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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited:
Organised by the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport), 䩕Web 3.0 Asia ﷿ How Internet Innovation Will Transform The Creative Industries蒅came to a conclusion today (November 16), with more than 500 investors, entrepreneurs and professionals from the ICT, digital media and creative industries attending the event.
Cyberport organised 䩕Web 3.0 Asia蒅 as part of its commitment to establishing itself as a leading ICT hub in the region and to helping Hong Kong﷿s creative digital enterprises and start-ups to prepare for this sea change. The two-day event examined the kinds of Web 3.0 innovative companies that are coming into the market, the impact they will have on the next generation of products and services, and how investors view the potential of these companies.
䩕The digital world can change radically in a very short period of time. To stay competitive in the global market, Hong Kong﷿s businesses, especially the emerging generation of business leaders, need to have a clear vision of the opportunities ahead and how to capture them,蒅 said Cyberport﷿s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Herman Lam. 䩕Web 3.0 Asia brought the best minds from around the world together in Hong Kong to forge alliances and share ideas on an emerging global trend. Cyberport is committed to cultivating a new generation of world-class digital entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. We have great talent and potential in this city. We need to make sure that this talent is nurtured and empowered through events such as Web 3.0 Asia.蒅
Web 3.0 Asia was sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Hong Kong Government through its CreateSmart Initiative (CSI).The event is one of the many projects it sponsored to equip Hong Kong﷿s creative industries with new technology and knowledge for their continual development and upgrading. The Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology), Miss Elizabeth Tse, officiated at the forum this morning to support the event.
Keynote speakers at the event included Mr David Siegel, an author, start-up coach and business guru, described by the Harvard Business Review as the 䩕Man about the Internet蒅. Mr Siegel is a true visionary whose latest book, Pull, is revolutionising the way people think about the business landscape of the near future. At Web 3.0 Asia, he delivered a keynote address on 䩕Designing the Future of Web 3.0: From Push to Pull蒅.
Mr Kaiser Kuo, Director, International Communications of Baidu, Inc., also joined the event and gave a keynote speech on 䩕How Web 3.0 Will Change the Way We Do Business蒅. Mr Kuo engaged the audience with his thoughts on what Web 3.0 would look like, what needed to be done to realise Web 3.0, and the opportunities and benefits that could be leveraged for business success.
In addition, the event attracted an impressive array of international and local experts, including:
* Mr Simone Brunozzi, Technology Evangelist, APAC, Amazon Web Services
* Mr James Chan, Investment Manager, Neoteny Labs
* Ms Chiaki Hayashi, Co-founder, Loftwork Inc.
* Mr Sev Keil, Chairman and CEO, TrueChoice Solutions, Inc.
* Mr Alvin Lam, Group Business Development Director, PacificLink iMedia Ltd.
* Mr Jon Leland, President and Creative Director, ComBridges.com
* Ms Karen Leland, President, Sterling Marketing Group
* Mr Bill Morrow, Founder, Angels Den
* Mr Steve Mushero, Founder and CEO, ChinaNetCloud
* Mr Henry Oh, CEO, Socialutions Pte. Ltd.
* Mr John Wander, Founder and General Partner, Next-Gen Ventures & Founder and Managing Director, Giantstep Angel Network
Throughout the summit, experts explored a wide range of important issues and topics, including: how and why Web 3.0 is good for business; how Web 3.0 will change the way people do business; what are the Web 3.0 investment trends and how to build the next generation of successful companies.
During the luncheon at Web 3.0 Asia, there was a Memorandum of Understanding signing between Cyberport and the Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec), which is one of the follow-up actions of the Knowledge Sharing and Transfer Agreement that signed among Cyberport, Wellington City Council and New Zealand Institute for Screen Innovation in 2009. Both Cyberport and WelTec, through its School of Creative Technologies, see mutual value in this initiative and wish to work together to deliver WelTec training in creative digital area, which will benefit the creative start-ups/SME and industry practitioners in Hong Kong.
In addition to Web 3.0 Asia, Cyberport has been committed to nurturing local start-ups and entrepreneurs in the ICT industry with the provision of excellent infrastructure and global network, local seminars and international forums, technical consultation as well as strategic and funding support through various means including its IncuTrain Centre and funding schemes like the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund. The support has been essential for making local creativity a reality, which ultimately facilitates the growth of the ICT industry in Hong Kong.
As a prelude to the main event, Hong Kong start-ups and entrepreneurs attended the Web 3.0 Training Workshop on November 15, where they were given the opportunities to gain insights on pitching and selling skills and learn from the experience shared by awardees of the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund (CCMF) on how to get funding successfully.
Additionally, selected start-up companies had the chance to present in front of investors during the workshop. The sharing of invaluable advice through an interactive dialogue helped start-ups to sharpen their business ideas.
Apart from the forum and the workshop, a two-day exhibition on the next generation business solutions was also held concurrently, showing audience a wide variety of innovative business solutions and applications such as 3D internet, augmented reality, cloud computing, Web 3.0 communications, etc.
Web 3.0 Asia was co-organised by Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, Monte Jade Science and Technology Association of Hong Kong, and E-Business Technology Institute of The University of Hong Kong. The event was also supported by more than 50 other local industry associations, educational institutions and semi-government organisations.
Ends/Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:23
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