REPORT BY THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL INFORMATICS PROGRAMME ON ITS ACTIVITIES ( ) OUTLINE

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1 Conférence générale Vingt-neuvième session Rapport 8W\WKINP\I] UM\DWKW\ZE] /GIOZIQP OWG]QI] FWFFE] /MUNIOV rep Paris 1997 General Conference Twenty-ninth Session Report Conferencia General 29 a reunión Informe 29 C/REP August 1997 Original: English REPORT BY THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL INFORMATICS PROGRAMME ON ITS ACTIVITIES ( ) OUTLINE Source: Article 11 of the Statutes of the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme. Background: The Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme, established by the General Conference at its twenty-third session (23 C/Resolution 6.2), reports on its activities in accordance with Article 11 of its Statutes which stipulates that the Committee shall submit reports on its activities to the General Conference at each of its ordinary sessions. Purpose: The present report covers the work of the sixth session of the Intergovernmental Committee and the twelfth and thirteenth sessions of the Bureau which reviewed the project proposals submitted by Member States and decided on the granting of the IIP label and funding from voluntary contributions also making recommendations for the use of funds-in-trust. Alternative working methods for the IIP programme were adopted. Decision required: The present report requires no decision. 1. At its twenty-eighth session, the General Conference elected the following 18 Member States as members of the Committee:

2 29 C/REP.15 - page 2 Bulgaria Israel Nicaragua Canada Italy Slovakia China Kenya Sri Lanka Côte d Ivoire Kuwait Uruguay Ecuador Lebanon Viet Nam Guinea Malaysia Zimbabwe 2. The sixth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme was held at UNESCO's Headquarters from 4 to 6 December The day of 4 December was used for regional meetings. 3. One hundred and twenty-two participants attended the Committee meeting: 51 participants represented 27 Member States of the Committee, 64 observers represented 48 countries which are not members of the Committee, two observers represented two NGOs, two observers represented two international intergovernmental organizations, two observers represented two United Nations agencies and one observer represented a country which is not a member of UNESCO. The following documents were put at the disposal of the participants: Provisional agenda (CII/96/CONF.207/1) Annotated provisional agenda (CII/96/CONF.207) Main working document (CII/96/CONF.207/CLD.2) Statutes of the Intergovernmental Committee of IIP (CII/96/WS/5) Internal regulations (CII/96/CONF.207/LD.1) In conformity with its Statutes, the Committee proceeded to the election of the members of its Bureau. The results of the election were as follows: President Vice Presidents: Africa Arab States Asia and the Pacific Eastern Europe Latin America and the Caribbean Western Europe Rapporteur Mr Momar Ali Ndiaye (Senegal) Mr Sikhulumani Mangena (Zimbabwe) Mrs Ferial Al-Freih (Kuwait) Mr Hyun-Gon Kim (Republic of Korea) Mr Ludovit Molnar (Slovakia) Mr Mauricio Montalvo (Ecuador) Mr Jaako Kivinen (Finland) Mr Vanniarachchige Kithsiri Samaranayake (Sri Lanka) 4. Since the fifth session of the Committee the Secretariat had been involved in the implementation of the 44 projects launched before the fifth session of the Committee, as well as in the implementation of 19 new projects approved by the Bureau at its tenth session. These projects were implemented in part directly by the Secretariat, and in part by the UNESCO Offices in Brasilia, Cairo, Nairobi and New Delhi, and in some cases in co-operation with specialized institutions, such as the Regional Centre for Training on Informatics (CREI, Spain) regarding projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, the National University Centre for

3 29 C/REP.15 - page 3 Electronic Computing (CNUCE, Italy) regarding RINAF, the National Research Institute on Informatics and Automation (INRIA, France) regarding RINAS-RAITNET. 5. At the invitation of the Chairperson, the Secretary presented a report on the financial situation of IIP by correlating the data between the projects assessed and the resources showing their evolution. Since the fifth session of its Committee, IIP financed 24 projects for a total of 1,234,700. This amount comes from two sources: voluntary contributions from Member States (434,700) and funds-in-trust from Spain, France, Italy and the Republic of Korea (800,000). In addition, UNESCO covers all the expenses of IIP functioning, i.e., the Secretariat, the Bureau and the Committee. Based on the data provided in the working document (CII-96/CONF.207/CLD.2), the Secretary described the financial situation of IIP as worrying despite important and continuous support from four countries (Spain, France, Italy and the Republic of Korea). The situation calls for an in-depth reflection, not only on modes of financing, but also on the content and the orientations of the programme, its functioning and partners. 6. During the discussion on the results and perspectives of the Regional Computer Network for Africa a large number of participants supported the Regional Informatics Networks: RINAF for Africa, RAITNET for the Arab States, RINSCA and RINSEAP for Asia and the Pacific and RINEE for Eastern Europe. They suggested focusing activities and projects on a number of topics: (a) (b) (c) strengthening endogenous human capabilities especially through training of technicians, specialists and users, with a view to promoting the use of communication technologies in Member States; fostering the use of communication technologies for applications such as teleteaching and tele-working, taking into account past experience gained in similar fields; fostering the development and production of information and services by institutions through co-operative or regional projects. They underlined the importance of the elaboration of larger projects designed in such a way as to allow the involvement of new partners, such as private sector enterprises or professional associations. 7. During the analysis of the UNESCO Informatics Programme, the participants raised the following major issues: (a) (b) (c) The development of endogenous capacities plays a key role in enabling the countries to prepare their society to participate actively and for the benefit of all in the new information age: the training of trainers and of informatics professionals should have top priority. To limit attention to computers is no longer valid: emphasis should be placed on networks. In order to increase the resources available to the Informatics Programme special efforts should be made to involve the private sector. Nevertheless, governments should set an example.

4 29 C/REP.15 - page 4 (d) (e) (f) (g) A number of proposals were made with a view to increasing the efficiency of the Informatics Programme. Ethical aspects of network applications need to be paid due attention. A new field of co-operation with many institutions has opened up where UNESCO can play an important role in the definition and co-ordinated implementation of projects. Regular and precise information on the results of projects launched and implemented is necessary. 8. The Committee confirmed the role of the Bureau and the Secretariat. 9. After discussion, the Committee approved with amendments six recommendations which are presented in the annex. 10. The Bureau of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme held its twelfth session at UNESCO Headquarters on 2, 3 and 7 December Since its ninth session, the projects to which the Bureau had granted the IIP label received funding from France (Belarus: 50,000, Ukraine: 60,000, Russia: 80,000 and Arab States: [RAITNET-RINAS]: 50,000) and from the Republic of Korea (Burkina Faso: 60,000, Uganda: 36,000 and Trinidad and Tobago: 34,000). The Republic of Korea was also in favour of contributing to a project in Azerbaijan (70,000), a joint venture with UNDP. 12. The Secretariat carried out an evaluation of projects on the basis of the selection criteria set by the Committee for the granting of the IIP label and for funding from voluntary contributions and funds-in-trust. Those criteria were: relevance of the projects to IIP' s fields of action; regional or associative nature of the projects; prospects for disseminating the results of the projects; technical feasibility; financial feasibility. Main figures concerning the received projects are presented in the following table: Number of projects received Number of countries Total cost of projects Total request Average cost per project Average request ,973,000 7,445, , ,633

5 The table below shows the breakdown of projects by IIP s field of action: 29 C/REP.15 - page 5 Field of action Number of projects Total cost Amount requested Training 12 6,849,500 2,363,700 Development of software or applications 7 1,365, ,200 Networks 14 13,758,500 4,126,000 TOTAL 33 21,973,000 7,445, For this session, the IIP budget was made up of voluntary contributions from Member States, UNESCO funds and funds-in-trust allocated by Member States for projects of their choice. Source of contributions Amount Voluntary contributions from Member States and UNESCO 146,000 Funds-in-trust from Italy 200,000 Funds-in-trust from France 322,000 TOTAL 666, The Bureau selected the following projects with a view to their financing under the budget available in 1997: Cuba Viet Nam Lebanon Development of a university informatics network 40,000 Strengthening of the VARNET network with a view to promoting education and research in Viet Nam 37,000 Development of the national scientific research network 17,500 Syrian Arab Support for the national scientific Republic information network 17,500

6 29 C/REP.15 - page 6 Belarus Connection to the Internet of the institutes of the Academy of Sciences in charge of research on the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster 30, The Bureau granted the IIP label to 18 of the 33 projects that had been submitted to it at its twelfth session. 16. At its thirteenth session (21-22 July 1997), the Bureau discussed and approved the alternative working methods for the IIP Programme proposed by the Secretariat covering the following items: strengthening the role of the Secretariat in the identification, preparation and selection of projects; evaluating projects implemented under IIP paying attention both to the achievement of the original project objectives and the possibility of using products, infrastructure, etc., resulting from a previous project as an input and basis for new projects; development of partnership with the private sector; introducing a global modular approach to the development of IIP training activities and a systematic approach to supporting software development in Africa. 17. Four recently completed major projects in Africa were evaluated by Mr Ndiaye, President of IIP, who reported on his findings to the Bureau. The methods and procedures applied for the evaluation were proposed by the Bureau as a model for future similar exercises. 18. Following Recommendation No. 3 of the IIP Intergovernmental Committee's sixth session, the development of a proposal for a strategy regarding the support to be provided to the training of informatics specialists and the content of a modular training programme was entrusted to Mr Molnar, Vice-President of the Committee. This covers the following items: motivation for training on computer networking; strategy for the development of the IIP Network Training Programme; architecture of a modular system for training on network development and applications; description of the proposed training modules. 19. Following Recommendation No. 3 of the Intergovernmental Committee's sixth session, the Secretariat took an initiative with a view to identifying the best ways of contributing to and promoting software development in Africa. A strategy is under development in co-operation with the Institut Africain de l'informatique and Mr Mangena, Vice-President for Africa. 20. A strategy for developing co-operation with private companies was proposed by Mr Kivinen, Vice-President for Western Europe, and adopted by the Bureau. 21. The Bureau based its decisions and recommendations regarding the funding of selected projects on the fact that, although no contributions had been made in 1997, funds amounting to 1,200,000 were still available because of accrued interest and because some donors had not yet chosen the projects they wanted to support, while some other projects needed updating.

7 29 C/REP.15 - page 7 (a) In the field of training, ten projects were considered to contribute to the global and modular development of training in informatics and networking, serving all regions, with initial implementation at a regional level. They were selected for financing from the resources available: Global development of informatics training in Africa (Submitted by the Secretariat, to be finalized taking into account the recommendations of relevant meetings and requests received from the region) 170,000 Regional workshop on the development and use of informatics and the new information and communication technologies in the basin of the Indian Ocean (Submitted by Madagascar, to be revised) 7,000 Subregional course on The environment of informatics networks, their technical, administrative and security aspects (Submitted by the Syrian Arab Republic, to be revised) 5,000 Establishing a centre of excellence for training in informatics (Submitted by Azerbaijan) 90,000 Establishment of two centres of excellence for training in informatics and satellite telecommunications, paying special attention to applications in the work of NGOs (Submitted by Kazakhstan) 90,000 Training and methodology on the establishment of virtual universities (Submitted by Hungary) 70,000 Training on telecommunication-based value-added services (Submitted by Slovakia) 75,000 Training on informatics applications in producing and distributing electricity (Submitted by Bulgaria) 50,000 Training diplomats on computer network applications (Submitted by Ecuador) 100,000 Training on the establishment and use of networkbased services in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Submitted by Guyana) 82,000 One training project was recommended for revision in the framework of intersectoral cooperation: UNESCO regional course in informatics for teacher trainers (Proposed by Pakistan)

8 29 C/REP.15 - page 8 (b) In the field of network applications in UNESCO s fields of competence, the project entitled Establishment of a virtual laboratory in the framework of the International Science and Technology Network on Radio-Ecology, proposed by Kazakhstan, was considered as one to be used as a catalyser for similar applications of networking throughout the world. It was awarded the IIP label and the Secretariat was invited to mobilize extrabudgetary funds for its implementation. (c) In the field of networking, nine projects received the IIP label. These projects will, however, need to be revised to fit the new IIP strategy. The Secretariat was invited to revise the documents in co-operation with the beneficiaries and to mobilize potential donors for their financing.

9 29 C/REP.15 Annex ANNEX RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED BY THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL INFORMATICS PROGRAMME AT ITS SIXTH SESSION (UNESCO, Paris, 4-6 December 1996) RECOMMENDATION No. 1 The Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme, Considering the current and potential use of informatics in the processing of information and data and the development of informatics networks and taking into account the fact that Africa is a late comer in this technology, Recommends that: African countries be assisted in determining national policies, plans and strategies in developing informatics together with the implementation of the same; Centres of excellence be established in the region for training of trainers in informatics and networks; Policy-makers and managers in Africa be made aware of the role and importance of informatics and network technologies in the overall development process. RECOMMENDATION No. 2 The Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme, Having noted the extent of the Asia and Pacific region, demographically and geographically, Having noted the large number of least developed countries in the region, Having noted the importance of informatics in the social and economic development of the countries, Having noted the multiplying factor informatics can provide in the development process, Having noted that the countries recognize the vitality of this technology for future development, Requests the Bureau to study in all aspects additional representation of this region in the Bureau in order to focus properly on these countries; Requests the Bureau in allocating IIP funds to support the regional informatics networks, RINSCA and RINSEAP.

10 29 C/REP.15 Annex - page 2 RECOMMENDATION No. 3 The Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme, Considering that international action for the development of informatics is all too often focused on aspects relating to technical infrastructure, the regulatory framework or the establishment of networks, while neglecting endogenous capacity-building for the production of software and the pursuit of research and development, Considering that the General Conference at its twenty-eighth session underscored the importance of contributing to the training of informatics specialists and of assisting Member States in the formulation of projects on informatics training, software development, research and development, and national policies (28 C/5, paras ), Bearing in mind the preliminary proposals for the Draft Programme and Budget for (29 C/5), approved by the Executive Board at its 150th session, which stipulate that priority should be given to strengthening the informatics capacities of the Member States, and in particular the developing countries, laying stress on training, Invites the Director-General, within the fields of action of IIP, to devote particular attention to capacity-building, including human resource development and the achievement of technological autonomy in the developing countries, and especially the endogenous production of software which is suited to local socio-cultural problems and specificities. RECOMMENDATION No. 4 The Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme, Considering that the fundamental working method of the IIP Programme (i.e. of soliciting individual proposals, carrying out a review by the Bureau and selectively assigning the IIP label, and then funding projects) has not changed during the ten-year history of IIP, Considering that the levels of extrabudgetary funding have not been adequate to meet the demand for projects, Considering the wide variety of national projects which are being submitted to IIP, Requests the Secretariat to prepare a discussion paper on possible alternative working methods for the IIP Programme, taking into account: a determination of key issues in the field of informatics within UNESCO's areas of competence but which are not substantively covered by existing UNESCO programmes; an assessment of the main needs of Member States in this area based on direct consultations with them and on an analysis of the character of projects which have been and are being submitted for IIP funding; the expressed desire for greater regional programming and projects with a multiplier effect; methodology for selection, progress review and evaluation projects; Requests the Bureau to review this discussion paper and take appropriate action.

11 29 C/REP.15 Annex - page 3 RECOMMENDATION No. 5 The Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme, Considering, that the actions and projects sponsored, implemented and pursued by IIP should be sufficient in number and adequately disseminated among the representatives of the Committee and the Member States in general, Aware of the budgetary difficulties of IIP and the need for both technical and financial evaluation of projects and their results, Stressing that there should be a free-flowing and open dialogue between the Secretariat of IIP, the Bureau, the Committee and the Member States with a view to facilitating the monitoring of the programme and ensuring that its actions are effective, Acknowledging the efforts exerted by the Secretariat, despite the limited human resources of IIP, and the informatics infrastructure and facilities provided by UNESCO, Bearing in mind 28 C/Resolution 4.10 adopted by the General Conference at its twenty-eighth session, Urges the Secretariat of IIP to provide in a more regular and detailed fashion reports, evaluations and comments on projects and actions undertaken by IIP, especially with regard to the preparation of documents for meetings and on the results of projects; Welcomes the use of UNESCO's informatics facilities and infrastructure for the dissemination of IIP activities; Requests the Director-General to increase the funds allocated to IIP in the regular programme of the Organization, and to ensure that this is reflected in document 29 C/5; Reiterates its appeal to the Member States to make or to continue to make voluntary contributions to IIP activities. RECOMMENDATION No. 6 The Arab Group invites the Director-General to: Strengthen the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme in conformity with 28 C/Resolution 4.10 of the General Conference; Give priority in IIP activities to the strengthening of the regional informatics networks such as RAITNET to allow access to national, regional and international databases.