Talebi: The oppositions that take place with Elcamp are not normal

The 26th edition of Alcomp Exhibition starts tomorrow. The holding of Elcamp after a four-year hiatus has been welcomed by activists and technology enthusiasts on the one hand, and on the other hand, it has raised voices of criticism. Critics or opponents of holding this exhibition in the current social conditions and especially with the poor condition of the country’s internet, call it wrong and even talk about boycotting the exhibition and the companies present in it.

Critics of this exhibition have argued that it is a government event, and they believe that with the state of the internet and internet businesses, it should not be present at an event related to the Ministry of Communications. This is despite the fact that the organization of computer trade union system, as a trade and private institution, is the organizer of Elcomp exhibition and this event has nothing to do with the government and government agencies.

But where did this position against Alcomp and the idea of ​​boycotting it come from and what is the reason for these arguments? This is the question that Adel Talebi, the secretary of the Virtual Business Union and an activist in the field of information technology, answered in an interview with Zomit:

“Regarding Elcamp, there are some views that relate this exhibition to concerns and dissatisfaction about the state of the Internet or introduce it as a government exhibition. This is despite the fact that Elcamp is organized by the trade union system and has nothing to do with the government or the Ministry of Communications. This issue is caused by the mistake that instead of having a professional approach to our industry and profession, we have an emotional approach.”

Talebi goes on to point out that the objection to the state of the internet should not be directed at the companies that participate in AlComp, this objection should be raised in the right place and in front of the custodian institutions. In the meantime, he mentioned the operators who disrupt or cut off the Internet in compliance with the upstream authorities:

“I also object to the state of the internet, but the protest that should be made is the protest against Aol and Irancell, which charge fees for their internet packages, but are constantly disconnected and connected. The first companion, Irancell and Rightel are more related to the issue of the Internet or Elcomp exhibition and the companies present in it? Is the role of internet infrastructure providers more in these outages or is it an exhibition event? Of course, not that the same companies are to blame for these outages, they are also ordered. However, they also agreed to follow the order of this matter. “If we are going to protest or show our displeasure, we should refer to the right person and authority.”

Talebi believes that some of these oppositions and attacks against IT companies are the result of a directed movement and a coordinated action that has a specific purpose behind it: “I think that those who are against holding trade union events Either it is due to ignorance or they are guided from places that are unhappy with the independence of this guild.”

Pointing to the unnaturalness of the process of raising objections and taking a stand against various institutions in the field of information technology, he clarified: “The events and objections that take place with Alcomp are not a normal occurrence. In the internet business union and the chamber, we also saw that there are institutions that are interested in having representatives to monitor and intervene in union affairs. It seems that after they were able to change the state of the union to its current form and somehow entered the chamber of commerce, now they have started from Elcamp to enter the trade union system and bring in their contacts.”

The secretary of the Internet Business Union mentioned the issue of Abararwan boycott regarding this issue and considered this issue to be the result of the same actions that, according to him, want to expose the companies in the field of information technology to attack. He said in this regard:

“People are directing this hatred toward startups so that those who are the cause of this situation remain immune. The same contract that Abararvan has signed in the field of infrastructure provision has also been signed by Asiatec, Afrant and other companies that have hosts. All these companies also have duties towards this contract, but why was only Abararvan brought up? Who brought up this company for what purpose? Worse than the contract of Abararvan, they have with Olal and Irancell, but why is no one talking about them? Those who are really to blame and influence these events are other teams.”

Talebi, on the one hand, considered proper awareness from the media about this issue as the solution to prevent the change of views towards the field of information technology and startups, and on the other hand, expressed hope that the people active in the trade union “will be aware that the interests of our trade union are in Unity and togetherness. “The danger of institutions entering trade union centers is felt seriously.”

He further added: “I think there are those who would like this area to be fragmented and its people to be against each other. I hope that IT activists will avoid these emotional encounters and instead of confronting each other, we will stand together and make demands.”

In the matter of opposition to Al-Comp and criticism of its holding, this criticism is also raised that the presence of companies in this exhibition is not economically beneficial for them; This means that companies cannot earn money by attending this exhibition event. Adel Talebi pointed out two points about the possibility of income generation and economic efficiency of the exhibition for companies:

“The first point is that the exhibitions must not have financial income. The exhibition is a place to communicate. It is not necessary to make money from the exhibition. Companies attend the exhibition to be visible and to establish links and communication. “If companies want to earn money, they should advertise, they should appear on Google Ads, not at the exhibition.”

He considered the second issue to be the lack of familiarity of information technology companies with how to attend the exhibition and said: “Another issue is that many of our companies do not know how to attend exhibition events. Companies should consider appropriate and necessary measures to attend an exhibition. Even the behavior that the owners of the companies should have in the exhibition and the way they are presented should be suitable for the exhibition space.

Talebi explained about the better presence of companies in exhibition events as follows: “Companies should focus on two or three products in the exhibition. Also, companies should ask questions from their visitors and provide and introduce services suitable to their needs. But our problem is that there is a lack of awareness in the field of information technology regarding the issue of attending the exhibition.”

According to this activist in the field of information technology, there has been a poor performance in informing about the holding of the Elcomp exhibition: “For other exhibitions, billboards throughout Tehran are filled with exhibition advertisements. Relevant organizations inform and inform the audience; But in the trade union system, this weakness in information is clearly evident.”

The 26th edition of Elcamp exhibition will start from tomorrow, the 4th of July, and this event will continue until the 7th of July 1402 at the permanent location of Tehran International Exhibitions. This event is public and those interested can visit this exhibition for four days from tomorrow.