A hand guide to upcoming ICT events

It is again the time of the year where all the major ICT events of Turkey come one after another. One of the oldest in the field is Bilişim Zirvesi, which is now called ICT NOW 2013 and will take place Sept. 24-26 at the beautiful Haliç Congress Center. The tagline of the Summit is “You haven’t seen anything yet” – a reference to the fact that ICT still has a lot to offer to the world. 

The summit is a bit different than the others with its strong emphasis on regulators and the region. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım, Information and Communications Technologies Authority Chairman Tayfun Acarer and Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş will all be there to speak. Therefore, if you are wondering about Turkey’s ICT outlook at the highest level, ICT NOW 2013 is probably where you want to be. 

Webrazzi has always been a very good source for Internet Businesses in Turkey. If you don’t follow them, I strongly urge you to do so in order to keep up with the pace of the Turkish Internet sector. The Webrazzi team has done an amazing job transferring their market know-how to an event called the Webrazzi Summit. It has become a main attraction among the leaders of the Internet game in Turkey. The Webrazzi Summit’s motto is “Turkey’s most influential internet conference,” which will be held on Sept. 25 at the Swissotel, Istanbul. 

Another big event will be Webit. According to their website, “The fifth edition of the annual Webit Congress on Nov. 6-7, 2013, expects 8,000 attendees from 100 countries, 200 world-class speakers, 500+ media reporters and official bloggers. Eleven conferences, trade expo, workshops award ceremonies and parties will take place during the two days of the Webit Congress 2013 in Istanbul.” 

Webit is more of a private sector initiative. There will be many high-level executives to network and develop business with. Also, the entrepreneurship spirit is very much in evidence at Webit, so if you have an idea that you would like to turn into a business, you can find lots of inspiring stories among the speeches to be made. Ultimately, if you are more about the vibrant business culture of the ICT world, Webit is a must-see. 

I strongly suggest that everyone who is curious about the ICT world in Turkey attend all three conferences, as they will really provide a crash course.