The 11th International Conference on Computer and Information Technology (ICCIT 2008) has been successfully staged in the campus of Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET) . With 101 acres of campus and with its nice green landscape blended with beautiful architectural maneuvers, KUET- one of the top technological universities in Bangladesh, took the challenge to host the 11th ICCIT 2008. This is the first time ICCIT is held outside capital city Dhaka.

The conference was scheduled for three days (25-27 December, 2008). That included the inauguration ceremony, presentations on 138 technical papers, 6 keynote sessions addressed by 6 prominent researchers around the world, a session on BdREN, a gala dinner and a cultural show. Workshops organized by two prominent universities of Australia also took place in conjunction with the conference.

Initially 538 papers were submitted from 24 different countries. However, 158 papers were finally selected for the event. The selection panel consisted of 83 reviewers from all around the world. The paper acceptance rate of 29.4% indicates the acceptability of the conference. Out of these 158 papers, 138 papers finally took their places in the conference proceedings. Out of these papers, 42.4% have originated from authors outside of Bangladesh. The conference was technically co-sponsored by IEEE Bangladesh Section and the papers in the proceedings would be included in the IEEEXplore digital library. For the first time, some of the selected papers would have the chance to be extended and to be included in six distinguished journals- Journal of Computers, Journal of Communications, Journal of Multimedia, Journal of Networks, and Journal of Software published by Academy Publisher and International Technology Management Review published from Australia.

On 25th December the session began at early morning with registration & kit distribution. The formal opening of IICIT 2008 kicked off with a great style at 4.30 pm as there was a delay in the flight schedule of the chief guest. Before that there were two keynote sessions on the following topics: �How may research crank-up economic engine� by Mohammad A. Karim, PhD, Vice President for research, Old Dominion University, Virginia, USA and �Utility Oriented Grid Computing and the Gridbus Middleware� by Rajkumar Buyya, PhD, Director of GRIDS Lab, University Of Melbourne& CEO, Manjrasoft pty Ltd, Australia. In his lecture Prof. Karim addressed the major re-engineering milestones and the transformational context that has evolved research universities into what are now primary drivers of regional economic engines.The chairman of the university grants commissions of Bangladesh Prof. Nazrul Islam was the chief guest at the opening ceremony. Other special guests at the occasion included Prof. Dr. Nawsher Ali, VC, KUET, Chair, advisory committee, Iccit2008, Prof. Dr. Basudev Chandra Ghos, Co-chair, advisory committee, Iccit2008, Mohammad A. Karim, Chair, international programming committee, Iccit2008, Prof. Dr. M.M.A Hasem, Chair, organizing committee Iccit2008, and Prof. Dr. MD. Rafiqul Islam, Secretary of organizing committee Iccit2008. Among other distinguished guests, Dr. Jafar Iqbal, Shahjalal University Of Science & technology, Prof. Dr. Saifuddin Ahmed, VC, Khulna University, faculty members from different universities, authors and researchers were also present. 'The recent rapid development in information and communication Technology has urged scholars, scientists, researchers, academicians, theorists, professionals, technologists and entrepreneurs to share the improvement they are inducing. Conference like ICCIT is one of the strong and prestigious platforms for them to sustain the newer technologies they are inventing ' the chief guest was quoted saying.

He also added that the newer technologies should be used for the mankind and the political leaders of our country should also be aware of this ICT revolution. Prof. A. Karim said that this type of conferences energizes a large number of unusual young and talented people by providing them a world-class platform. 'The true measure of success of this major international conference will be judged by the newer ideas and techniques disseminated by it. It would help nurture a technological climate in Bangladesh,' Prof. A. Karim also addressed.

Over the next two days the research papers in the field of algorithms, information system and software engineering, bio-informatics, wireless communication, artificial intelligence and various other topics related to the respective field were presented. Some of these papers are very lucrative if implemented in Bangladesh. The four other keynote speakers of the conference were Abdul Sattar, PhD, Professor and Director, Institute for integrated intelligent systems, Griffith University, Australia and Research leader, National ICT Australia University, Ramamoharano Kotagiri, PhD, Professor, Department of Computer Science and software Engineering, The University Of Melbourne, Australia, Mohammad Atiquzzaman, PhD Professor, School Of Computer Science, University Of Okalhoma, USA, Alamgir Hossain, PhD, MOSAIC Research centre, Department Of Computing, school of informatics, University Of Bradford, UK.

When asked for his feedback Prof. Dr. Jafar Iqbal said, 'Unless we generate knowledge the education is not complete. So we need to have conferences where our researches will be able to contribute. because of this conference- I feel encouraged.' Mr. Abdul Sattar, PhD also shared his optimism. He said, ' In my view this conference was very well organized. I am particularly impressed by the enthusiasm shown by young academic staff and students; and the energy they employed in this event. For me it was the first visit to Bangladesh and I found people very warm, welcoming, respectful, polite and sincere in their jobs. I would like to thank the organizers and wish them all the best in future.' In the last day an invited session called 'A New era in Bangladesh higher education: joining the global alliance of emerging high performance research and education network' was conducted by Jabed. I. Khan, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Computer science, Kent University, USA. Professor Dr. Ehsanul Haque, member of UGC Bangladesh was also present with him as a supplementary speaker. Also for the first time in the history of ICCIT two international workshops on 'Internet and distributed computer system (IDCS2008)' organized by The University Of Melbourne, Australia and 'Data mining and artificial intelligence' were also held on 24th December in conjunction with ICCIT2008. The bandwagon came to an end by gala dinner and exclusive cultural show.

Climate change has captured public attention much like the cold war, we all know there is a common enemy and there is a real threat of disaster, but at the back of our minds we think, if all else fails at least we have a bomb shelter. The only difference is that while a bomb shelter may protect one from a Soviet onslaught, it won't be of much use underwater, because that's what climate change can, will and is doing to millions of homes across the world. For those who think it's a myth, all they need to do is travel to the south of Bangladesh so see the first hand effects of climate change and how it destroys more than just homes, but dreams and aspirations.

Jamie Hewlett the British artist and co-creator of the comic strip Tank Girl and the band Gorillaz recently travelled to Bangladesh with Oxfam to see what climate change meant to those on the front lines. From his travels and experiences in Bangladesh he pieced together a small exhibition titled Under Water Colours, which was recently exhibited at the Dray Walk Gallery in London. The collection of watercolours are as distinct as his other graphic work. Yet the series from Bangladesh is interesting as he uses his comic book/ guerrilla graphic style to deal with life in the spectre of disaster. Known for his offbeat style in the hugely popular comic Tank Girl, he later explored his artistic boundaries with Blur's Damon Albarn to create the characters for immensely successful "virtual band" Gorillaz. His futuristic take on a virtual band included an extensive back-story, with intricate details as he fleshed out his characters with an urban grunge flair.

The basic elements of his artistic temperament remain unchanged in his exhibition on Bangladesh, the only major departure being the light in which he treats his subjects. In his piece "Chums" he painted two young girls he was following around the village. The view of their backs as they walk with an arm around each other is playful and feels almost as if it's out of a children's book. When talking about the painting Hewlett says, "We followed these two girls in the village looking happy and smiling. The children always looked so innocent. I wanted to portray the next generation and their future in an optimistic but realistic way - and show what a beautiful place Char Atra is. I think many people have sadly become numb (or immune) to footage of dying children. If people can relate to a picture, then it can sometimes have more of an impact. Showing two children being playful, walking down a path with their arms around each other is a connection that people here might understand from their own or their children's experiences."

While none of the paintings really jump up and hit you, there are a few which are quite surprising when one pays enough attention to them. In "Tree Kids" Hewlett portrays two children up a tree, but what could be a playful scene is actually about as frightening as one can get. On closer inspection the children are not up in the trees playing, they are up there to get away from the floods. One is griping the tree as hard as he can while the other is in a more comfortable position looking down on what surely is a flood, clutching a container of water. Interestingly Hewlett did not paint the flood, nor anything other the trees and the kids. One would assume that was to highlight the danger of what we cant see, in the larger sense of the exhibition and for that matter Bangladesh that would be climate change.

Another painting of the riverbank showcases the raw power of climate change. In it people stand on a riverbank inspecting the latest land erosion which threatens both their lives and their livelihoods. In a dairy he wrote of his time in Bangladesh he said, "we got to see the river erosion, where the river just gets slowly eaten away by the tides. We saw a concrete bridge with no land either side of it because the land's dropped back so far." While such a sight may be new to him, in Bangladesh river erosion is treated as a simple part of life, the only problem is that climate change exacerbates the damage.