Media CenterNinth Annual ICT4D Conference Kicks Off In Hyderabad, India

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Nikki Gamer
Catholic Relief Services
[email protected]
(443) 955-7125

HYDERABAD, INDIA, May 15, 2017 – Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is co-sponsoring the 2017 ICT4D Conference: From Innovation to Impact, taking place in Hyderabad, India, from May 15 – 18. The Information, Communications and Technology for Development (ICT4D) conference  brings together public, private and civil society organizations from across the humanitarian and international development community to discuss the latest trends in technology and the use of data to achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Jayant Sinha, India’s Minister of Civil Aviation and KT Rama Rao, Minister of Information Technology and Industries of India’s Telangana State Government, delivered keynote addresses at the start of the conference.

Delivering the welcome address, Schuyler Thorup, executive vice president for overseas operations at CRS, said: “India is at the forefront of digital innovation for the SDGs. India is also a global leader in the journey towards achieving the SDGs by forging partnerships between government and NGOs to empower frontline workers with digital tools in order to create lasting positive impact. It is very exciting for the ICT4D Conference to be here in India for the first time.”

There are dozens of sessions on the use of Information, Communications and Technology for Development (ICT4D) in agriculture, health, education, livelihoods, disaster management, and environmental protection, and also on how partnerships and cross-sector solutions, data-driven adaptation and digital financial inclusion can help bring development programs to scale.

Speakers and participants from around the world are exploring how innovation in technology is increasing the impact of development work to make a measurable difference in millions of people’s lives. The conference also brings together top executives and experts from leading companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Accenture and Google are joining non-governmental organizations, private sector, multilateral and government organizations, and academic and research intuitions.

Co-sponsors of the conference include Anudip; Dalberg; DIAL; Esri; ICRISAT; iMerit; Mercy Corps; NetHope; and World Vision International.

For information please visit www.ict4dconference.org. 

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Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, please visit crs.org or crsespanol.org and follow CRS on social media: Facebook, @CatholicRelief, @CRSnews, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.