Developing the Information Society in Western Asia ------- UN-ESCWA Activities during 2010 (Excerpts) by Georges Younes Representing UN-ESCWA (ICTD) younesg@un.org Geneva - 17 May 2011
ICTD: Objective for 2010-11 To narrow the digital divide and build an inclusive, people-centred and developmentoriented information society and knowledge based economy in the ESCWA region in accordance with the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society and internationally agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals
ICTD- Expected Accomplishments (a) Perceptible improvements in the region s information and communications technology (ICT) production and service sectors, substantiated by the implementation of ICT strategies and action plans focusing on the development and improvement of local capacities, enabling environment, content, e-services, ICT sector and R&D. (b) Enhanced capacity of member countries to measure and benchmark their progress towards the realization of the information society including the impact of ICT initiatives on socio-economic development, giving due consideration to gender dimensions and youth
Regional Plan of Action - WA Original formulation of RPOA: 2005 10 programmes/38 projects Partners: private sector, public sector, international organizations, regional organizations 2006-2008: Formulation of Arab ICT Strategy and companion plan of action Much of the RPOA was adopted as-is by the League of Arab States and backed by the Arab Telecommunications and Information Council of Ministers (ATICM) Last RPOA update: June 2009 during WSIS followup conference in Damascus
ISPER: Information Society Portal Regional online tool for following up on the RPOA Caters to Arabic and English speakers/ bilingual library Real-time discussion forums Regularly updated
The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development End 2009 and 2010 activities Two interlinked workshops on the Delivery of e- Services in Civil Society Increasing the awareness, capacities and capabilities of selected NGOs in the ESCWA region to provide and use e-commerce services The impact that portal technologies and e- commerce applications may have on the sustainability of NGOs
Access to Information and Knowledge (1) Access in rural areas remains one of the main obstacles Project involving Regional Commissions (ESCWA as lead agency): Knowledge Networks through ICT Access Points for Disadvantaged Communities Transformation of existing ICT access points/community telecentres into knowledge hubs Knowledge hubs provide, develop, organize, share and disseminate knowledge to the communities they serve
Access to Information and Knowledge (2) 2010 activities Re-design (new version) of the Knowledge Networks portal (www.knowlegenets.net) Workshop on the Management and Sustainability of Knowledge Hubs Training workshops in Sudan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon
Capacity Building End 2009 and 2010 activities Two complementary workshops that aimed at developing the capacity of member countries to establish science, technology and innovation observatories (STIOs) The impact of STI on socio-economic development The guidelines for setting up national and regional STIOs Identification of national agencies that could create and manage national STI observatories The importance of establishing networks and building partnerships amongst STI policy makers
Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs A study entitled Building Trust in E-Services in the ESCWA Region A workshop entitled "Building Trust and Confidence in Arabic e-services" Raising the awareness of policymakers and sharing best practices among member countries on issues related to trust building, securing data, personal data and individual privacy as well as developing national policies to protect cyberspace applications from threats
Enabling environment A project entitled Regional Harmonisation of Cyber Legislation to Promote the Knowledge Society in the Arab World Bridging regional legislative gaps in ESCWA countries, preventing the illicit and illegal use of cyberspace and mapping out a course of action that will foster the creation of a harmonious legislative enabling environment in the region Up-to-date picture of the status of cyber legislation in eighteen Arab countries.
Cultural Diversity Active involvement of ESCWA in the development of an Arabic Domain Names System (ADNS) 2003: Creation of the Arabic Domain Names Task Force (ADNTF) 2010: Expert Group Meeting on the Regional Roadmap for Internet Governance Discussions focused on a proposed regional roadmap for Internet governance, a proposal for a call for an Arab IGF and public consultations on proposed registry policies for two top-level domains ( عرب. (.arab and
Recommendations (1) Advancing and applying the concept of partnership between the various stakeholders of the information society, i.e. national governments, the private sector, NGOs and international organisations, to achieve the stated goals of WSIS Promoting the benefits of regional integration to national governments by drawing their attention to successful models of regional alliances and by highlighting the advantages of common initiatives such as the development of high-speed regional network backbones, the harmonisation of cyber legislations and the development of an Arabic Domain Names Systems (ADNS)
Recommendations (2) Measuring the impact of national ICT and/or information strategies and plans by bolstering the bodies and mechanisms necessary for data collection, measurement and analysis Ensuring the relevance of ICT and/or information society strategies and plans by adapting them to constantly changing realities in accordance with data collected by and from all WSIS stakeholders Maximising user accessibility by lowering access prices which could be achieved through the liberalisation of the telecom sector, the fostering of competition between access providers as well as other measures
Recommendations (3) Democratising access to knowledge by increasing the number and services of public access centres in regions where ICT is not affordable Building a knowledge-based culture by instilling awareness of the developmental role of new and traditional knowledge Persuading reluctant users to start using e-services Becoming active IS players instead of passive consumers by supporting research and development initiatives, establishing science and technology parks and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship in the ICT sector
Questions?
Thank you Georges Younes Representing UN-ESCWA (ICTD) younesg@un.org Geneva - 17 May 2011