Hundreds of people from all over the world attended the Fifth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2012) hosted on campus March 12-15 by the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and the College of Computing.

ICTD is the world's premier conference examining the role of computers and communications in social, economic, and political development.  According to conference co-chair Mike Best, associate professor in The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, the world really came to the Georgia Tech campus for the four day event.

“We had significant delegations from Africa and Asia and representations from Australia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Of course we also had attendees from across the USA.”

Central themes that emerged included the explosive growth of mobile telephones worldwide and the development of innovative applications on mobile handsets, the continued need for robust and inclusive methods that match computing systems with real needs and local realities, and the sustained enthusiasm demonstrated globally for internet-enabled services.

Beyond geographic diversity, the conference attracted a broad range of scholars and practitioners including university researchers, members of international organizations such as the World Bank, senior government officials, and members of civil society.  There were over fifty panels and workshops, twenty-nine technical demonstrations, and thirty-eight peer-reviewed papers in plenary and poster presentation.  Keynote presentations included the Honorable Omobola Johnson, Minister of Communication and Technology, Federal Republic of Nigeria, who discussed the role of computers and communications in Nigerian development.

The conference was co-chaired Ellen Zegura in the College of Computing.

Photos by Bence Kollanyi