Magical words like Green IT, Ubiquitous Town, and Cloud Computing are pouring out every day to bring May flowers once again, but the true side of it is that most of us are just barely trying to survive at this very moment of life. If we gathered at the 2008 IT Global Conference to study the topic Wonderful IT Convergence, the conference in May 2009 will face the pain of realism before looking up to the sky.

The IT 21 Conference 2009 is to be held from May 28 to 29 at Seoul Trade Exhibition and Convention (SETEC) under the theme of Economy and Future Technologies. “All of us are currently suffering in terms of economy, but our life commonly preoccupied with technology has pushed forward IT development to the greatest extent, and IT still has a long way to go to satisfy our daily needs and to protect us from what we fear,” said President Lee Jeong-bae of Korea Information Processing Society. He continued with, “The purpose of our conference is to collect the wisdom of experts from all different fields to suggest methods of improvement.”

What's Different this Year

Readers will definitely burn the midnight oil to finish a bestselling book. A great IT 21 Conference, however, hasn't caused anyone to burn anything yet due to disorganization in the program. This year, conference organizers focused on scheduling a program that anchors the attendees to their seats. The subject titles, keynote speakers, speech organization, and VIP receptions are all the factors that will click this year to keep listeners from drifting away. “As the organizers of the conference, our main concern since July of last year was to set a systematic lecture schedule for each subject. As you can see in our program, if an attendee chooses to participate in track-1 Green IT, 4 speeches are set consecutively from the subject Green IT Movement and Challenge, and Green Growth and Green IT Policy Direction, to Green Home, Green Building, and Green City for Green Life and Information Communication Technology for Smart Power Grids,” President Lee explained. “The rest of the 6 subjects are broken down into four lectures as well to help the attendees to organize the full idea.” A conference that stimulates the listeners' intellectual curiosity, a conference that gives a clear vision of the future, and a conference that looks for the best solution for the current situation is just around the corner.

Assembly of VIPs

The 2009 IT 21 Global Conference is expected to be a showcase of stars. Secretary of State in the Science Technology Department Park Chan-mo is scheduled to give the first keynote speech on the future of Science Technology and the New Growth Strategy. Senior policymakers from network and information communication industry departments, executive director of the Green Growth Committee, and the former vice minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance are lined up to give a panel discussion on the topic of ICT New Deal Policy for Job Creation and Economy Regeneration. The second keynote speaker is scheduled to be the chairmen of the Green Growth Committee and also the President's right hand man. A third keynote speaker, Miha Kralj, is the Senior Architect of the Microsoft Corporation. He will provide some answers to the question of “How IT will change in the next decade and why should you care” Lastly, CEO Taesung YOON of Open Knowledge Corporation Japan will give a speech about Knowledge Visualization. Famous faces of the past half-century Seo Yoosuk, Jung Eun-ah, and Bae Han-sung volunteered to speak on behalf of the conference and be in charge of the speech.

Reception at COEX's Diamond Hall

The Intercontinental Hotel is also expected to host many stars to give the attendees an opportunity to interact with them. The Senior Presidential Secretary for State Policy Park Jae-wan will speak as a guest speaker at this reception, while Minister Lee Yoon-ho of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy is scheduled to give an opening speech along with Minister Lee Dal-gon of Public Administration and Security. Politician Won Hee-ryong of the Grand National Party will be at the reception as well. “We expect to host up to 400 guests at the reception,” added President Lee.

Message of Hope

Twice as many global leaders, young engineers, ministers, professors, and students this year are expected to gather at the 2009 IT 21 Global Conference to brainstorm the proper way out of the crisis. “For young engineers, 2009 IT 21 Global Conference will be the place to gain knowledge and inspiration. By listening to the current and future technologies and policy directions we hope the young engineers design their future and be inspired to take the next path of their study,” added President Lee.

A total of seven tracks await visitors of interest at the IT 21 Global Conference: Green IT, IPTV, RFID/USN, Cloud Computing, Future Education, Intelligence Security, and Digital Entertainment. “Once the attendee sits himself in the seat, he couldn't possibly lift himself from the first keynote speech to the end of the track. We hope that the students and experts who attend the conference find every bit of information useful, and make it all into a tool to shape the field of their future,” stated President Lee Jeong-bae.