On the occasion of the inaugural NFC Academy Conference held in Abu Dhabi on February 16, Wise Media announced the formation of the NFC Academy Advisory Board for 2009. The names of the NFC Advisory Board members were unveiled at the presence of H. E. Darwish Al Zaraouni, Director General, Emirates Identity Authority, during an official ceremony at the 2009 Citizen ID Forum, the global summit held under the patronage of H. H. Lieut. General Sheik Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates Minister of Interior (www.citizen-id.com).
The distinguished members of the NFC Academy Advisory Board include visionaries and pioneers of the NFC technology community:
* Paul Korczak - Assistant Chief Officer at MetroCard New York City Transit (USA)
* Sertac Özinal - CEO at BKM Interbank Card Center (Turkey)
* Tinboat Arslanouk - Dir. of Business Dev. at Du - Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (UAE)
* Koichi Tagawa - NFC Forum Chairman and GM of Global Standards and Industry Rel. Dep. at Sony (Japan)
* Michael Hegenbarth - Senior Director of Standardization and Consulting at Bundesdruckerei (Germany)
* Remy de Tonnac - CEO at Inside Contactless (France)
* Kurt Schmid - CEO at Nexperts (Austria)
* Carlo Maria Medaglia - Professor at the University of Rome "Sapienza" (Italy)
"The caliber of the members that form the NFC Academy Advisory Board is an endorsement to a world-class initiative that will guarantee in-depth, up-to-date content as well as thought-leadership throughout this year's events," said Sophie B. de la Giroday, President of Wise Media.
H. E. Darwish Al Zaraouni, Director General, Emirates Identity Authority said: "NFC technology offers a vast potential in facilitating contactless e-government services to mobile customers and we are keen to work with the NFC experts and industry through the NFC Academy."
Throughout the year, the NFC Academy will gather top researchers, pioneer developers and advanced practitioners in the areas of mobile applications, short-range communication and contactless security to educate the market and foster the adoption of NFC technology. Each event will host a conference and live demonstrations that promote an open exchange of ideas on the deployment and growth of NFC technology in the field of contactless applications - including access control, ticketing and mobile payments.
The NFC Academy Advisory Board will contribute their recommendations on the most relevant and important topics to be covered during each conference and interact with the organizers to produce a calendar of vibrant networking initiatives.
* Michael Hegenbarth, Senior Director of Standardization and Consulting at Bundesdruckerei (Germany) said: "The inaugural NFC Academy Conference was so well attended and the discussions were so lively that they reminded me of a workshop rather than of a conference. The fact of organizing such an event in this region and the unprecedented aim to inform also the government sector of the potential that lies within NFC applications were excellent choices for the foundation of an initiative of lasting value:"
* Koichi Tagawa, NFC Forum Chairman and General Manager of Global Standards and Industry Relations Department at Sony (Japan) said: "Wise Media's NFC Academy offers a chance for open dialogue and informative exchanges with notable experts and decision makers involved in the development and deployment of NFC, one of today's most exciting and innovative wireless technologies. I am honored to be a supportive element of these conferences through my participation on the NFC Academy Advisory Board."
* Sertaç Özinal, CEO at BKM Interbank Card Center (Turkey), said: "I would like to congratulate Wise Media for the perfect timing of the launch of NFC Academy. There is no doubt that NFC will play a dominant role in the Payment Systems Sector all over the world within a short period of time. I believe that NFC Academy will be an effective place to promote and share knowledge, ideas and even standards for NFC projects, develop guiding principles and best practices in the international arena, generate and maintain dialogue with other organizations that touch upon the NFC sector, provide research and thought leadership to participants in the NFC economy and so many other benefits. There is no need to mention that I will do my best to contribute to NFC Academy."
* Osman Sultan, CEO at du - Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (United Arab Emirates), said: "The future lies in innovation and NFC is an emerging new technology in the region whose potential impact is huge. As a national company with a focus on innovation, we are interested in working with the NFC Academy, the government and financial institutions to explore opportunities to introduce NFC based solutions in the UAE to simplify the lives of our customers."
* Tinboat Arslanouk, Director of Business Development at du - Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (United Arab Emirates), said: "This first NFC Academy Conference offered a highly interesting interactive format that I was delighted to contribute to with my active participation. I will gladly continue to be a part of this new community throughout 2009 and look forward to supporting the organizers to expand their reach in the Middle East, looking ahead to the next NFC Academy event in Abu Dhabi in early 2010."
To receive further information, participate in the call for papers for the upcoming conferences in Paris (May 29) and Milan (November 4-5), register as an attendee, sponsor or exhibitor, please contact the NFC Academy Organizers' Office: info@nfcacademy.com or call
+39 02 8903 4123.
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