>Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 15:55:06 -0400
>To: "Caribbean ICT virtual community CIVIC" <[email protected]>
>From: Potter at Island Resources <[email protected]>
>Subject: [icacaribbean] UN report -->> Financial Mechanisms for ICT
>...
>
>>06/10/2004
>>Press Release
>>PI/1616
>>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>TASK FORCE ON FINANCIAL MECHANISMS FOR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
>>TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT LAUNCHED AT UN HEADQUARTERS
>>(Issued on 7 October 2004.)
>>
>>NEW YORK, 6 October (UN Department of Public Information) -- A new Task
>>Force on Financial Mechanisms was launched on 4 October at the United
>>Nations Headquarters. It will assess existing financial mechanisms in
>>meeting the challenges related to promoting investment in and the use of
>>information technologies to enhance development in developing countries.
>>
>>The establishment of the Task Force on Financial Mechanisms was requested
>>last December by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
>>Member States felt that, while all existing financial mechanisms should
>>be fully utilized to bring the benefits of information and communication
>>technologies (ICT) to developing countries, a review of their adequacy in
>>meeting the challenges of ICT for development should be completed by the
>>end of December 2004.
>>
>>This review was entrusted to a Task Force under the auspices of
>>Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The report is to be submitted to the World
>>Summit's second phase, to be held in Tunis from 16 to 19 November
>>2005. The Secretary-General asked the United Nations Development
>>Programme (UNDP) to lead the Task Force, in collaboration with key
>>partners including the World Bank and the United Nations Department of
>>Economic and Social Affairs. The chair of the Task Force is UNDP
>>Administrator Mark Malloch Brown.
>>
>>"It has been demonstrated that ICT can change the way development takes
>>place and, used effectively, it can be a powerful tool, contributing to
>>the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals", said Mr. Malloch
>>Brown. "Through a review of emerging trends and analysis, the role of
>>this task force is to present a range of options for achieving greater
>>access and use", he said. "The role of the Task Force is not to come up
>>with a negotiated text -- this is the task of the Summit process -- but
>>to provide expert inputs and recommendations that can contribute to
>>facilitating the negotiations."
>>
>>It was noted that access to ICT has grown at dramatic rates as a result
>>of private sector participation. Yet, large sections of developing
>>country populations, particularly those living not in large cities,
>>remain outside the reach of such technologies. ICT could enable them to
>>better access public services and key types of information and benefit
>>from its potential use in enhancing the reach of education and healthcare
>>services. Jos� Antonio Ocampo, Under Secretary-General for Economic and
>>Social Affairs, reiterated the need for the task force to look into
>>different forms of provision and to make its recommendations on the basis
>>of what is actually working in practice.
>>
>>At its inaugural meeting, participants also discussed the different
>>dimensions of the financing question including the regional challenges
>>and those of small island States. They looked into the role of supportive
>>policy and regulatory frameworks and other non-financial issues, such as
>>capacity development, that were critical to enhancing private and public
>>sector investment and increasing the effectiveness and sustainability of
>>ICT for Development (ICTD) initiatives and financing. "While there has
>>been a lot of focus on telecommunications infrastructure, the role of
>>human infrastructure development, though absolutely central has been less
>>emphasized, said Rajindra Pawar, CEO of NIIT, a major human resource
>>corporation from India. "This is not an area that will automatically
>>solicit the interest of the private sector at the scale needed in
>>developing countries, and we need to ensure through various means that we
>>do not adopt a technology-first approach but focus on a number of related
>>areas at the same time", he said.
>>
>>Other participants noted that ICT for development is relatively new as
>>well as dynamic, being characterized by the emergence of new technologies
>>and changing roles and responsibilities. This implied the need to think
>>creatively and to adapt existing financing approaches so that they could
>>keep up with the changing reality. Participants also looked into the
>>question of whether new and emerging mechanisms, including various types
>>of innovative approaches that had been proposed at the time of the Geneva
>>phase of the World Summit on the Information Society and after, would be
>>effective in meeting the current challenges. There was a strong feeling
>>that the report of the Task Force should be actionable and should provide
>>the kinds of evidence and assessments of current mechanisms that could
>>help to facilitate negotiations on the difficult issue of financing in
>>the context of the preparatory process leading up to WSIS in Tunis.
>>
>>"The work of the Task Force will be open and consultative", said Shoji
>>Nishimoto, Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP's bureau of
>>Development Policy. Inputs are being solicited from experts and broader
>>consultations with stakeholders are upcoming, including informal
>>consultations in Geneva on 16 November and virtual consultations on
>>WSIS-online and other platforms. The recommendations and the draft
>>report of the Task Force will be finalized at the 29 November meeting at
>>the United Nations Headquarters. The final report will be presented to
>>the Secretary General in December, and will be taken up at the second
>>meeting of the Summit Preparatory Committee, to be held in Geneva next
>>February.
>>
>>Confirmed Task Force members to date include:
>>-- S�rgio Amadeu da Silveira, Director-President, Instituto Nacional de
>>Tecnologia da Informa��o, Brazil;
>>-- Ali Abbasov, Minister of Communication and Information Technologies of
>>Azerbaijan;
>>-- Owen Barder, representative of the European Union on behalf of the
>>Netherlands EU-Presidency;
>>-- Jim Crowe, Deputy Director, Foreign Affairs/United Nations and
>>Commonwealth Division, Canada;
>>-- Mamadou Diop Decroix, Minister of Communications of Senegal;
>>-- Alar Ehandi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Look@World Foundation,
>>Estonia;
>>-- Anriette Esterhuysen, Executive Director, Association for Progressive
>>Communications;
>>-- Nissim Ezekiel, UNDP and earlier Executive Director, Commission on
>>Private Sector and Development;
>>-- Jonathan Fiske, Senior Manager, Group Public Policy, Vodafone Group
>>Services Ltd;
>>-- Representative from the Global Knowledge Partnership
>>-- Ayesha Hassan, Senior Policy Manager, International Chamber of Commerce;
>>-- Mohsen Khalil, Director, Global Information and Communication
>>Technologies, the World Bank;
>>-- Sarbuland Khan, Director, Office of ECOSOC Support and Coordination,
>>United Nations Department of Economic Social Affairs;
>>-- Ayisi Makatiani, Chairman, Gallium Venture Capital and CEO, African
>>Management Services Company;
>>-- Zouhair Masmoudi, Director-General, Ministry of Communication
>>Technologies and Transport, Tunisia;
>>-- Rajendra Pawar, CEO, NIIT, India;
>>-- Gisa Fuatai Purcell, ICT Secretary, ICT Commission, Samoa;
>>-- Ambassador Daniel Stauffacher, Swiss Executive Secretariat for WSIS;
>>-- Ichiro Tambo, Development Co-operation Directorate, Organization for
>>Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
>>-- Hamadoun Toure, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU;
>>-- Pedro Urra Gonz�lez, Director, Infomed, Cuba;
>>-- George Vradenburg, President, Vradenburg Foundation, United States;
>>-- Yoichiro Yamada, Director, Specialized Agencies Division, Ministry of
>>Foreign Affairs, Japan;
>>-- Mohamed Yunus, Managing Director, Grameen Bank, Bangladesh.
>>
>>Charles Geiger (Assistant Executive Director WSIS Secretariat) and
>>Ambassador Janis Karklins (President of the WSIS Preparatory Committee
>>for the Tunis Phase) are observers to the Task Force, so as to facilitate
>>coordination with the Summit preparatory process.
>>
>>For further information, Contact: Radhika Lal, Policy Advisor, Bureau of
>>Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme, tel.: (212)
>>906-5020, or Edoardo Bellando, United Nations Department of Public
>>Information, tel.: (212) 963-8275.
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