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Expert Group Meeting on Regional Cooperation towards an Information Society in Asia and the Pacific

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Title: Expert Group Meeting on Regional Cooperation towards an Information Society in Asia and the Pacific


1
Expert Group Meeting on Regional Cooperation
towards an Information Society in Asia and the
Pacific Objective and Expected Outcome of the
Meeting
Ram Tiwaree, DrEng Information and Communications
Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division
(IDD) Email tiwaree_at_un.org
2
Background
  • Access to information and knowledge contribute
    largely to strengthening social and economic
    development and thus helps developing countries
    to accomplish the internationally agreed
    development goals, including the Millennium
    Development Goals
  • Currently, Asia-Pacific region has over half of
    the Internet and mobile connectivity in the
    world and
  • Mobile phones have surpassed fixed phones in the
    region
  • Broadband penetration - 3.5 per cent (2007)
  • ICT policies and regulations are in place in many
    developing countries
  • Digital divide is changing in some respects and
    that while in general the divide maybe sinking

3
Current Challenges
  • There is still a large digital divide between
    developed/developing countries, urban/rural
    populations, rich/poor
  • A new form of digital divide is emerging in terms
    of difference in quality and speed of access to
    ICT in developing countries
  • Disparity continues between developed and
    developing countries that in developed,
    high-income economies, average cost of broadband
    connection is significantly less than in
    developing countries, both in nominal terms and
    as a percentage of the average monthly income
  • Gender divide still persists between
    developed/developing countries in respect of
    quality and variety of means of access to
    Internet and ICTs
  • In many developing countries, there is inadequate
    coherence and complementarities between national
    ICT policies and national development/poverty
    reduction strategies

4
Current Challenges
  • Inadequacy of
  • indicators needed to measure progress towards
    achieving the targets as set out in section B of
    the Action Plan of the WSIS
  • awareness of ICT benefits among government
    officials and stakeholders on wider penetration
    and usage of ICT
  • affordable access points for ICT training, among
    others
  • Current level of ICT access (in terms of quality,
    quantity, afford-ability) especially in countries
    with special needs or CSN (LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS)
    might not be sufficient to achieve the
    Internationally agreed development goals (e.g.,
    WSIS outcomes/goals MDGs)
  • Exchange of information and best practices at the
    sub-regional/regional level, facilitating policy
    debate on the use of ICT for development and
    cooperation among all stakeholders in
    collectively transforming the digital divide into
    digital opportunities is considered critical

5
Objective of the meeting-mandate
  • 1st session of the Committee on Information and
    Communications
  • Technology held from 19 to 21 Nov 2008
    recommended to
  • Put in place follow-up mechanisms at the regional
    level to review the implementation of the
    outcomes of the World Summit on the Information
    Society in 2015 and
  • Streamline the implementation of the Regional
    Action Plan towards the Information Society in
    Asia and the Pacific
  • 65th Commission Session (23-29 April 2009)
  • Endorse the recommendation of the Committee and
    emphasized need for establishing a
    structure/mechanism to assist implementation of
    the outcomes of the WSIS at both the
    national/regional levels, to monitor related
    initiatives and identify gaps and challenges and
    cooperation needs at the regional level

6
Objective of the meeting
  • Review the progress in the implementation of the
    outcomes of the WSIS including its goals and
    targets as contained in section B of the Plan of
    Action of the WSIS in Geneva and
  • Discuss the necessity of streamlining the
    implementation of the Regional Action Plan
    towards the Information Society in Asia and the
    Pacific, as necessary
  • Discuss and make recommendations for actions at
    the national/sub-regional and regional levels
    towards attaining the major outcomes, and goals
    and targets of the WSIS by 2015 in Asia and the
    Pacific

7
Programme
  • Day 1 and Day 2
  • (i) Status on progress towards information
    society
  • (ii)Subregional Orgs ASEAN, PIFS, SAARC, ECO
    (iii) International/regional organizations APT,
    ITU, UNESCO
  • (iv) Country experiences
  • Day 2 Work in groups
  • The meeting will be divided into 2 groups. Group
    A and Group B. The rapporteurs Mr. Hajela and
    Mr. Dewapura will facilitate the work. The group
    will prepare a report (sets of
    recommendations/guidelines for presentation to be
    given the next day)
  • Day 3
  • The Rapporteurs present the outcomes of the
    group discussions and final sets of
    recommendations will be prepared.

8
Expected Outcomes
  • A set of recommendations, ways and means for
    sub-regional/regional cooperation towards
    accomplishing the outcomes of WSIS and
    implementation of regional action plan which will
  • guide the Secretariat/ International/ regional
    organizations and countries in the region for
    necessary action in the future to meet the
    current and emerging challenges of ICT for
    inclusive and sustainable development
  • The draft version for review of the experts will
    be circulated to you all soon, by July 31-2009
    and comments are expected from you within a week.
  • The recommendations of the EGM will be included
    in the e-publication Regional progress and
    strategies towards building the information
    society in Asia and the Pacific
  • Your presentations and outcomes will also be
    posted on ESCAP website www.unescap.org/idd/

9
- as global references for improving connectivity
and access in promoting the objectives of the
WSIS Plan of Action (sec B), to be achieved by
2015
Indicative targets
  • To connect villages with ICTs and establish
    community access points
  • To connect universities, colleges, secondary
    schools and primary schools with ICTs
  • To connect scientific and research centres with
    ICTs
  • To connect public libraries, cultural centres,
    museums, post offices and archives with ICTs
  • To connect health centres and hospitals with
    ICTs
  • To connect all local and central government
    departments and establish websites and email
    addresses

10
Indicative targets
- as global references for improving connectivity
and access in promoting the objectives of the
WSIS Plan of Action (sec B), to be achieved by
2015
  • To adapt all primary and secondary school
    curricula to meet the challenges of the
    Information Society, taking into account national
    circumstances
  • To ensure that all of the world's population have
    access to television and radio services
  • To encourage the development of content and to
    put in place technical conditions in order to
    facilitate the presence and use of all world
    languages on the Internet
  • To ensure that more than half the worlds
    inhabitants have access to ICTs within their reach

11
Action Lines and moderators as in Geneva Plan of
Action - Section C
12
  • Thank you!!
  • Questions
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