The Digital Cities 2025 programme aims to engage Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) Industry Ambassadors to advance its objective of transforming identified locations into bustling IT-BPM destination hubs.
Earlier called Next Wave Cities, the Digital Cities 2025 programme will bolster the industry-readiness of new centres by creating and developing ICT hubs in identified locations. The programme is being implemented by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in cooperation with the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) and Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC).
DICT said that it is cooperating with industry experts to strengthen the 25 Digital Cities and promote dynamism in the local economic environment. The plan is for industry experts to be ambassadors through various interventions to help reinforce the role of the IT-BPM industry in economic growth.
The IT-BPM Ambassadors will be resource speakers in various events and awareness fairs, sharing their professional expertise as part of an industry marketing campaign, assisting in content creation to promote Filipino talent, and working alongside the DICT and IBPAP to implement related initiatives.
To be potential ambassadors, persons must be currently holding managerial positions in the IT-BPM industry with at least a 5-year tenure. The role seeks IT-BPM leaders who can effectively build and manage stakeholder relationships. Applicants who had previously worked on countryside operations are preferred.
As reported by OpenGov Asia, under the programme, local government units (LGUs), ICT Councils, and IT-BPM locators will have access to information on strategies and best practices from the private and public sectors to effectively develop and grow the IT-BPM industry in the regions. Digital Cities 2025 will help focal areas promote local participation to strengthen their economies and governance systems in the ‘new normal’, the DICT added.
The IT-BPM sector continues to be a priority for DICT, and it is ready to support and take the lead in making the necessary interventions to ensure that these digital cities achieve their potential. By working together with other executive agencies, local government units, industry leaders, and academic institutions, it will enable each location to grow into centres of excellence that spur the development of other business sectors, de-risk Metro Manila concentration, create jobs, and boost the local economy. This will involve the strengthening of ICT councils in the region.
The Department continues to provide the 25 Digital Cities for 2025 with the necessary support in four key areas: institutional development, talent attraction, infrastructure development, and marketing and promotion. These interventions aim to help these localities achieve their full potential in view of the government’s pursuit for countryside progress and inclusive growth.
Additionally, the digitalcitiesPH portal will provide investors and locators with essential information on cities and municipalities all over the Philippines. It will help assess each location’s potential as a global business centre.
In perspective, during the launch of the programme, DICT named Bacolod City as among the top centres of excellence for Information Technology-Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO), along with other five key cities. Bacolod City has remained as a centre of excellence for IT-BPO, as it first achieved the distinction in 2013, along with the other key cities namely Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Clark, Davao City, and Iloilo City.
The President and CEO of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines said that it recognised locations that have been crucial to the continued and growing relevance of the Philippines as a global investment destination.
