Bishkek Conference on Information Society and Regional Cooperation in Information and Communication

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Bishkek Conference on Information Society and
Regional Cooperation in Information and
Communication Technology for Development16-18
November 2004Bishkek Review of Major and
Related Activities and Future Focuses
Mr Guennadi FedorovChief, ICT Policy
SectionUNESCAP
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CONTENTS

• Introduction
• I. Regional follow-up to the First Phase of
  WSIS and the Preparation to the Second Phase
• II. Regional Programme on ICT Applications
• III. The Regional Space Applications
  Programme for Sustainable Development (RESAP)
  
• IV. Future Focus Areas of Work

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Introduction

• 1. Commission Resolution 58/1 on Restructuring
  the Conference Structure, May 2002
• 2. Establishment the Subprogramme on Information,
  Communication and Space Technology (ICST)
• Objective to strengthen the capacity of ESCAP
  members especially LDCs, PICs and countries with
  economies in transition to create an enabling
  environment for development, transfer and
  application of ICST
• 3. Establishment of the Subcommittee on ICST
• 4. Establishment of ICST Division, Mid 2002

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Introduction (continued)

• 5. Before restructuring
• 1. ICST activities scattered in the
  Secretariat
• - S T programme
• - Environment and natural resources
• - Trade programme, People with
  Disability Programme, Rural development
  programme,
• Population information programme
• 2. Lack of coordination to address ICST for
  development
• in an integrated manner

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Information, Communication and Space Technology
Division
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Regional Follow-up to the Geneva Phase of WSIS
and Preparation to Tunis Phase

• A. Regional preparation to the Geneva
• - Several high level conferences,
  E-commerce, Cybercrime and security, ICT and
  Ministerial Conference on disabilities,
  Ministerial Conference on Information and
  Broadcasting
• - Tokyo Preparatory Conference,
  January 2003. Tokyo Declaration the
  Asia-Pacific perspective on the World Summit
• - Regional road map towards Information
  Society
• - Parallel events during WSIS

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I. Regional Follow-up to the Geneva Phase of WSIS
and Preparation to Tunis Phase (continued)

• - Commission at its 60th session praised the
  leading and coordinating role of UNESCAP in the
  regional preparation to WSIS, and recommended
  the formulation of the Regional Plan of Action
• - Expert Group Meeting on Internet Governance
• - First Regional Conference
• - Four Subregional Conferences (Kyrgyzstan,
  Fiji, Nepal, Indonesia)
• - High-level Regional Conference

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I. Regional Follow-up to the Geneva Phase of WSIS
and Preparation to Tunis Phase (continued)

• B. Measuring the creation of an Information
  Society
• - Recommendation of the WSIS Plan of Action
• - Recommendations of the Committee on
  Globalization
• - Objectives development of
  internationally comparable indicators
• - A global partnership on measuring ICT
  (Regional Commissions, ITU, OECD, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNDP)

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I. Regional Follow-up to the Geneva Phase of
WSIS and Preparation to Tunis Phase (continued)

• C. Regional Interagency Working Group on ICT
• - Objective Strengthen cooperation and
  synergy of effort in achieving MDGs through
  ICT
• - Subregional, regional and global
  organizations
• - Coordinates regional preparation and
  follow- up to WSIS
• - Next meeting of Regional Working Group on
  28 October 2004

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I. Regional Follow-up to the Geneva Phase of
WSIS and Preparation to Tunis Phase (continued)

• D. Creation of enabling policy and
  regulatory framework of ICT
• - Number of seminars and training on
  enabling policy and
  regulatory framework, ICT and IP, security and
  quality management of software
• - Training manual on promoting enabling ICT
  policies and regulatory framework
• - Service of the Regional Adviser

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Regional Programme on ICT Applications

• In cooperation with private sector, make
  available the benefits of new technologies
  especially information, communications
  technologies
• (MDG, goal 8)
• ICT applications can support sustainable
  development, in the field of public
  administration, business, education and training,
  health, employment, environment, agriculture and
  science
• (Plan of Action, WSIS)

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Regional Programme on ICT Applications
(continued)

• New programme started in January 2003
• Objective to promote ICT applications for
  sustainable socio-economic development
• Focus areas
• Capacity building in the use of ICT
• Knowledge management and networking
• Promotion of ICT applications
• ESCAP Website management

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Regional Programme on ICT Applications
(continued)

• Programme strategy
• Identify, document and share good practices
  through regional forum
• Analytical study on the status and impact of ICT
  and its applications
• Plan and implement demonstration projects
• Partnership with other stakeholders

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Regional Programme on ICT Applications
(continued)

• Capacity building in the use of ICT ( to be
  discussed in the agenda item 6)
• Knowledge management and networking
  collaborative tools among stakeholders
• Expert Group Meeting on Open-Source Software on
  Knowledge Management
• Promotion of ICT applications (to be discussed in
  the agenda item 6)
• ESCAP homepage
• Improvement made to transfer the site from static
  page to a dynamic information-sharing platform
• Number of visit to the site grew from 5.2 to 7.6
  million (40 increase) between 2003 and 2004
• Many web-based collaborative tools introduced
  (e.g. ACPR e-mail alerts, online meeting
  registration, etc)
• Future plan includes multilingual pages,
  implementation of content management system

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III. The Regional Space Applications Programme
for Sustainable Developments (RESAP)

• A. Background
• - Initiated by the Ministerial Conference
  in 1994 Extended into its second phase by Second
  Ministerial Conference in 1999
• - Objective
• Promote operational applications of space based
  information and communication technology in
  priority areas for sustainable development and
  bridging the digital divide through regional
  cooperation

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III. The Regional Space Applications Programme
for Sustainable Developments (RESAP) (contd)

• B. Implementation of RESAP under ICST
  subprogramme
• - More emphasis on satellite
  communication applications contributing to
  bridging the digital divide
• - Keeping momentum on Earth observation
  applications for disaster management and
  sustainable development
• - Studies on policy and institutional
  issues related to operational applications of
  space based ICT for poverty alleviation, and for
  disaster management
• - Implementation of technical assistance
  projects

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III. The Regional Space Applications Programme
for Sustainable Developments (RESAP) (contd)

• C. Focusing RESAP within the framework of
  MDGs, WSIS and WSSD
• Specific tools helping achieving
  Millennium Development Goals of poverty
  alleviation, education, health, environmental
  sustainability and global partnership for
  development
• - Connecting under-served communities with
  priority ICT applications and services,
  particularly through community e-centers
• - Informed disaster management
• - Sustainable development planning and natural
  resources management

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III. The Regional Space Applications Programme
for Sustainable Developments (RESAP) (contd)

• D. Integration of ICST in promoting access to
  information
• - Awareness raising on accessibility and
  affordability of satellite broadband services,
  and relevant policy and institutional issues
• - Fostering public-private partnership
  towards sustainable community e-centers in rural
  and under-services areas
• E. Regional cooperative mechanism supporting
  knowledge- base disaster management
• - Technical potential demonstrated and good
  wills expressed by evermore capable countries
• - To facilitate equitable accessing and
  sharing space information products and services

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The Regional Space Applications Programme for
Sustainable Developments (RESAP) (contd)

• F. Preparations for the Third Ministerial
  Conference on Space Application for Sustainable
  Development in Asia and the Pacific
• - Agreed by the Commission at its 60th
  session for 2007
• - Promoting operationalization of space
  technology, integrated with other information
  technologies
• - Issues to be addressed (identified by ICC
  on RESAP)
• - capacity building
• - strengthening of institutional frameworks
• - improvement of national coordination
  mechanisms
• - involvement of private sector
• - towards operational regional cooperative
  mechanisms

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IV. Future Focus Areas of Work
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Objectives of the ICST Subprogramme

• 1. Facilitation, particularly for marginalized
  countries, of enabling environments for access
  to, and development, transfer and application of,
  ICST to maximize benefits of globalisation. This
  objective is based on the Medium-Term Plan for
  ESCAP 2006-2009
• 2. In collaboration with other sub-programmes,
  help members to effectively apply ICST to achieve
  MDG benchmarks including poverty reduction,
  e-learning, e-health

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Expected Accomplishments (EAs)

• 1. Demonstrated increased national capacity to
  develop and implement policies and programmes 
• 2. Demonstrated enhanced national capacity in
  the application of ICSTs  
• 3. Demonstrated enhanced institutional capacity
  in human resources development in ICST and
  promotion of ICST applications including disaster
  management
• (Rely on the resources available)

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Implementation strategy to achieve EA 1

• FOCUS AREAS
• Regional follow-up of WSIS Phase I and
  preparations for WSIS Phase II
• Capacity-building in formulation of ICST policies
  and strategies
• Inter-agency coordination on ICST and development
• STRATEGIC THRUSTS
• Development of indicators to measure the
  information society
• Regional arm for the Asia Broadband Programme
• Provision of regional perspective and inputs on
  issues related to financial arrangements and
  Internet governance (WSIS Phases I II)

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Implementation strategy to achieve EA1
(continued)

• IMPLEMENTATION MODALITIES
• Collaboration with other international
  organizations for the development of indicators
  at the global level
• Regional inter-agency network
• Collaboration with regional initiatives
• PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
• Development of regional policy and advocacy
  framework
• Research and analysis on the status, trends and
  impacts
• Capacity building and technical assistance in the
  integrated policy framework for ICST
• Regional cooperation and promotion of broadband
  initiatives

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ITU and ESCAP joint project to follow-up of the
Outcomes of the Geneva Phase

• Strategic cooperation between UNESCAP and ITU
• Financial support from the Government of Finland
• Initial survey on the status of ICT development
• Strategy of joint activities

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Scope of the Survey

• Coverage
• ICT development structures
• Existing ICT Strategies/action plans
• Ongoing activities related to ICT
• ICT development priorities
• Needs for external assistance related to
  development and/or implementation of National ICT
  strategies

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Proposed Strategy

• Linking policy makers especially at the
  implementation level
• - Within groups
• - Between groups
• Information sharing
• Best practices using international experts
• Various forms of interaction
• - Web based library, chat, forums, research,
  i.e.

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Implementation strategy to achieve EA2

• FOCUS AREAS
• Promoting priority ICST applications for
  sustainable socio-economic development
• Capacity building in the use of ICT
• STRATEGIC THRUSTS
• ICT applications for rural poverty alleviation
• ICT applications for sustainable development
  including disaster management

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Implementation strategy to achieve EA2(continued)

• IMPLEMENTATION MODALITIES
• Group negotiation for demonstration projects
• Strengthening public-private partnership and
  partnership with other organizations working in
  the field of ICST for development such as APDIP,
  ADB, UNDP, ADBI, APT, ITU
• Knowledge management network
• PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
• Research and analysis on the status of ICT
  applications, trends and impacts in ESCAP region
• Development of sustainable models through
  demonstration projects, including ICST
  applications for rural communities
• Strengthening the regional network and
  cooperative mechanisms to promote ICST
  applications
• Promoting public-private partnership
• Promotion and capacity-building in selected areas
  of ICST applications

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Implementation strategy to achieve EA3

• FOCUS AREAS
• Human resources capacity-building in ICST
• National institutional capacity-building for
  informed disaster management
• STRATEGIC THRUSTS
• Promotion of institutional support for regional
  ICST training activities
• Promotion of regional cooperative mechanisms on
  space information and communication products and
  services for disaster management
• IMPLEMENTATION MODELITIES
• Promotion of public-private partnerships
• Creation of an endowment fund to sustain
  institutions
• PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
• Institutional capacity building through public-
  private partnership
• Developing/strengthening regional institutions in
  ICST applications

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E. Mechanism to achieve EAs

• Umbrella Regional Cooperation Mechanism (RCM)
• Regional/subregional forums, EGMs
• Networking of stakeholders and initiatives
• Public-private partnership (PPP) mechanisms
• Development of knowledge management tools
• Capacity-building through training, sharing best
  
• practices, policy advocacy
• Pilot/demonstration projects on ICST applications
  
• Think tanks, research and studies, and
  information
• dissemination

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Support strategy to maximize the sub-programmes
impact and efficiency

• A. Visibility of the implementing agency/division
• B. Improving efficiency of the implementing
• agency/division
• C. Ensuring focus and specificity
• D. Building partnerships
• E. Ensuring client-orientation
• F. Establishing clear modalities for project
  formulation and implementation

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THANK YOU