For the first time the Computer Society of Malta (CSM) is holding a National ICT Achievements (NICTA) awards ceremony on April 1 at the Portomaso Suite of Hilton Malta.

"After a number of years trying to establish ourselves as an NGO, we felt it was time to start giving something back to the community," said Alfio Mizzi, project leader of the three-member sub-committee of the CSM set up to organise the NICTA awards.

"After the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) was up and running, we are now busy finalising this annual event," Anson D. Aquilina, another subcommittee member said.

Anita Cardona, the third member, said the awards night aimed to recognise achievements by all local organisations and professionals. "We want to make ICT (Information and Communication Technology) more accessible to the rest of the population," she said.

"This will be an enjoyable evening with a few surprises and the awards ceremony will be broadcast on PBS the following week," Mr Aquilina said. The awards range from Best Prospect (for students) to the top prize, Best Innovation. The first edition of the awards attracted 22 nominations. "Some nominations had to be turned down because they were submitted late," Mr Mizzi said.

KPMG are handling the judging and giving their full support to the event, which will be preceded during the day by ICT Innovation Expo 2005, open to students, professionals and the public.

"The symbol to be used for the trophy signifies the meeting of technology and society," Ms Cardona said. "This is the main aim of this event. Technology must be integrated and we are promoting ICT to the man in the street, especially to show what the local industry is capable of producing, plus its accessibility."

Entrance to the awards night is strictly by invitation but there is free entrance to the ICT Innovation Expo, following registration.