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CI Times Weekly | Current Issue 267 | 08 September 2008

Calls for Pacific to enter world contest

The Pacinet conference is not just about technology, networks and access issues, it is also about the creative content being delivered online.
Jan Bieringa is a New Zealand based artist and producer of film and new media who attended the Pacinet conference in order to promote more interest in the e-Content.
Nowadays, most end users pretty much assume that having the appropriate technology is a given, but what about the question of the content and the quality of the content that is available online?
This is where the biannual World Summit Award (WSA) comes into play and Jan’s role in promoting WSA which is hailed as the world’s leading showcase for selecting and promoting the best products in e-Content and innovative interactive.
WSA is an biannual global contest established in 2003 and now has over 50 countries taking part in the initiative and Jan is here to encourage Cook Islands and the Pacific Islands countries to enter the competition. It is about realizing the significance of creating good local content but in digital form which she sees as ‘the next big thing’ in media.
New Zealand has taken part in the competition since its inception in 2003 and Jan felt that the Pacific Islands would be interested in showcasing their culture under the e-Culture and Heritage category.
New Zealand has taken part in the competition since its inception in 2003 and Jan felt that the Pacific Islands would be interested in showcasing their culture under the e-Culture and Heritage category.
In 2007, there were 5 projects received including Fiji entered the competition ‘with a wonderful GIS three dimensional mapping project’ for resource use, development planning and safeguarding cultural heritage in Fiji under e-Culture. Fiji won a prize and received a lot of attention from the selection panel who were fascinated by their project.
In the Pacific, the selection process is that submissions will be gathered collectively with no official competition and will be forwarded for the international judging in Venezuela in March 2009.
Some of the countries run national competitions based on WSA rules and procedures and winners are automatically nominated for the global contest while others use a national pre-selection, based on a decision by a committee of experts.
The categories include: e-Health and Environment; e-Learning and Education; e-Government and Institutions; e-Entertainment and Games; e-Science and Technology; e-Business and Commerce and e-Inclusion and Participation and e-Culture and Heritage.
Submissions are accepted from Monday 1September to 20 November 2008 for inclusion in the WSA contest 2009 with final selections taking place in late November with international registrations starting in 1 December 2008 with a deadline of 30 January 2009 with the Winners Gala to be held in Venezuela in May 2009.
The organizers are keen to find as many projects as possible by the end of the year and interested parties can look up more details online: wsa-award.org.nz

Headlines : Times 267 08 September 2008
- Environment Minister not advised of FSM meeting
- Special agency to look after northern affairs?
- Joining the Information Age through e-Government
- Hatchery commences production
- Calls for Pacific to enter world contest