Focus On Our 2008 ITAC Community Hero
The ITAC IT Heroes Program was created to give recognition to men, women and organizations that have employed technology to improve the quality of life of their communities.
Previous IT heroes have included the Toronto Children’s Aid Society’s Cyber Bus and the Nova Scotia Conservatory of Music. Last year we introduced you to a remarkable 17 year old computer science student, Kayla Cornale.
Now in its eighth year, 2008 was a year of revitalization for this award program. Recognizing that corporations as well as people can do incredible things with technology, we created a new category of award for corporate heroes. This new award category recognizes a for-profit public or privately owned business that can demonstrate the creative application of IT in improving the lives of Canadians.
This month, ITAC Online is focusing on our Community IT Hero, Dan Babineau, who represents the City of Moncton, New Brunswick. Today’s Moncton is the fastest growing Canadian city east of the GTA and it is clearly determined to walk the talk of a 21st century tech centre. Dan is the architect behind the City of Moncton’s drive to reinvent itself as an east-coast hub for IT and customer service centres. ITAC Online had the opportunity to sit down with Dan during our Annual Chairs’ Dinner and talk about the initiative and the award.
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About the ITAC Community IT Hero Award |
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Moncton Leaps into the Digital Age With Free Wi-Fi Mesh Network
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The City of Moncton New Brunswick is out to remould itself in the shape of a technologically friendly hub for business. The city recognizes that its economic future depends on attracting entrepreneurs and technology based business.
In 2007, the city developed and installed a free downtown Wi-Fi mesh network. This completely free network fulfills a variety of civic priorities. It gives business locating in the downtown area the benefit of free access, it extends the benefits of network access to all downtown residents including low income households, and by giving commuters Wi-Fi services on public transport, it’s helping to encourage them to leave their cars at home.
Dan Babineau, Director of Information Systems for the City of Moncton, helped the city move forward towards this goal by leading the project.
One of the challenges, and a perennial challenge for projects of this kind, was money. The project was being funded by the city, the budget was limited and there were concerns over the potential cost burdens to taxpayers. The city felt that the possibility of any additional tax burden to residents was unacceptable.
As the representative for the City of Moncton’s 2008 ITAC IT Community Hero award, Dan shared some of his experiences.
Starting with the
project itself, why take on a project of this size?
Our economic development and corporate strategic plan indicated that the ICT
sector (in Moncton) wasn’t as we wanted it so we were brainstorming on how
to portray the city as technology friendly and this was a project that
stemmed from that.
Apart from
concerns over cost, what were the additional challenges?
Being the first community mesh network in Canada we were worried that it
wouldn’t work — the technology was questioned from the outset.
How will this wireless network help
the City of Moncton become a destination for high-tech business?
We feel that it’s a first step to recognize Moncton as a technology friendly
city. This is one of the initiatives that will be enticing to the ICT sector
to come in and take a look at us. City of Moncton
The City of Moncton, New Brunswick is the 2008 Winner of the ITAC IT Hero Community Award
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The Toronto Police Officer Who Called on Bill Gates
With Files From ITWorldCanada.com Staff
Frustrated by the fact that child predators seemed to always be one step ahead of law-enforcement a Toronto police officer decided to employ technology to beat them at their own game.
Paul Gillespie, an officer assigned to fight child exploitation on the Web, was a member of a team that partnered with Microsoft to create CETS, the Child Exploitation Tracking System, a database and investigative tool now in use by police forces in 30 locations across Canada. Designed to store and share information related to child abuse on the internet, the system is also being used in the U.K., Australia, Brazil, and other countries.
Gillespie, now an ex-police officer, still devotes his time to his work in eradicating child pornography and exploitation on the internet. Through his work with his company, Paul Gillespie Consulting, Gillespie travels the world helping other police forces and governments set up child exploitation investigation units and training officers on the CETS software.
In addition, Gillespie has just been named the Director-in-Residence of the Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa’s Centre for Cyber crime Research.
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Vicki Mains: Improving Quality of Life For Those With Vision Loss
With Files From ITWorld Canada Staff
Thanks to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and the leadership of Vicki Mains, over 100,000 visually-impaired people have access to the Digital Library Service, a world of free digital information.
Mains, Director of Information Technology at the CNIB, has been involved with the project from the outset, first as a database administrator and later in her current role as director of IT, where she leads the teams that develop and execute the technology applications pertaining to mobility, storage consolidation and infrastructure.
The CNIB made history when it became the first charity in the world to undertake digitization of its analog library so its users would have better access to reading materials, supporting the organization’s vision of a national, equitable public library service for all Canadians with print disabilities, which includes those living with vision loss.
The goal of the project was to provide the CNIB’s 100,000 clients, who previously could access only three per cent of published information, with access to radically more information via a variety of formats such as by telephone, the internet, or on CD on demand. Delivery time on recorded information has been dramatically reduced and the organization is able to offer dramatically more content to its clients, free of charge.
With over 15,000 volunteers reading materials aloud to be recorded, the CNIB now boasts an immense repository of materials. In addition, CNIB offers access to thousands of titles in Braille, print Braille and talking books, descriptive videos, newspapers and magazines, reference and online services.
Open Text
Executive Chairman Charts a Course for Canadian Competitiveness
The Chairs' Dinner 2008 was a glittering, well attended affair that honoured
the achievements of the ITAC community and its outgoing chair David
MacDonald on June 26.
The dinner provided a showcase for the presentation of the IT Hero Awards. It also featured an excellent address by Tom Jenkins, Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, Open Text Corporation. Tom's presentation included a "hot-off-the-press" look at Compete to Win, the report of the federally appointed Competition Policy Review Panel.
Tom was a member of the five person panel which was chaired by Red Wilson. The panel made a number of recommendations to strengthen Canadian competitiveness. Many of their recommendations reflected ITAC's own submission to the panel's consultations and align with ITAC public policy priorities. For example, a key recommendation is to improve the development of Canadian talent through improvements to the post secondary education system and fast-tracked immigration. The panel also recommended the creation of a permanent Competitiveness Council to provide ongoing public policy input to Government. This was one of ITAC's recommendations as well. For a complete review of Tom's presentation click here.
David Lynch: 2008 ITAC Volunteer of the Year
With a gracious speech of thanks, David Lynch, vice-president and general
manager, image processing for Sigma Designs, took home the 2008 ITAC
Volunteer of the Year Award. David is the Chair of ITAC's Strategic
Microelectronics Council. In making the award presentation, our special
guest, the Hon. Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade
noted "In his relatively brief tenure, he has expanded the network of
microelectronics best practice forums to 12 events in three cities, helped
design and led two major conferences, and overseen the delivery of a
microelectronics industry report to my Ministry … He is currently hard at
work marshalling semiconductor companies to collaborate in order to pursue
Next Generation of Jobs Fund opportunities."
Canadian Women in Communications and Corus
Partner to Accelerate Women in Technology
A diverse
group of 22 women were recently chosen to attend the CWC/Corus Convergent
Technologies Career Accelerator, an intense and enriching learning
experience that demystifies ICT and communications technology and explores
its impact on sales, marketing, business, strategic planning and regulation
issues. The five day
program explored the evolution of the various communications and media
creation tools and delivery methods, and described how and where these
technologies converge and what that means to careers and to the ICT
industry. The
program is designed exclusively for women with at least three to five years
experience in ICT, broadcasting or communications, who need to understand
technology and its future in order to be successful in their careers. Each
year about twenty applicants are accepted on a full scholarship basis that
includes tuition, travel, meals and accommodation.
ITAC Re-establishes Environmental Affairs
Forum: We’re Looking For Participants
Recently, ITAC decided to revive its Environmental Affairs Forum which was
originally established to work on ICT recycling / waste-reduction issues.
The forum will work to identify and discuss ICT issues in relation to the
environment and ideally develop best-practices and responses to them.
Initially, involvement would include helping to set the agenda. For more
information contact: Bill Munson, Vice-President, (905) 602-8345 x223 or
bmunson@itac.ca
ITAC/Research Money Conference Ponders How to Strengthen Canada's Entrepreneurial Talent Pool
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| ITAC's Chair, David MacDonald moderated and helped to design the conference as means of focusing attention on this issue and illuminating new measures the industry might pursue to develop leadership talent. |
Iconic tech company-builders like Terry Matthews and Antoine Paquin along with many serial entrepreneurs as well as young CEOs working on their first start-ups helped to create a lively discussion about what to do to build Canada's entrepreneurial capacity at the 7th Research Money Conference in Toronto on May 21. ITAC’s Chair, David MacDonald moderated and helped to design the conference as means of focusing attention on this issue and illuminating new measures the industry might pursue to develop leadership talent.
Call for Expressions of Interest for Board of Directors for ITAC's CHITTA
Division
The Chitta Board determines the strategic directions and priorities for the
CHITTA division of ITAC and provides guidance to staff on matters of
interest to the membership and the health information technology industry as
a whole. To be eligible to sit as a CHITTA Director your company must be a
member of ITAC and active in the Canadian healthcare marketplace, and your
nominee would typically be the person most responsible for said healthcare
activities. For additional details, please go to:
http://www.itac.ca/MediaCentre/ITACOnline/08MarchCHITTA.pdf
8th Annual ITAC
Who’s Who in ICT Partnering Forum
Sept. 23, 2008, Toronto, ON
ITAC's Who's Who partnering forum is a
gathering of small companies in an open environment designed to encourage
collaboration, partnership and provides an opportunity to network with
peers. Through table-top exhibits and one-minute pitches, exhibitors can
quickly spread the word about their company's products and services. This
years' event is being held in conjunction with Toronto Tech Week - September
22-26, 2008 For more information, contact: Micheline Levesque, E-mail:
mlevesque@itac.ca - Tel: (613) 238-4822 x 245 or Barrie Marfleet, E-mail:
barrie.marfleet@itac.ca - Tel: (905) 602-8510 x 228. For the event website,
please go to:
http://www.itac.ca/index.php/event_whos_who
U.S. Air Force (USAF)
IT Conference & Expo
August 25 - 27, 2008
The USAF is the largest user of
ICT in the world .It is the largest customer of Microsoft, Symantec, Sun
Microsystems, Dell and numerous other IT vendors. Last year’s conference had
an emphasis on security and wireless products, but includes all aspects of
ICT. Additional opportunities include technical presentations at well
attended specific breakout sessions and matchmaking with major VARS serving
the Air Force. Atlanta-based Trade Commissioner will meet individually with
Canadian exhibitors and provide individual counseling and introductions. We
welcome any type of association or provincial trade mission. Please register
directly with the organizers at http://www.mc2-afitc.com/
We want to hear from you! Please submit your company's news link or press release to Jason Grosse at jgrosse@itac.ca for posting on the ITAC website.
To submit articles/news items/comments or to subscribe/unsubscribe please send an email to Jason Grosse at jgrosse@itac.ca.
