PENANG will hold the inaugural Techfest2020, in addition to playing host to the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2020, both of which will take place in September next year.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the 10-day Techfest2020 from 11 to 20 Sept, 2020, would be held at multiple venues within the state, mainly within the George Town heritage area.

“Penang Island City Council will be the lead agency to help organise Techfest2020.

“It will remain a state event, if we decide to continue organising it in the future,” he told a press conference at the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) in Bayan Lepas recently.

Chow said Techfest2020 was a state initiative together with the National ICT Association of Malaysia (Pikom), and enabled by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

He said Penang was happy to host both Techfest2020 and WCIT2020.

“The state has appointed Invest Penang to be the lead agency for WCIT2020.

“It will be working together with WCIT Sdn Bhd, a company set up by Pikom, to co-organise the event,” he added.

Pikom chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah said hundreds of new technologies would be featured at Techfest2020, which will be the exhibition component of WCIT2020.

“Among others, it will feature competitions, panel discussions, as well as a display of mock buildings and streets in Penang that are transformed into a technology showcase.”

He said the festival would explore six main clusters of interest encompassing digital lifestyle, ethical technology, experiential technology, social and interactive, business transformation, and urban innovation.

“Techfest2020 is expected to attract about 45,000 visitors, in addition to the 4,000 of international participants of WCIT that will be held from Sept 14 to 16 at Setia SPICE Convention Centre in Bayan Lepas,” he said.

He noted that WCIT2020 would be the 24th edition of WCIT, marking its return to Malaysia after 12 years.

“Malaysia last hosted WCIT in Kuala Lumpur in 2008, which brought in RM8.3bil of investments.

“We are hoping that WCIT2020 will bring in RM10bil worth of investments to Malaysia.

“And, by organising it in Penang, we hope most of that investment will come to Penang.

“We also want to showcase how digital technology will influence our lives in the next 10 years,” he added.

For more details and updates on Techfest2020, visit www.techfest.my

Source: The Star

Photo Credit: The Star