"Go Smart" is the 19th edition of Cairo ICT 2015

In one location with more than 5 halls, the ICT ecosystem gathered under the slogan of “Go smart”. The 19th edition of Cairo ICT was held between 13 and 16 December Cairo International Convention and Exhibition Center (CICC). President Abdelfattah ElSisi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Yasser ElQady and other top- level government officials inaugurated the conference with the participation of more than 400 entities and technology giants between civil society organizations, startups, local and international companies. 

This year’s edition witnessed a mix of parallel events and panels. “Smart Communities” exhibition powered by major companies in the real estate sector and the ICT sector. It aimed to showcase to a number of new applications in the field of smart housing that fit many segments of society through the merger between the communications and information technology systems with applications used in the construction sector. The e-payment exhibition “Pafix” sponsored by the Central Bank and a number of government agencies discussed the feasibility of switching to non-monetary area community.

Additionally, “Egypt on Future” exhibition powered by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) resembled the hype of the digital era. The hall hosted startups and innovative companies with ICT projects in several sectors from education, healthcare to security.

“Touchizer” was a the star booth of the hall. “The president’s visit to our booth has driven traffic and attention to us as if we were under a spotlight. Also, the Minister of Communication and Information Technology visited our booth. He discussed a collaboration project between the ministry of Communications and Information Technology MCIT and the ministry of education to apply Touchizer at local Egyptian schools” said Mostafa AbdelFattah, co-founder of Touchizer. He added, “Touchizer is the first product for our startup “Interact labs”, the device converts any surface into a touch interactive surface. It aims at enabling interactive education and captures the students attention.”

Cairo ICT 2015 wasn’t only about exhibitions and company’s showing off their latest innovations. There was also room for content through different panels held during the four days of the event. “Technology Platforms as an enabler for Egypt’s future in innovation” discussed the future of those enabling platforms. Highlighting the impact of the European Union platform horizon 2020 on the Mediterranean countries and how can universities benefit from these platforms.

As an example of digital content was the Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage’s “Culturama”. It is like a movie experience but with over nine screens, the first ever patented 9-projector interactive system. It  is an innovative mix of cultural and natural heritage information, using the latest display technology. The “Culturama” offered a show every hour for a multi-media experience of Egypt’s heritage across 5000 years of history up to modern times.

Cairo ICT concluded with several achievement but on top of all was the establishment of two technological zones in Egypt within the coming year. The event’s organizers are hopeful that the opening of these zones will concede with the opening of Cairo ICT 2016.