Microsoft chairman Bill Gates will deliver a keynote address at the 3rd International Conference on Information and Communications Technologies and Development (ICTD) on April 18.

The conference, being held in the Middle East for the first time, is being hosted by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar at Education City on April 17-19.

Senior World Bank official Carlos A Primo Braga (director, Economic Policy and Debt, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network) is to deliver a keynote presentation on April 19.
“ICTD is all about using the power of high-tech computing and communications to help the people in the neediest parts of the world build better lives,” said Carnegie Mellon Qatar dean Chuck Thorpe.
“Hosting this conference at Carnegie Mellon gives us a chance to show the world all that Qatar brings to this area: the technology of a rapidly-developing knowledge based society, combined with the heart to reach out to less fortunate people,” he explained.

ICTD is the premiere conference for innovating technology accessible and relevant to developing economies. It is a multidisciplinary forum for academic researchers and practitioners designing, deploying, and evaluating computing technology solutions.

The conference presents state-of-the-art research by technologists and social scientists, with original, peer-reviewed papers, a poster and demo session, and keynote addresses by leaders in the field.
By hosting the event at Carnegie Mellon Qatar and leveraging its strong computer science programmes and impact in the region, the Middle East and Qatar will be more involved in developments in the ICTD field.
The conference is expected to attract more than 350 scholars and practitioners from around the world.
The selected participants will present original and unpublished works on new design, new technology, project assessment, policy, impact, content and social issues around ICT for development.

ICT comprises computing devices, technologies for voice and data connectivity, the Internet, and related technologies for domains including healthcare, education, agriculture, poverty alleviation, enterprise, general communication and governance.

In addition to an enhanced review process for papers submitted for consideration, ICTD2009 will hold separate panels and workshops focusing on current key issues as well as an opportunity to demonstrate ICTD applications.
The TechBridgeWorld research group at Carnegie Mellon is taking the lead organising role. The Supreme Council of Information & Communication Technology (ictQATAR) is an organising partner of the conference.
Al Jazeera Children’s Channel is the media partner. Platinum sponsors are the Qatar National Research Fund, Qtel and International Development Research Centre in Canada.

ExxonMobil and Microsoft are gold sponsors. IBM and Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon Qatar are bronze sponsors. The technical sponsors for the conference are the IEEE and ACM professional organisations.
More information on the ICTD conference is available at http://www.ictd2009.org.

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