OREANDA-NEWS. May 31, 2012. The Kitel 2012 conference will once again be accompanied by the i-MIX 2012 Internet Conference, both taking place from 29-31 May 2012 in the Bakshasaray venue of the Atakent Exhibition Centre.

Entitled ‘The ICT Sector in Central Asia Today and Tomorrow - Development and Cooperation Prospects’, Kitel’s plenary session will feature presentations from the President of the National Telecommunications Association of Kazakhstan Asylbek Khairushev, and Ante Mandic, President of the IT Association of the Croatian Chamber of Economy. Among the delegates will be Government representatives, industry associations, and senior professionals and experts of the ICT sector.

Kitel will be divided into the following thematic conference sessions: ‘Prospects for Further Development of Communications’, ‘New Opportunities and Development Prospects in TV and Radio Broadcasting’, ‘Challenges and Solutions in the Sector of Information Technologies and Services’, and ‘Education and Employment of ICT Specialists and Cooperation in the Area of Educational Technology’.

Among the speakers are Sergey Mogilniy, Managing Director of the National Agency for Technological Development, and Ruslan Yensebayev, Chairman of the Board of National Information Technologies. Not only that, Kazakhstan’s universities and educational institutions will be strongly represented among the speakers in the education session, including Heads of Department and faculty deans from the al-Fabari Kazakh National University, the Kazakh National Technological University after K.I Satpaev, and the Kazakh-British Technical University.

The Kitel 2012 Software Showcase will be open over all three days of the event, with companies from nine countries - including companies from the Croatian Chamber of Economy - presenting the latest in software programs, Wi-Fi equipment, commercial IT solutions, advanced cabling and wiring, and much more.

In his welcome letter to Kitel 2012’s delegates, the Chairman of the Board of Samruk-Kazyna, Umirzak Shukeev, noted that the ICT industry is a growing sector of Kazakhstan’s economy. ‘As Kazakhstan’s largest operator of industrial development programmes, Samruk-Kazyna is interested in building high-performance telecommunications infrastructure, developing Internet technology, providing an improved business climate, and promoting investment in the economy. I am convinced that Kitel will help to coordinate the efforts of the government, business and scientific communities to improve competitiveness in telecommunications and help to set goals for Kazakhstan to become a world economic leader.’

Kuanishbek Esekeev, Chairman of the Board of Kazakhtelecom, agreed, writing in his letter: ‘Kazakhtelecom annually takes part in KITEL, which is today one of the largest exhibitions in Central Asia. It is a place to demonstrate the latest developments and achievements in ICT, and is a venue for discussing development issues for domestic and international ICT companies. At KITEL, decisions are made reflecting current ICT trends, and the event has for many years given its participants an excellent opportunity to interact, share experience, and establish business relationships and contacts at the highest level.’

i-MIX 2012, the 2nd Kazakhstan Internet Conference, will take place on 30 May in two of Bakshasaray’s conference halls at the Atakent Exhibition Centre. i-MIX has expanded by 50% this year, now featuring a 12-session conference dealing with areas such as sales technology, web development, mobile Internet, tech start-ups, intellectual property rights, and project management.

The conference sessions will be organised in a brand new format this year, with informal discussions and round tables taking up half of the allotted time of each conference session, moderated by international industry specialists. In this way, professionals of Kazakhstan’s telecoms will be able to reach and discuss with clients and customers directly.

i-MIX will feature participation from web developers, marketing professionals, IT specialists, and anyone who uses advanced computer technology in their work. Speakers from all over the CIS will take part in the event, which will also launch the 10th AWARD.KZ National Internet Awards.