PNG ICT Secretary: 2025 Digital Transformation Summit Was Highly Successful

The 2025 Digital Transformation Summit (DTS) was one of the most successful government events last year, according to DICT Secretary Steven Matainaho. The summit welcomed over 1,500 unique guests and piloted several sub-events, including an expo, a hackathon, Cyber War Games, and a gaming competition.

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We had a total guest of just over, unique count of just over 1,500. We piloted a number of sub-events from the conference itself to the expo, to hackathon, to what we called one of them the Cyber War Games, and then we also had our gaming competition which was interesting.

Matainaho highlighted the Call of Duty Mobile competition as a unique aspect, acknowledging the mixed internal and external reviews it received due to concerns about promoting violence and its alignment with the summit's objectives. Despite these concerns, he emphasized the event's success in extending coverage to a diverse range of stakeholders and reaching out to the news media.

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Now, for the gaming, as you all know, we had a competition for Call of Duty Mobile, and that was a very unique one because we got mixed reviews when the proposal came in to do that, and there was mixed reviews internally and externally about the concerns about the game itself, promotion of violence, how this would, how does this contribute to the objectives of the summit.

Looking ahead, the DTS26 is set to be even more expansive, incorporating Pacific ICT ministers and senior officials from 15 to 17 countries and territories. The event will also gather cybersecurity experts and policymakers from across the entire Pacific region.

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But at the end of the day, you know, with any events, the impact we had was that we extended coverage to a wide range of stakeholders, a diverse range of stakeholders, and I like the fact that we reached out to the news.

During the DTS26 Pre-Summit Market event, Matainaho encouraged participants to connect with each other and expressed hope that the program would offer a sneak peek into the upcoming summit, inviting individuals and organizations to play a larger role. The DTS26 is scheduled to take place from July 17 to July 23, 2026, in Port Moresby.

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We want to encourage that you connect with each other, and we hope that what you will see in this program will give a sneak peek, and we also hope that you and your organization, and you as an individual, can play a bigger role within the upcoming event that is here.