Worshipful Company of Information Technologists
Encyclopedia
The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists (WCIT), aka the Information Technologists' Company (ITC), is the 100th Livery Company
of the City of London
. The Company was granted Livery
status by the Court of Aldermen
in 1992, received its Royal Charter in 2010, and has over 750 members — all currently or formerly senior practitioners in the IT
profession, who have joined the Company in order to give something back to the IT sector and the wider community.
It has its own Hall
through the generosity of Dame Stephanie Shirley
, OBE
and others. Prominent members include Sir Tim Berners-Lee
, creator of the World Wide Web
, the Internet
pioneer Vint Cerf
, and Bill Gates
, founder of Microsoft
.
The Company ranks hundredth in the order of precedence
for Livery Companies. The Company's motto is Cito, meaning swiftly. It also incorporates the initials of the Company of Information Technologists. The 2010–11 Master was Ken Olisa
OBE, who succeeded Charles Hughes. The 2011–12 Master is Jonathan Soar.
The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists focuses on three key areas of activity:
The company has a number of panels through which activities are organized. It is probably unique amongst Livery Companies in having an Ethical and Spiritual Development Panel, which considers such topics as the ethical and spiritual implications of the Internet — running colloquia on that topic in the House of Lords
as far back as 1997.
Livery Company
The Livery Companies are 108 trade associations in the City of London, almost all of which are known as the "Worshipful Company of" the relevant trade, craft or profession. The medieval Companies originally developed as guilds and were responsible for the regulation of their trades, controlling,...
of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. The Company was granted Livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
status by the Court of Aldermen
Court of Aldermen
The Court of Aldermen is an elected body forming part of the City of London Corporation. The Court of Aldermen is made up of the twenty five Aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor...
in 1992, received its Royal Charter in 2010, and has over 750 members — all currently or formerly senior practitioners in the IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
profession, who have joined the Company in order to give something back to the IT sector and the wider community.
It has its own Hall
Hall
In architecture, a hall is fundamentally a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age, a mead hall was such a simple building and was the residence of a lord and his retainers...
through the generosity of Dame Stephanie Shirley
Steve Shirley
Dame Stephanie "Steve" Shirley, DBE, FRA, FREng, FRSA, FBCS is a British businesswoman and philanthropist. She originally arrived in Britain as an unaccompanied Kindertransport child refugee. She was placed with foster parents and later re-united with her biological parents, but later claimed she...
, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
and others. Prominent members include Sir Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
, creator of the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
pioneer Vint Cerf
Vint Cerf
Vinton Gray "Vint" Cerf is an American computer scientist, who is recognized as one of "the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with American computer scientist Bob Kahn...
, and Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, founder of Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
The Company ranks hundredth in the order of precedence
Order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...
for Livery Companies. The Company's motto is Cito, meaning swiftly. It also incorporates the initials of the Company of Information Technologists. The 2010–11 Master was Ken Olisa
Ken Olisa
Kenneth Olisa, OBE FRSA FBCS is a British businessman born of a Nigerian father and a British mother.Olisa attained an MA in Natural, Social & Political and Management Sciences from Cambridge University ....
OBE, who succeeded Charles Hughes. The 2011–12 Master is Jonathan Soar.
Activities
WCIT has a significant charitable and educational programme which uses the expertise, resources and networks of its members, and it is also involved in a range of activities to promote the Information Technology profession.The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists focuses on three key areas of activity:
- Working with charities: Getting the maximum benefit from IT is now a pre-requisite, not just for commercial organisations but also for the charity sector. WCIT works with a wide range of not for profit organisations with the aim of helping them to gain the maximum benefit from their IT. Members give their time and expertise to provide pro bono IT advice (usually at a strategic level). In addition, iT4CommunitiesIt4communitiesiT4Communities is a UK national IT volunteering charity that introduces volunteer IT professionals to charities needing IT help and support.iT4C was set up the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, the 100th City of London Livery Company in 2002 and since then has registered over 5,500...
is the UK national IT volunteering programme, introducing volunteer IT professionals to charities needing IT help and support. iT4C was set up by the Company in 2002, and since then has registered over 5,000 volunteers and more than 2,500 charities. iT4C has delivered over £3 million worth of support to the charity sector thanks to the work of the dedicated volunteer IT professionals.
- Education: For hundreds of years livery companies have supported schools in London and across the country. Currently WCIT has a partnership with Lilian Baylis Technology SchoolLilian Baylis Technology SchoolLilian Baylis Technology School, also known as LBTS, is a secondary school for students from ages 11–16, located in Kennington, London. The school was rated Good with outstanding features by Ofsted.-History:There is also a new sixth form opening in 2012....
in the London Borough of LambethLondon Borough of LambethThe London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
. Previous projects include HOLNET (the History Of London on the interNET), which is now incorporated into the London Grid for LearningLondon Grid for LearningThe London Grid for Learning provides a filtered broadband connection, network services, a common learning platform, online content and support communities for all schools across London. It operates as a consortium of 33 Local Education Authorities. It was launched in June 2000, and provides...
. In 2011, together with the Worshipful Company of MercersWorshipful Company of MercersThe Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in order of precedence. It is the first of the so-called "Great Twelve City Livery Companies". It was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1394...
(the oldest Livery Company), they opened Hammersmith AcademyHammersmith AcademyHammersmith Academy is an academy school specialising in Creative & Digital Media and Information Technology, located in Hammersmith, west London, England....
, a new academy school specialising in IT.
- IT profession: With members coming from all sectors of the ICT field, WCIT can provide a neutral meeting ground for discussion of issues that are central to both the profession and the City of London. WCIT also runs a Journeyman Scheme which supports young IT professionals in the early stages of their career.
The company has a number of panels through which activities are organized. It is probably unique amongst Livery Companies in having an Ethical and Spiritual Development Panel, which considers such topics as the ethical and spiritual implications of the Internet — running colloquia on that topic in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
as far back as 1997.