YELLOWKNIFE - Dustin Riel Simpson might be a flesh and blood example of what the Connect the NWT 2007 Symposium was striving for.

The 24-year-old Behchoko man has been employed as Internet provider for Nishi Khon Forestry Services since last April. It's a job that has allowed him to stay close to his home and do something he loves, he said.

Dustin Riel Simpson, an Internet provider for Nishi Khon Forestry Services holds up the Connect the NWT 2007 Symposium package. - David Ryan/NNSL photo

"Computers are basically my passion," he said.

Simpson was one of the Northerners working in the information and communications technology (ICT) field who attended the Connect the NWT 2007 Symposium held in Yellowknife Feb. 6-7. More than 150 participants were registered at the symposium, ranging from community leaders to corporations, eager to talk about how technology can be put to work in the North.

Peter Clarkson, conference co-chair and GNWT regional director for the Beaufort Delta, said the conference came at the right time.

"We're not starting at ground zero but we want to be able to enhance and complement technology services," he said.

According to the symposium's keynote speaker, Doug Holmes, there is no reason that businesses and government can't use information and communications technology to succeed in their own communities and in the global marketplace.

The author of e.Gov: e-business Strategies for Government and the editor of the global Microsoft in Government e-newsletter, Holmes opened the conference by giving examples of e-government working effectively around the world.

"In the North, look at health care, tourism, even fighting fires," he said, listing areas that benefit from technology.

Holmes said while the NWT has much of the communication infrastructure in place, there's at least one more step to take.

"It's the last bit of pipe that needs to get into people's homes," he said.

One infrastructure initiative that was announced during the symposium was wider spread use of broadband services in the NWT.

An agreement between the federal government, SSI Micro Ltd. and the Broadband Business Alliance Limited partnership resulted in getting broadband connections into 30 communities.

Being able to have reliable Internet access is essential, said Behchoko Chief Leon Lafferty.

"You can't do any work without the Net," he said.

With technology becoming more and more accessible, communities like Behchoko are hoping to create more jobs for their young people, he said.

Knowledge shared about ICT at the symposium is expected to help create a strategic plan for the NWT, developed by Connect NWT, which includes a number of federal and territorial organizations.