WELCOME

Official Government Partner Address

The Hon. Timothy Masiu MP, Minister for Information and Communications Technology

OPENING KEYNOTE: The digital economy as a driver of growth and prosperity

What is the digital economy and how can PNG participate in it?

Futurist Dr Jane Thomason looked at some of the transformational technologies coming our way and suggested practical ways PNG can use them to create our own digital economy.

Jane is the interim chair of the World Metaverse Council and a thought leader in the rapidly developing field of Metaverse, which is projected by Citi to be a $13 trillion industry by 2030. A well-known author, she has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and multiple books. She is frequently invited by industry to deconstruct the Metaverse and explain how this growing industry will impact on their work. Jane has a forty-year connection with PNG, which dates back to her time working for the National Research Institute, Department of Health and the Asian Development Bank in the 1980s and continues today through her role as a non-executive director of Kina Bank.

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: 2023 Innovation PNG Award winner (Small business)

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: 2023 Innovation PNG Award winner (Large business)

PRESENTATION: PNG’s Digital government strategy

Steven Matainaho, Secretary, Department of Information and Communications Technology

Steven Matainaho is the man charged with implementing PNG’s Digital Government Plan, 2023–2027. He will update the conference on the journey so far, and focus particularly on plans to bring government services and functions into the Cloud, and introduce digital identification to PNG.

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: 2023 Innovation PNG Award winner (Government)

VIRTUAL KEYNOTE: Innovation the key to unlocking growth and achieving scale

John Ball, Managing Director, Google Customer Solutions Australia & New Zealand

Every major new technological breakthrough drives a wave of innovation that allows more people to access global markets. This exclusive video presentation outlined how Google is currently enabling innovation in PNG (e.g., Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail) and looked ahead to the next wave of products, such as Google AI and driverless cars.

It was followed by a live Q&A.

PRESENTATION: Update on PNG’s communications infrastructure

Paul Komboi, Chief Executive Officer, PNG Dataco

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Satellite on the move

Robbie Huxley, Managing Director, TE (PNG)

KEYNOTE: Cybersecurity

Matt Dri, Partner, Cyber Response & Forensic Technology, KPMG Australia

Cybercrime is a never-ending challenge for both business and government in their attempts to take advantage of the scale and flexibility offered by the internet. This must-see presentation discussed the common threats and how they can be addressed in a PNG context.

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Education in the Cloud

Samson Korawali, Chief Executive Officer, SNS Tech

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Agriculture

Aina Davis, Rice Development Manager, Trukai
Maryanne Tom, Marketing Manager, Trukai

Rice is a crop with huge potential in PNG. Trukai’s Smart Farmer program is an attempt to develop and encourage local expertise in rice-growing.

VIRTUAL FIRESIDE CHAT: Social networks and the Pacific

Nick McDonnell, Head of Public Policy, New Zealand & Pacific Islands, Meta

Meta is the owner of the social networks Facebook and Instagram, and the messaging service WhatsApp. Its senior Pacific executive discussed initiatives Meta is taking to develop digital literacy, online safety, and e-commerce in the region.

WORKSHOP: Cybersecurity

This workshop took a closer look at some of the latest cybersecurity trends, tools, and approaches.

Facilitator: Matt Dri, Partner, Cyber Response & Forensic Technology, KPMG Australia

WORKSHOP: Planning for a digital future – an innovation framework for PNG

This workshop was designed to give you understanding of what it takes to innovate and how to create an eco-system that supports innovation in PNG.

Facilitator: Dr Jane Thomason

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Environment

Tim Solly, Commercial Director, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP)

This year, CCEP has introduced PNG’s first-ever recycling scheme for PET bottles. Tim Solly talked about the scheme’s implementation and what the plans are for its future.

FIRESIDE CHAT: Innovation and change management at Kina Bank

Martha Nion-Tefuarani, Senior Manager – Strategic Innovation, Kina Bank in conversation with Business Advantage International’s Andrew Wilkins.

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Transport (10 mins)

Isaac Jipsy, Chief Executive Officer, ODESH on Port Moresby’s Uber-style taxi service

VIRTUAL FIRESIDE CHAT: Why your brand matters and how to build a strong one

Q&A Sergio Brodsky, Executive Director, Strategy, Landor & Fitch

Whatever the size of your organization, your brand matters more than you think. In this session, international brand, media, and innovation strategist Sergio Brodsky, explained what makes a strong brand, what practical measures you can take to strengthen it, and how strong brands ultimately drive innovation.

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Energy

Israel Jali Kilawe & Jonathan Teloma Lanto, Engineers, ExxonMobil PNG

Operated by ExxonMobil, the PNG LNG Project has propelled an LNG industry that didn’t exist a decade ago into the spotlight through its world-class performance and almost 90 percent Papua New Guinean workforce. Its success has been driven by ExxonMobil and its focus on applying next-generation technologies to help safely and reliably meet the world’s growing energy needs. Through data, visualisation, and analytics, ExxonMobil is optimising the PNG LNG Project’s operations to routinely produce well above its nameplate capacity.

PANEL DISCUSSION: Software development in PNG

Two of PNG’s leading ICT experts discussed how they are developing tech-led solutions for PNG problems.

Panelists:

Christopher Vagalia, CEO, Agri-Tech Organics

Bosa Togs, Director, Saribu Consulting Services

This discussion held in association with the PNG ICT Cluster.

VIRTUAL MASTERCLASS: Innovation culture

Eckhardt Boehme, Founder & Managing Director, Unipro Solutions

The German co-developer of the Wheel of Progress, a tool to drive innovation in customer service, provides a short overview of its principles and how to use it in both business and government organisations.

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Enabling microbanking in PNG

Max Relph, Sales Manager Banking – Australia, NZ & Pacific Islands, Temenos Australia 

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Green buildings

Markus Scheuermaier, PNG Resident Representative, International Finance Corporation

AFTERNOON TEA

KEYNOTE: The next wave of innovation in payments

Craig Kirkland, Director, Mastercard Pacific

The Pacific Islands Director of global payments giant Mastercard de-mystified the current situation with online payments in the Pacific, and highlighted how innovations will allow us all to pay for things (and also get paid ourselves) more efficiently in the future.

INNOVATION CASE STUDY: Digital ID

Kimmo Koivisto, CEO, Digizen ID

Naime Kilamanu, Chief Information Officer, Bank of Papua New Guinea

CLOSING KEYNOTE: Creating an innovation culture

Ted Garner, Chief Strategy Officer, Konica Minolta Australia

From digitisation to 3D printing and high-tech imaging, global tech company Konica Minolta has been at the forefront of technological innovation. Ted Garner is responsible for formulating, facilitating, and communicating Konica Minolta Australia’s strategic initiatives. He talked about his high tech start-up origin in Canada, being acquired by Konica Minolta, through to business transformation projects in North America, Europe, and now Australia. Ted also shared the strategy and culture architecture lessons he learned along his exciting journey.