Facebook Founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Keynote at Mobile World Congress

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BARCELONA, Spain, Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The GSMA today announced several new speakers in the keynote programme at the upcoming 2014 GSMA Mobile World Congress, including the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. The GSMA outlined other new developments for Mobile World Congress, including keynote speakers in the mPowered Industries programme, new elements for the NFC Experience and new partners in Featured Programmes. Further, the GSMA revealed that BAFTA and Tony Award-winning British actor, writer, presenter and comedian James Corden will present the Global Mobile Awards at Mobile World Congress. Mobile World Congress will be held 24-27 February at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.

"Mobile World Congress 2014 is set to be our biggest, most ambitious and most diverse event yet, offering new experiences for attendees across the growing mobile ecosystem," said Michael O'Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. "Over four days, attendees will have the opportunity to see just how broadly mobile is impacting our everyday lives, how we work, live and play. We're looking forward to seeing the mobile world gather in Barcelona."

Facebook to Deliver First 2014 Mobile World Live Keynote
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Facebook will be headlining in the first of the week's Mobile World Live keynote sessions on Monday, 24^th February at 18:00-18:45. In this session, Mr. Zuckerberg and renowned technology journalist and writer David Kirkpatrick will explore the importance of extending the benefits of ubiquitous Internet access to the unconnected world. In addition to the live audience in the Conference Village in Fira Gran Via, the Mobile World Live keynotes will be streamed live across the venue and to hundreds of thousands of viewers globally via the Mobile World Live portal.

The GSMA also announced a number of additional CEOs participating in the Mobile World Congress conference programme, including:

• Laetitia Gazel Anthoine, CEO and Founder, Connecthings
• Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, CEO, Etisalat Group
• Stephen T. Odell, President of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ford Motor Company
• Susan Siegel, CEO, GE Ventures and healthymagination
• Chua Sock Koong, Group CEO, SingTel

For full information on the Mobile World Congress conference programme, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/conference.

mPowered Industries Keynotes on Monday, 24^th February
The inaugural mPowered Industries programme, which focuses on mobile's role in key vertical industry sectors such as health, marketing and advertising, media and travel, will kick off with keynote sessions on the afternoon of Monday, 24^th February. These sessions will showcase the mobile achievements of top brands from around the world and will explore how adjacent industries can leverage the power of mobile to improve the customer experience and grow their businesses. The mPowered Industries keynotes will feature executives including: 

• Ralph Rivera, Director, Future Media, BBC
• Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President, EMEA, Facebook
• Surjit Chana, Chief Marketing Officer for IBM Europe, IBM
• Dr. Oliver Harrison, CEO and Co-Founder, Ithaca Health
• Vikas Chawla, Vice President of Mobile and Digital Guest Services, Marriott International
• David Sear, CEO, Weve

For more information on mPowered Industries, including the keynotes, exhibition and the specific conference programmes produced by partners ECHAlliance, EyeforTravel, Mobile Media Summit and NABShow, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/mpowered-industries.

Mobile App Delivers Full Mobile World Congress Information
The GSMA mobile app offers full Mobile World Congress information and services on the go, including registration and the NFC Badge for event access, event schedules, searchable exhibitor and conference speaker directories, networking tools and interactive venue mapping. The mobile app also introduces two new features to enhance the attendee experience at Fira Gran Via: SMART Transport and SMART Food.

SMART Transport lists transportation points by type and location, identifies closest points and maps routes to them and delivers real-time information on queues and wait times. SMART Food provides a searchable list of catering outlets by hall, cuisine and proximity, offers information on wait times and queues, identifies closest food outlets and maps routes to them, and allows attendees to order and pay for food in advance with credit card or PayPal and use express lanes with NFC or QR codes for quick pickup. The GSMA app with 2014 Mobile World Congress information is available for Android, iOS and Windows 8 devices and is in app stores now. For more information, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/app.

NFC Experience at Mobile World Congress
The 2014 Mobile World Congress NFC Experience has been expanded to provide an even greater range of mobile NFC services for attendees with NFC-enabled devices, such as venue access, catering and networking, as well as demonstrations of the latest NFC products and services, among others. This year, attendees with iPhones will be also be able to participate in NFC Experience activities using an NFC-enabled case provided by Mobile World Congress Supporting Partner Incipio.

The GSMA is introducing interactive NFC Tap-n-Go Points to provide attendees quick and easy access to event information and other downloadable material. Attendees with NFC-enabled devices can go to one of the 61 NFC Tap-n-Go Points located across Fira Gran Via to easily download event news, schedules, documents, presentations, videos and other information.

As part of the NFC Experience, the GSMA will be demonstrating a range of NFC-based Mobile Commerce solutions, highlighting applications in payment, retail, transport, mobile identity and access, among others. Partners demonstrating solutions with the GSMA include Aimia, Assa Abloy, BC Card, Chunghwa Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Escher Group, Gemalto, The Logic Group, Proxama, Telecom Italia, Telenor and Verifone. For more information on the NFC Experience at Mobile World Congress, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/nfc-at-mwc.

New Partners in Featured Programmes
Several new companies have confirmed their participation in Featured Programmes at Mobile World Congress. HP has joined as an App Planet Partner and will hold a half-day App Developer Conference on Monday, 24^th February, while Huawei will be presenting a half-day Partner Event on Wednesday, 26^th February. dotMobi and TRUSTe will both be participating in Power Hour sessions on Thursday, 27^th February. For more information on Featured Programmes at Mobile World Congress, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/featured-programmes.

Fitbit Challenge at Mobile World Congress
Working with Fitbit, a leader in wearable health and fitness technology, the GSMA is introducing the Fitbit Challenge at Mobile World Congress. Challenge participants will use Fitbit Flex devices to monitor their daily activity, share statistics and see the real impact of live personal data on activity levels. Prizes including an HTC One smartphone and Fitbit Force will be awarded daily to the two individuals recording the highest number of steps. Registered Mobile World Congress attendees may use their own Fitbit Flex devices to participate or they can purchase a Fitbit Flex at a 40 per cent discount. For more information on the Fitbit Challenge, visit, www.mobileworldcongress.com/fitbit-challenge.

James Corden to Host Global Mobile Awards 
The GSMA announced that James Corden, the Tony Award-winning star of "One Man, Two Guvnors", which ran at the National Theatre in the UK and on Broadway in New York, will host the Global Mobile Awards at Mobile World Congress. James is a BAFTA winning co-writer and star of British TV sitcom, "Gavin and Stacey", the four-time host of the BRIT Awards and also the host of Sky 1's quiz show, "A League of Their Own". He recently starred in the Weinstein film production, "One Chance", is the co-creator, co-writer and star of the acclaimed BBC television comedy thriller, "The Wrong Mans" and has been filming "Into the Woods" alongside Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp and Emily Blunt. In addition receiving Tony and BAFTA awards, James has been presented with numerous other awards, including a Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Comedy Writer of the Year and a National Television Award. For more information on the Global Mobile Awards, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/global-mobile-awards/.

Get Involved at Mobile World Congress 2014
For more information on the 2014 Mobile World Congress including how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com. Follow developments and updates on Mobile World Congress (#MWC14) on Twitter @GSMA or on Facebook www.facebook.com/mobileworldcongress. 

The Mobile World Congress is the cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital, which will be hosted in Barcelona from 2013 to 2018. The Mobile World Capital encompasses programmes and activities that span the entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but also the worldwide mobile industry. For more information on the Mobile World Capital, visit www.mobileworldcapital.com.  

About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo. 

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

SOURCE The GSMA