Public-ITU

Mission

During the transition to a society based on knowledge as Public Information Technology Units our mission is raising awareness and create synergy on the effective and widespread use of IT, contributing to the development of national IT policies to enable public agencies to provide services in an effective and productive manner, increasing exchange of information among IT Units, improving Turning Back professional solidarity, finding common solutions to shared difficulties with the participation of the sector.

History

TBD Public-ITU (Informatics Association for Turkey – Union of Public IT Center Heads) working group was founded in 1997.

“1^st Productivity Meeting of Public-ITU” was held between 28^th-30^th May 1999 in Nevşehir which was attended by 96 heads of IT Centers and 50 representatives of private sector. Problems of ITCs were discussed and a set of solutions were suggested at the meeting.

Sub-working groups comprising of 65 people, 47 Public ITC and 18 private sector managers, were established in November 2000. These people had worked for six months under the name of e-State and its sub-groups. What had been done by these groups was matured at “2^nd Productivity Meeting of Public-ITU” which was held between 8^th-11^th June 2000 in TRNC, Magosa with the participation of 136 ITC managers and 57 representatives of private sector. These reports were published in three separate books in May 2001.

“3^rd Productivity Meeting of Public-ITU” which was held on 17^th June 2001 in Kuşadası with the participation of 125 ITC managers and 61 representatives of private sector. Reports of the above mentioned issues were discussed at the meetings and a common sense was formed. Additionally, all the work of Public-ITU so far was reviewed, published books were examined and though the “common mind” that was formed, the book on e-STATE was finalized which will guide the state.

“Turkey on the way of e-State” book was published in November 2001 and shared with all parts of the sector, bureaucracy and the state. It was very much liked by all objective and subjective parties.

Again in November 2001 13 working groups to address sub-topics under e-State were established with participation of 96 colleagues from the sector, and reports of all groups were ready by May 2002.

In May 2002 the responsibility of organizing “Turkish Informatics Congress” in Ankara and work on “e-State” was given to Public-ITU, and the section on e-State of the produced “Turkish Informatics Congress Conclusion Report” was written by committees organized by TBD Public-ITU.

“4^th Productivity Meeting of Public-ITU” which was held between 20^th-23^rd June 2002 in Pamukkale with the participation of 125 ITC managers and 63 representatives of private sector. Reports of the above mentioned issues were discussed at the meetings and a common sense was formed. Additionally, reports on the above mentioned work were discussed and common mind was developed. It was agreed to include the results of this meeting to the book titled “Turkey on the way to e-State”.

18 working groups were established in November 2002 to which 135 people from the sector volunteered to join. Six of these groups were short-term conducting the preparatory work for the 5^th TBD Public-ITU Public Informatics Platform”; seven of them were medium-term to produce documents for the “Informatics Week”; and 4 of them were longer term groups. These groups produced detailed reports on the issues they addressed.

“5^th TBD Public-ITU Public Informatics Platform” which was held between 19^th-20^th June 2003 in Kuşadası with the participation of 140 ITC managers and 70 representatives of private sector. It was agreed to include the results of this meeting to the book titled “Turkey on the way to e-State”. Additionally two panels were held which attracted high attention from politicians, senior bureaucrats and senior IT company managers: e-State: “Approach, Structuring and Reflections” and e-State: “Advantages, Disadvantages and Future Scenarios”. In both panels we had 2 senior level managers from political parties, 2 senior bureaucrats and private sector managers as panelists who shared their views on the discussed topics. They were highly successful and productive activities results of which were published by TBD.

The main theme of the “6^th TBD Public-ITU Public Informatics Platform” which was held between 27^th-30^thMay 2004 in TRNC, Girne was set as ” e-State, e-Society”. 6 working groups were formed for each category of the theme. The sub-working groups on e-State were: What should Public Agencies do during the transition, Common Sharing of Information-Data in Public Sector, Informatics Security; the ones under e-Society were: e-Individual, e-Organisation, e-Services. Total of 52 participants from public and private sector and academics contributed to the production of reports for these six working groups.

The main theme of the “7^th TBD Public-ITU Public Informatics Platform” which was held between 26^th-29^thMay 2005 in Antalya, the Hillside Su Hotel was “electronic signature”. Three working groups were established in parallel to the importance of the topic:”Infrastructure and Authorisation of Qualified Certification (Authority)”, “Social Dimension of e-Signature” and “Information and document exchange in the public sector”. All these work was compiled into a manual thanks to the support of the Ankara Bar and distributed to the all relevant parties. Total of 26 participants from public and private sector and academics contributed to the production of reports for these three working groups.

The main theme of the “8^th TBD Public-ITU Public Informatics Platform” which was held between 25^th-28^thMay 2006 in Antalya, the Magic Life Sirene Hotel was “Towards a Society Based on Information “. For the first time a new methodology was tried and instead of parallel sessions, working groups’ work was evaluated in common sessions. This method was received well by the participants. 5 working groups carried out tasks under the following headings: “What should ITUs do during the e-Transition period”, “Risk Management in IT”, “Models of supply development in e-state services”, “Security and Credibility Approaches in e-State Applications”, “A successful model approach for ITU”. Total of 60 participants from public and private sector and academics contributed to the production of reports for these five working groups.

The main theme of the “9^th TBD Public-ITU Public Informatics Platform” which was held between 31^st May-3^rdJune 2007 in Antalya, the Atlantis Hotel was “Working Together”. Three working groups were formed on “Interagency Common Work/Project Development”, “Legal Dimension of IT Use”, “Efficiency of the Management of Informatics Projects in the Public Sector. Total of 75 participants from public and private sector and academics contributed to the production of reports for these three working groups.

The main theme of the “10^th TBD Public-ITU Public Informatics Platform” which was held between 21^st-25^thJune 2008 in Antalya, Kemer the Limra Hotel was “Ten Years with Public ITU” which highlights the 10-year work of the unique structure of Public-ITU which is a voluntary and widespread. In addition to the report written by “10^th Year of Work” revising all productivity meetings since 1999, “Governance in IT” and “Personal Data Protection” reports from working groups were addressed. These reports were finalized through sharing them with the large audience of the meeting and then distributed with all relevant agencies and parties. A total of 70 participants from public and private sector and academics contributed to the production of reports for these three working groups this year.

The main theme of the “11^th TBD Public-ITU Public Informatics Platform” which was held between 9^th-12^thApril 2009 in Antalya, Belek the Rixos Premium Hotel was “Electronic Document”. Results of the working groups on “Digital Document Management” and “Disaster Avoiding and Storage”, and documentation groups on “Public and Private Sector Cooperation on Public Informatics Projects”, “Security in Mobile Applications” and “Criminal, Legal and Administrative Responsibilities of Public ITC Managers”. A total of 72 participants from public and private sector and academics contributed to the production of reports for these two working and three documentation groups this year. 635 volunteers from the informatics sector attended this year’s embedded activity, 175 of which were from public and 460 of which were from the private sector.

“The 12^th TBD Public-ITU Public Informatics Platform” was held between 13^th-16^th May 2010 in Antalya, Lara Kervansaray Hotel with the theme “New Technological Trends” which was attended by 400 people from public agencies, ITC managers, universities, and private sector. The two-day activity aimed at informing Public ITC managers on latest technologies, and solving problems and difficulties of public sector and answering their needs; reports by the working groups “Virtualisation” and “Using decision Support Systems in Public Sector and a Proposed Model”, and documentation group on “Environmentalist Informatics” were revised.