CyberPress Forum on Gov’t IT Projects

Cyberpress Forum to discuss ICT projects in gov’t

How are ICT projects in vital government agencies affecting the delivery of basic services to the public? Is the country ready to embrace the promise of e-government?

These are some of the questions that a forum, organized by the CyberPress, will try to answer on April 24, 2007, 10:30 AM, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati City.

The confab, which is being supported by Sun Microsystems Philippines, has “Computerization Programs in the Public Sector” as the theme.

Key executives from ICT companies doing computerization projects with the government, as well as public officials involved in policy formulation have been invited to serve as speakers and panelists in the forum.

They include representatives from the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), Commission on Elections (Comelec), LTO contractor Stradcom, Research firm XMG Asia-Pacific, and CIO Forum, the national association of government CIOs.

The event is the first of the three forums being organized for this year by CyberPress, or the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines (www.cyberpress.org.ph).

Statement of CyberPress

Cybergreetings and Happy Easter!

One company prominent in the now fast growing e-services sector recently sent our press corps, the Information Technology Journalists Association of the Philippines or Cyberpress, an invite that was written in a way that may be interpreted as a disguised bribe.

In the spirit of Christian charity, we would like to consider this invitation as one that had been done out of naivete, not malice. However, this matter is important in that it has made us review our own ethical standards.

We would like to publicly call attention to this matter and make known to all who consider themselves as part of the IT sector that any journalist’s acceptance of such an invitation will put said journalist in direct violation of the Journalist’s Code of Ethics. We invoke the conscience clause of said Code of Ethics with regard to this matter.

Reporters who respect themselves and hold fast to the ethics and ideals of the journalism profession receive payments for the stories they write only from their publishers, and their publishers alone.

Any other incentives or emoluments offered to journalists prior to the stories’ publication — most especially by their sources or by the institutions they write about — constitute an underhanded and unethical attempt to unduly influence or, worse, bald-facedly dictate, the contents of any articles these journalists will write.

Such moves are included in the list of actions that constitute “prior latches.” The premise of prior latches covers any actions by outside parties to unduly influence a journalist’s work through direct or indirect bribery and through the simple act of asking when and in what manner a journalist’s articles will by published and what such articles contain.

Media organizations have advertising sections that will happily accommodate such demands as cannot be made on the editorial sections to which journalists belong, so please be so advised.

We hope that this offer shall be the last of any attempts by any party to attempt to unduly influence the manner by which the members of the Cyberpress cover their beat and craft their stories.

We of the ITJAP have always prided ourselves with the fact that the beat we cover is the cutting edge of the 21st century in the Philippines.

Such coverage of the cutting edge also means being on the cutting edge of all efforts to uphold the best and the finest traditions of the Philippine press this Information Age. Unless we maintain our ethics and our integrity, our skill in reportage and our technological savvy will mean nothing.

Hence the Cyberpress’ collective rejection of any attempt to undermine its integrity as a press corps.

Never again should there be any attempts such as this. For any such attempt that follows shall hence be interpreted as done in malice.

Any future attempts similar to this will opposed collectively by Cyberpress and exposed in media — as well as transmitted to other press organizations that are of like mind as Cyberpress.

We want to serve our readers well by giving them news that serves the public interest, not just the interests of a chosen few and we thank you for cooperating in this effort by heeding our sentiments.

Below is the full text of the Journalist’s Code of Ethics as formulated by the Philippine Press Institute and the National Press Club of the Philippines for your reference and guidance.

Journalist’s Code of Ethics

1. I shall scrupulously report and interpret the news, taking care not to suppress essential facts or to distort the truth by omission or improper emphasis. I recognize the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct substantive errors promptly.

2. I shall not violate confidential information or material given me in the exercise of my calling.

3. I shall resort only to fair and honest methods in my effort to obtain news, photographs and/or documents, and shall properly identify myself as a representative of the press when obtaining any personal interview intended for publication.

4. I shall refrain from writing reports which will adversely affect a private reputation unless the public interest justifies it. At the same time, I shall fight vigorously for public access to information.

5. I shall not let personal motives or interests influence me in the performance of my duties; nor shall I accept or offer any present, gift or other consideration of a nature which may cast doubt on my professional integrity.

6. I shall not commit any act of plagiarism.

7. I shall not in any manner ridicule, cast aspersions on, or degrade any person by reason of sex, creed, religious belief, political conviction, cultural and ethnic origin.

8. I shall presume persons accused of crime of being innocent until proven otherwise. I shall exercise caution in publishing names of minors and women involved in criminal cases so that they may not unjustly lose their standing in society.

9. I shall not take unfair advantage of fellow journalists.

10. I shall accept only such tasks as are compatible with the integrity and dignity of my profession, invoking the ‘conscience clause’ when duties imposed on me conflict with the voice of my conscience.

11. I shall comport myself in public or while performing my duties as journalist in such manner as to maintain the dignity of my profession. When in doubt, decency should be my watchword.

Induction and Christmas Party 2006

Presentations and photos of IT education forum

CICT
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5Q73MS7F

PSIA
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X1YSNJGI

Software study
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1GC67G5F
Project Positive
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=89REBZLS
Microsoft
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IS7E3H2W
PhilNITS
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GGO0NHRA
eLearning Society
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5HWCHX62
PSITE
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8JOTJWKR

CyberPress forum to examine synergy of IT and education

A symposium organized by the CyberPress, dubbed “IT’s your future: Building skills supply, matching job demand”, will discuss the increasing synergism between IT (information technology) and education, and how this collaboration is addressing the industry’s demand for knowledge workers. 

The event, the second forum to be conducted this year by the CyberPress as part of its 10th anniversary celebration, will take place this November 7 (Tuesday), 1:00 to 5:00 pm, at the ballroom of Dusit Hotel in Makati City.
 
CyberPress, also known as Information Technology Journalists Association of the Philippines Inc. (ITJAPI), is the formal organization of the country’s technology journalists. Founded in 1996, its first batch of officers was inducted in Malacanang by then-President Fidel V. Ramos.
 
The symposium will feature prominent speakers from both the academe and industry, the latter from the IT and IT-enabled services sectors. To be included in the discussions is the significance of IT in education as the country strives to be a major global player in business process outsourcing.
 
Among those invited to present are representatives from Philippine Society of IT Educators (PSITE), Commission on Information and Communications Technology, Philippine E-Learning Society, European IT Services Center, IT Pros, PhilNITS, and the Philippine Software Society.

Supporting the CyberPress in this forum are HP Philippines, Innove Communication, Microsoft Philippines, Smart Communications, Sony-Ericsson, Sun Microsystems, Epson Philippines, Kodak, Ericsson Telecom, STI, and Acer Computers.
 
The public, especially educators and IT stakeholders, is encouraged to attend this free event. For inquiries and registration, contact Rencee Palman of Events@Work Events@Work at 897-6391/897-7091 local 3 or email cyberpress@eventsatwork.com. Also, visit www.cyberpress.org.ph.

4-Play Forum Presentations and Photos

Below are the links of the presentations made during the 4-Play Convergence Forum held at the New World Hotel last August 23. (Note: After you click the link, choose the free download in the option box at the bottom of the page. In the next page, wait for the ”download ticker” to get to zero after which you will be able to download the presentation.)

Anino Entertainment
http://rapidshare.de/files/31672178/Anino.ppt.html Globe Telecom
http://rapidshare.de/files/31672179/Globe.ppt.html GMA 7 New Media

http://rapidshare.de/files/31672180/GMA7.ppt.html  IDC Philippines
http://rapidshare.de/files/31672181/IDC.ppt.html NTC
http://rapidshare.de/files/31672182/NTC.ppt.html

PLDT
http://rapidshare.de/files/31672183/PLDT.ppt.html

CyberPress forum tackles 4-play convergence

Convergence had been a buzz word in the ICT arena in recent years with telecommunication firms around the world willingly redirecting business plans to embrace this latest industry trend. But how ready are the local industry players, stakeholders, and regulators for this phenomenon?

This is but one of the questions that will be addressed during a forum on telecommunications convergence organized by the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines Inc. or CyberPress titled “4-Play (Voice, Data, Video and the Future of Communications).”

The event will cover the latest trends in wired and wireless communications, as well as the services that go with these. It would be held at the New World Hotel on August 23 (Wednesday), 2006 from 8 AM to 12PM.

CyberPress is an organization composed of the country’s print, online, and broadcast IT journalists. The event is being supported by Avaya, CA, HP, Innove, Microsoft, Netopia, Nokia, Nortel, PLDT, Smart, Sony-Ericsson, Sun Microsystems, and ZTE.

Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) Chair Ramon Sales and National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner Ronald Solis will be joining the forum and will try to update the audience with how the national government deals with the challenges and issues that would come with this new technology trend.

Industry think tank International Data Corporation (IDC) Philippines will report on the trends of convergence for both fixed-line/mobile as Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Globe Telecom speak for the telecommunications space.

The availability of handsets and the functions that allow for 3G services (mobileTV, video-or music-on-demand) will be addressed by handset manufacturer Nokia during the half-day forum. How are the TV networks approaching the idea of possibly delivering TV services through the Internet or mobile phones will likewise be answered by a representative from the country’s leading network.

On the matter of content that would run on a converged environment, Anino Entertainment, a local game developer, would try to give the forum attendees a preview of how games would look like on a converged platform.

For inquiries and for registration, contact Events@Work at 897-6391/897-7091 local 3 or email cyberpress@eventsatwork.com.

CyberPress Telecom Convergence Forum

When: Aug 23, 2006. 8:00 am to 12 noon

Where: Ballroom, New World Renaissance Hotel

Who Should Attend: Members of the local media and all industry players interested in telecom convergence

Admission is free!

sam and grace, our host

sam and grace, our host

Originally uploaded by cyberbaguioboy.