Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in CeBIT 2009 Opening
Take a peek into the grand opening ceremony of the world's largest digital IT and telecommunications exhibition, which now has the support of partner state California to further boost CeBIT's profile. Several honored guests have graced this occasion such as Craig R. Barrett, Dr. Angela Merkel and Arnold Schwarzenegger himself!
CeBIT 2009 - The Grand Opening
If it hasn't struck you yet, it's the time of the year again when www.hardwarezone.com braves the extreme cold weather of Hannover in Germany to bring you the latest and greatest technology updates from CeBIT 2009. This year, CeBIT started earlier on 3rd March and will last through 8th March.
CeBIT is the world's largest exhibition for digital IT and telecommunications solutions which binds the global ICT community in this yearly affair to strengthen relationships in business, find new opportunities through incorporating best practices and use of technology from other companies and showcasing the best in IT has to offer. You could say that this is the digital marketplace of the world. If there's ever a show to combine all aspects of IT from pure computing to medical, social, manufacturing, distribution, banking, government and science - CeBIT is the melting pot of IT, bar none. To further add to its credit, the show has been evolving every year and this year we'll see a few new focus segments such as Green IT, Webciety (which stands for web society) and IT in medical. We'll be taking a look at those segments in the following days as well.
CeBIT 2009 banners at Hannover Fairground's entrance.
With over 4300 exhibitors from 69 countries worldwide participating in this year's world's largest trade fair, it deservers a home nothing better than the Hannover Fairgrounds, Germany - the world's largest exhibition grounds. What's special this year however is the U.S. state of California is the official Partner State of CeBIT and Germany's IT and telecommunications industry association, BITKOM. While CeBIT has partnered countries, this is the first time it has partnered a state. California has the world's 8th largest economy, is the leader in technology, entertainment and even enforcing green technology and garners half of all venture capital in the United States. With so much potential in just this one state, California is a clear choice of partnership for both CeBIT and the German economy.
Hall 6 plays host to 50 of California's top technology companies.
Of course, it is also a great honor for California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger to attain this status. To show his gratitude and enforce the importance of what this partnership means to his home state as well, Arnold Schwarzenegger has managed to grace CeBIT 2009 and its opening ceremony on his trade mission to showcase what his state has to offer the world and what they can learn from the rest of the world.
The grand Hannover Congress Centrum was the venue for the opening ceremony of CeBIT 2009.
And here's how the atmosphere within was just before the arrival of the dignitaries.
CeBIT 2009 - The Grand Opening (continued)
With an impressive opening play and presentation that summarizes what CeBIT is all about in a couple of minutes, it set the stage for the keynote speeches by several revered guests:-
- Stephan Weil (Lord Mayor of Hannover) Prof. Dr. August-Wilhelm Scheer (President of the German Federal Association for Information Economy, Telecommunications, and New Media BITKOM)
- Craig R. Barrett (Chairman of the Board Intel Corporation)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (Governor of California)
- Dr. Angela Merkel (Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany)
The general tone for all of the keynotes were to voice out to the rest of the community the importance in investing in education, research and development and the need to overcome challenges to ensure one emerges as the winner, especially in the current harsh economic conditions. Education was a topic that Craig Barrett talked in length as he shared his views from is years in the industry and how investing in the youth pays off as they enter the workforce with the right skills, views and knowledge to embrace this increasingly evolving industries and make their mark. He sighted examples from selected countries (such as Finland that tops the charts at the moment) of how their close-knit involvement of growing the education system and working industries to nurture the right talent.
Craig Barrett, though a veteran in the microprocessor industry, spoke at length of the importance of investing a first-rate education system for all ages of youth. The seeds sown now will reap harvest in future as they enter the workforce to propel their country forward.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, was also a key person to welcome all the media and industry delegates at the opening highlights of CeBIT 2009 as his state is the first ever Partner State to CeBIT. His speech honed in to how the industry has evolved over the years and drew a few parallels to his own career development. The Governor's main focus was to reach out and remind everyone about the purpose and need for such a gathering of such a scale and size even in times of crisis that's crippling economies and business around the world. Here's an excerpt from this speech in captions:-
"This is the best time to have this trade show, because in times of crisis we can respond in one of two ways. We can sit back and complain and whine and resign ourselves to defeat, or you can stand up, challenge yourself and challenge everyone around you to work even harder and you can refuse to fail."
"You can use a crisis as an opportunity to shine, an opportunity to leap past your competitors who are taking it maybe easy and taking the easy way out. That's what winners do."
However you see this, it's no doubt a powerful message that has a lot of truth to it. While there are fewer exhibitors than last year, CeBIT is still the world' largest digital IT show that will hopefully shine through in these tough times and emerge as an even more convincing hotbed of exchange in the coming years.
The true challenge is yet to come as economic crisis has only recently rippled through the Asian countries and this will certainly effect planning and preparation of what's to happen worldwide in 2010. While we can expect some businesses to tune down to a conservation mode, that would actually cause a negative effect throughout the industry from businesses to consumers - it's a downward spiral that's hard to curb as each in individual in the marketplace food chain tightens their belt one after another. This is where we should all be mindful of Governor Schwarzenegger's truthful speech and prepare to capture the market potential and seize the opportunities that lie ahead and not just think about near-term measures only.
With that said, here are a few parting shots from officiating the opening of CeBIT 2009:-
- Craig R. Barrett, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dr. Angela Merkel, Stephan Weil and Prof. Dr. August-Wilhelm Scheer.
Craig Barrett brought along the robot hand that was last showcased in IDF Fall 2008 with the help of Josh Smith. This is however unlike conventional robot arms as it is built with electric field pre-touch technology to even sense objects before even touching them. The Terminator seems to have met its challenge!
Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, gives the robotic arm a field run as it interacts in a very novel manner.
Here's the official ribbon cutting ceremony to officiate CeBIT 2009 - and the robotic arm is seen giving a helping hand too! And you though the Terminator can handle this all by himself...
And that's a wrap for tonight! Catch more CeBIT 2009 highlights in the coming days from your favorite vendors, brands and more all here in www.hardwarezone.com.
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.