Smart solutions showcased

Bahrain IT Society President, Mr. Mohammed Nass told the press that about ten sponsors and exhibitors will demonstrate their smart card solutions.

'The conference and exhibition is organized in view of the Kingdom's plan to issue smart cards to the citizens and residents, replacing the current CPR Card' says the BITS President, Mohammed Nass.

The first copy of the new smart identity card was presented to His Majesty King Hamad by CIO acting President Sh. Ahmed bin Atteyatallah Al Khalifa who is also the patron of the 'Smart Society - Act Now?' conference and exhibition.

A smart card is of the size of a credit card, which bears a small microprocessor. The microprocessor makes the card 'smart' and differentiates it from other plastic cards. The card can process instructions, just like a Personal Computer rather than just store information. The card can be programmed, and new applications could be added after its issue. It can also store comparatively large amounts of information and can control access to its stored information.

The Smartcard implementation in Bahrain is helping to build a new infrastructure to facilitate the creation of more efficient and secure processes for government, business and administration in Bahrain. The new card will become the standard identification card for the purposes of interaction with government ministries. The conference will discuss and deliberate on how this powerful technology will change and influence the social and the business environment in the region

Expert speakers are lining up for the upcoming smart card conference orgnised by Bahrain IT Society and Central Informatics Orgnisation. The chairman of the conference organising committee said that speaker's panel will include smartcard vendors, consulting companies, solution providers and government orgnisations.

The event is scheduled for 31st January and 1st February 2005 at Bahrain Conference Center, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Manama. A pre-conference work-shop on Smart Card and Biometrics will also be held on 30th January 2005.

Dr. Jerry Brightman, President of the Leadership Group, U.S.A will be one of the Keynote Speakers of the event. Speakers are also coming from U.K, Malaysia and other GCC Countries.