilio Santos presented the plans and programs of the association.
`Time for IT pros to tap new language markets'
INDIA, though an IT bastion, will have to brace itself for competition from China and four smaller countries in the next few years, the Union IT Secretary, Mr Rajiv Ratan Shah, said on Sunday.
Instead of wishing these potential software rivals away, Indian professionals should venture into newer language markets such as Europe, Latin America and even West Asia through Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic, Mr Shah said at the ongoing BangaloreIT.com here. Africa and Central Asia too should be actively pursued.
There are inquiries from these areas and the need to expand the market was greater after the downturn in the US, he said after inaugurating the software engineering conference.
China is far ahead of India now in hardware and could soon catch up in software too. The IT Ministry prefers that Indian professionals learn Chinese and seize opportunities in China rather than have the Chinese to work on projects here.
At the best, we should develop interdependence in software, especially with China. ``We need to establish meaningful dialogue with China,'' Mr Shah said.
According to him, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Pakistan are the emerging software rivals to watch out for. Though they too faced problems such as surpluses in skills and human resource, he warned that India should not lose out to them.
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