UNITED NATIONS

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES

OF THE

GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR INFORMATION AND

COMMUNICATIONS TECNOLOGIES AND DEVELOPMENT

As of 31 December 2008

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Report on the Activities of the Global Alliance for Information and

Communication Technologies and Development

Summary

The Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development, of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA GAID), is an inclusive, cross-sectoral, multi-stakeholder platform promoting the use of information and communication technologies for enhancing the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, notably the reduction of poverty. It was created by the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 28 March 2006, and launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 19 June 2006. UNDESA-GAID has acquired strong brand recognition as an innovative and open United Nations initiative, bringing together all key stakeholders around a single networking platform in support of the United Nations development goals. It has secured the partnership of many competent and committed organizations from all stakeholder groups. The Global Alliance is positioned to be a key contributor to the achievement of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, especially by bringing multi-stakeholder input to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and the Economic and Social Council. It is also well placed to further the United Nations Development Agenda. Since 2006, UNDESA-GAID launched Flagship Partnership and Advocacy Initiatives that aim to accelerate connectivity and access for Africa and the rest of the world; enhance and scale up the telecentre movement; create a Cyber Development Corps based on south-south and triangular cooperation; promote assistive technologies for persons with disabilities; offer learning and capacity building resources; help select and promote creative contents and ICT applications; and promote worldwide knowledge sharing and collaboration on e/m government. It also created a number of Communities of Expertise that bring together motivated and capable actors to address specific, well-defined ICTD problems and identify and disseminate good practices along UNDESA-GAID’s focus areas namely, education, health entrepreneurship and governance as well as in cross-cutting themes such as gender, youth, local and regional authorities, local content and rural development. UNDESA-GAID also launched regional networks for Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, Latin America and countries in transition (CIS countries) as well as stakeholder networks composed of representatives from civil society, gender, youth and persons with disabilities.

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I. Introduction 1. The Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development was created by the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 28 March 2006, and launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at a meeting held on19-20 June 2006. 2. This report, covering the period April 2006 through December 2008, outlines GAID’s efforts to establish and contribute to its mission, objectives and areas of focus; governance and advisory mechanisms; and framework for partnerships. It briefly describes GAID events and outreach activities, as well as future activities. II. Mission, objectives and areas of focus 3. The mission of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development is “to contribute to transforming the spirit and vision of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) into action and promoting the use of ICT for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).” 4. The Alliance works toward fulfilling this mission by providing an inclusive, multi-stakeholder global forum and platform for cross-sectoral policy dialogue and advocacy and by catalyzing multi-stakeholder, action-oriented partnerships under the GAID umbrella. In itself, GAID, which is largely a network of networks, does not have any operational or implementing role. It provides multi-stakeholder input to intergovernmental bodies, including the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Commission for Science and Technology for Development (CSTD). 5. Six broad objectives support the mission of the Alliance:

Mainstreaming the global ICT agenda into the broader United Nations Development Agenda; Bringing together key organizations and other stakeholders involved in ICT for development

(ICTD) to enhance their collaboration and effectiveness for achieving the internationally agreed development goals;

Raising awareness of policy makers on ICTD policy issues; Facilitating identification of technological solutions for specific development needs and

goals, and launching pertinent partnerships; Promoting the creation of an enabling environment and innovative business models for pro-

poor investment, innovation, entrepreneurship and growth, and for empowering people living in poverty and other marginalized communities; and

Acting as a think-tank on ICTD-related issues and as an advisory group to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

6. GAID’s focus is on the use of ICT in promoting education, health, entrepreneurship, and governance (specifically, enhancing citizens' participation and promoting accountability, transparency and efficiency in governance processes). Significant attention is being paid in the areas of access, connectivity, local content, and ICT for education.

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III. Governance and advisory mechanisms 7. The Global Alliance was established on the basis of the principles and elements1 that emerged following one-and-a-half years of international, multi-stakeholder consultations undertaken by the United Nations ICT Task Force2. 8. A 60-member Strategy Council, composed of 30 governments and 30 representatives from the private sector, civil society and international organizations, was selected from among candidates named in an open-nomination process. The Council provides strategic guidance and vision for the Alliance, contributes to policy dialogue, undertakes awareness-raising and promotes multi-stakeholder cooperation in the field of ICTD. A 12-member, multi-stakeholder Steering Committee, led by Chairman Mr. Craig Barrett, Chairman of the Board of Intel Corporation, was also established to provide executive direction to, and priority setting for, the Alliance, as well as oversight and guidance to the secretariat. 9. A panel of High-level Advisers was constituted to provide a pool of policy and expert advice to the Global Alliance. Furthermore, the GAID Network of Champions is a growing group of practitioners, experts and activists created to inform policy discussions at the annual GAID Global Forum and in the Steering Committee and Strategy Council. The roles and responsibilities of each of the governing and advisory bodies have been defined in their terms of reference. IV. Framework for partnership 10. In order to create a structure supporting the achievement of GAID’s objectives, the Global Alliance, through the collaborative efforts of the Chair, the secretariat, the Steering Committee, Strategy Council and other partners, had built a framework to foster policy debate and partnerships for action. The framework is composed of multiple, complementary networks: Flagship Partnership Initiatives, Regional Networks, Stakeholder Networks and Communities of Expertise. 11. Procedures through which competent individuals and organizations can express their interest in contributing to the work of the Flagship Partnership/Advocacy Initiatives and the Communities of Expertise are available on the GAID website, as is the process to propose new initiatives and communities. A. Flagship Partnership Initiatives (FPIs) 12. The seven FPIs formed under the umbrella of are multi-stakeholder activities leveraging joint resources to spur visible action toward attaining the Alliance’s objectives.

Title Lead organization(s) Partners Connect the World

ITU, World Bank, African Union

European Commission, the African Development Bank, the E-Africa Commission/NEPAD, bilateral and multilateral donor organizations, telecommunications operators associations, and representatives of users and civil society

telecentre.org

IDRC (Canada) Microsoft, SDC, CIDA, GKP, Inter-American Development Bank, network and knowledge-sharing partners at the national and international levels

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Cyber Development Corps

Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Malaysia)

UNDP, UNCSTD, ICVolunteers, telecentre.org, Philippines Resources for Sustainable Development, Inc., Islamic Development Bank, Digital Opportunity Trust, Microsoft Malaysia

Open Training Platform UNESCO Human Info, SPIDER, IDRC, ITU, UNITAR, WHO, FAO, ILO, Development Gatway

Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communications Technologies

Wireless Internet Institute and World Times, Inc.

United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA), Secretariat of UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities, UN Enable, IBM, UNITAR, Air France, NIIT, Georgia Institute of Technology and additional private sector participants

e-Content and Creativity

WSA WSA – International Centre for Media;

United Nations Global Knowledge Repository for e/m-Government

UNDESA Regional Commissions

(1) Connect the World 13. This initiative supports efforts to accelerate the roll-out of communication infrastructure and increase broadband access across Africa and the rest of the world. GAID is playing a role in inviting major stakeholders, including development banks, operators, potential investors, government agencies, donors and user associations, with the objective of helping to forge a common understanding of the merits of different investment and management models, and the complementary and synergistic roles that each stakeholder can play in achieving the goal of accelerated connectivity. A core group composed of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), World Bank and Intel, supported by the GAID secretariat, had been constituted to develop a shared vision or framework and achieve practical results. 14. In order to support competitive markets in sub-Saharan Africa, a policy analysis for backbone networks had been initiated under the auspices of the World Bank. This analysis examined the current situation on the continent and studied the impact that backbone networks would have on the national infrastructure and economies. It provided the decision-makers with a better understanding of policy options. 15. A major African regional conference was organized in October 2007 in Kigali, Rwanda, under the leadership of ITU that brought together African leaders and policy-makers along with members of the domestic and international private sector, financial institutions and other donors to develop and launch a comprehensive programme in this area. It is expected that Connect Latin America and the Caribbean and a similar initiative for the CIS countries will follow (2) Telecentre.org 16. Telecentre.org aims to scale up the successes of the telecentre movement by helping telecentres become stronger, more sustainable and more numerous. The initiative helps telecentres move beyond simply providing access, focusing on e-learning, training and skills development, local content generation, financial services, e-government and other locally relevant services. Partners rallying under the telecentre.org banner work in four areas: (i) building telecentre networks, (ii) developing content and services, (iii) documenting knowledge and learning, and (iv) convening events for telecentre leaders.

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17. The telecentre.org umbrella includes networks in at least 10 countries serving thousands of centres. The initiative also provides a platform for over 36 partners focused on telecentre networking, training, content and services. In addition, telecentre.org works with governments in a number of countries, helping them build stronger and more inclusive national telecentre strategies. The core social investment partners for the initiative include Microsoft, International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). 18. With the support of GAID, telecentre.org plans to grow significantly over the next two years. At the core of this growth will be a new "affiliate partnership" programme that will allow any organization strengthening and promoting telecentres to become a part of this FPI. In addition, telecentre.org plans to expand its umbrella to include networks in 24 countries, a worldwide training academy network and a programme to invest in services that can be offered via telecentres. It is expected that more social investors will join from both the private and public sectors and that the overall resources committed to programming will grow to at least $CDN40 million. (3) Cyber Development Corps 19. The Cyber Development Corps is being developed to promote capacity-building through South-South cooperation. This initiative will establish a global outreach programme based on the spirit of volunteerism to help lesser-developed nations and communities benefit from global ICT infrastructure and resources and help enhance their national development plans towards becoming equal participants in the global information/knowledge society. 20. Cyber Development Corps (CDC) has developed a three-year plan for their organization, initiated by the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. The CDC has conducted its first Regional Meeting in August 2007. With regional representatives from Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam, the CDC also organized the first “Executive Dialogue on ASEAN Youth Development” at the International Youth Center (Malaysia) in August 2007. To date, the CDC has received commitments from 120 youths from the ASEAN Region as the first volunteers of CDC. 21. As part of the GAID initiative of providing 500,000 new and refurbished computers for 10,000 schools, catering for 35 million students by the year 2012 and as part of the outcome of the GAID’s participation at the Consumer Electronics Show 2008, contacts have been initiated between CDC and the major organizations representing the “supply side” namely the World Computer Exchange, Computer Recycling Centre, and Tech Soup. CDC hopes to be able to engage in an active role and support this initiative. (4) Open Training Platform 22. The Open Training Platform (OTP), an initiative led by UNESCO, aims at fostering development stakeholders’ collaboration using ICT to better serve local people knowledge and skills acquisition needs for living conditions improvement and poverty reduction. It is an online portal launched in March 2007 pointing to 1100 resources in 21 key domains for development agendas including agriculture, health/HIV-AIDS, education, entrepreneurship/economy, environment, information management, community development, gender, etc. 23. The OTP’s objective is to match existing access centers and learning resources, unlocking and maximizing people learning opportunities for living conditions improvement and poverty reduction using ICTs through an unprecedented collaborative effort driven by the UN and development agencies. Local

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communities as well as specialized groups will benefit from the OTP’s joint activities, online discussions, and knowledge sharing. (5) Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communications Technologies (G3ict) 24. G3ict was launched by GAID under the leadership of the Wireless Internet Institute and World Times, Inc. to promote ICT solutions for people with disabilities, to encourage best policy practices among governments in the context of the new United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted by the General Assembly on 23 December 2006), and to accelerate the development by industry and civil society of the scientific, industrial, standardization and economic conditions to make such solutions affordable worldwide. 25. G3ict has developed a programme of global and regional multi-stakeholder forums and established five multi-stakeholder working groups to identify and promote core ICT opportunities for people living with disabilities, standardization priorities, industry-cooperative initiatives in support of mass promotion, research and development opportunities for public funding, and best practices among national governments and local authorities. It organized highly successful Global Forums at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 28 March 2007 and in Geneva, Switzerland on 21 April 2008, as well as a number of workshops and conferences around the world with the support of multiple organizations. A Joint UNITAR/G3ICT/GAID Seminar on Implementing the Digital Accessibility Agenda of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Challenges and Opportunities for Signatory States was held on 3 December 2008 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to contribute to the rapid and effective implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in general and its digital accessibility agenda in particular. 26. G3ICT published “The Accessibility Imperative”, a 300 pages compendium published in September of 2007 covering the many challenges and opportunities of fully implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in matters of accessible and assistive ICTs. It also developed a powerful online platform with interactive functionalities, best practices, country, corporation databases, and expert zones and blogs. 27. G3ict also created dissemination and research tools, a manifesto and resource guide, a bi-monthly electronic update, research programme, the Digital Inclusion Index establishing metrics, benchmarks and rankings for countries, a global award for inclusive technology and a web-based media resource centre. (6) e-Content and Creativity 28. The e-Content and Creativity flagship initiative aims to bridge the digital divide and narrow the global content gap by selecting and promoting rich local contents and innovative applications and to use the mechanism of a fair and independent award scheme to identify best practices from around the world. Led by the World Summit Award, it conducts thematic forum on e-content and innovative applications within the UN follow up process and provides a millennium development-oriented network in the selection and promotion of best practice, emphasizing the importance of good quality contents and innovative applications to achieve core development goals. 29. The initiative also encourages member states, the business community and civil society organizations in a forward-looking multi-stakeholder partnership on e-content to give recognition to creative producers, innovative e-content designers and future oriented applications developers through global awards for best practice. It also seeks cooperation with all relevant UN organizations and agencies, private sector sponsors active in the area of e-content to optimize impact and sustain activity till the official WSIS review in 2015.

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(7) United Nations Global Knowledge Repository for e/m-Government 30. The United Nations Global Knowledge Repository for e/m-Government – which involves the application of ICT within and by the public sector – provides governments, citizens and businesses with a set of tools that can potentially transform the way government services are delivered and the way public administration reform and good governance goals are met. The strategic use of ICT in government can result in a more inclusive, effective, efficient, transparent and accountable public administration, which will be key to improved economic development and competitiveness. 31. The e/m-Government initiative is led by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. It aims to provide high-quality knowledge resources and technical assistance in the area of electronic and mobile government for development. It is a global online facility for knowledge transfer, information dissemination, partnership and state-of-the-art research on e/m government development in Member States for knowledge creation, knowledge transfer, and knowledge management. The initiative also promotes a worldwide knowledge sharing and collaboration on e/m government between development stakeholders working to achieve national e-solutions. B. Communities of expertise (CoEs) 32. Thematic CoEs are web-based networks, which bring together motivated and capable actors to address specific, well-defined ICTD problems in a results-oriented manner and to identify and disseminate good practice. An open call for proposals for CoEs was met with impressive worldwide response and, on 31 March 2007, 17 had begun operation within the four GAID focus areas and four cross-cutting themes (gender, youth, local content and rural development). Information on all CoEs can be found in the GAID website.

Community of expertise Lead organization(s) Governance cluster 1. E-governance for development DPADM, UN/DESA 2. E-services for development Observatory for Cultural and

Audiovisual Communication, and Infopoverty Institute of University of Oklahoma

3. Information and Communication Technologies for Peace

ICT4Peace Foundation

Education cluster 4. ICT competencies for teachers UNESCO 5. Enhancing access to and application

of scientific data in developing countries

Chinese Academy of Science

6. ICT for education Talal Abu Ghazaleh 7. ICT integration and pedagogical

engineering WITFOR Education Commission

Health 8. ICT for country health strategies WHO Rural development 9. E-agriculture FAO Gender cluster

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10. Gender, development and information society policies

IT for Change

11. International Taskforce on Women and ICT

Centre for Women and Information Technology

Youth 12. Youth social technopreneurship Philippine Resources for Sustainable

Development

Local content 13. e-Content and creativity – World

Summit Award and Network International Centre for New Media

Access and Connectivity 14. Indigenous Peoples’ Appropriating

the Knowledge Society (IPAKS) Northern Indigenous Communities Satellite Network (NICSN)

15. Wireless for Development (W4D) (1) Governance cluster 33. E-Governance for Development: Led by the UN/DESA Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM), addresses the challenges of improving government front-office services and government back-office management through ICT and encourages ICT access for all and ICT for citizen participation. The CoE provides an Internet-based networking platform that facilitates access to information on e-governance activities of the United Nations system (UNS); organizes regular forums for the community; provides a knowledge-base of innovative practices on e-governance; and delivers off-line and online training on e-governance. It contributes to the implementation of WSIS Action Line C7: ICT Application (e-government) and will organize relevant meetings in this area during the cluster of WSIS-related events in Geneva. 34. E-Services for development: Led by the Observatory for Cultural and Audiovisual Communication (OCCAM), the CoE aims to create an open, universal platform for broadband e-services, based on new Internet protocols that are reliable and interoperable, which can provide concrete solutions to primary needs in health, education, governance, labour and other areas. The platform is being tested in ICT villages in Sambaina, Madagascar for scaling up within the country and to other countries. A preparatory meeting of the CoE was held on 9 February 2007, in Milan, Italy, and an annual conference connecting several locations around the world through the Internet was held on 19-20 April 2007. A world conference on the theme “Low Cost-Smart Technologies to fight poverty and save the planet” was held on 16-18 April 2008 in New York. 35. Information and Communication Technologies for Peace: Led by the ICT4Peace Foundation, the CoE focuses on research, advocacy and networking on how ICT can be used to promote peace and prevent conflict. Its activities include targeted networking through regular meetings and workshops; original research and collaboration with academic and policy institutions; policy development in ICT4Peace; and advocacy on key issues. The CoE organized a planning meeting on “International Process on Crisis Management” on 30 March 2007, in Geneva. Additionally, a High-level Working Lunch on the “Strategic use of ICT for crisis management” was held on 15 November 2007, at the United Nations in New York. This event, which gathered participation from high-level representatives from key partners and actors, took stock of the on-going efforts to bring about greater coherence and effectiveness in crisis management with the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in particular, in the areas of information systems and data management. (2) Education cluster

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36. ICT competencies for teachers: Led by UNESCO, with founding partners GeSCI, Intel, Microsoft, and Virginia Tech University, this CoE’s objective is to integrate ICTs in traditional education models to achieve Education for All by 2015. The output of the CoE will include an online environment for information exchange, facilitating a structured and guided discussion around the desired elements of teacher training, in order to equip teachers with the appropriate skills to use the technology in an optimal fashion; a draft set of standards for ICT competencies for teachers; guidelines for training curriculum developers to ensure compliance with the foregoing standards; and establishment of an international supervisory board to monitor global efforts in teacher training. 37. Enhancing access to, and application of scientific data in developing countries (e-SDDC): The mission of the community is bridging research, education and policy on scientific data in developing countries under the GAID umbrella and creating a platform for dialogue for all stakeholders to: (1) identify and evaluate different mechanisms and policies for promoting greater access to, and use of, digital science and technology resources for meeting the needs of developing countries in policy reform in scientific data management and applications; and (2) help build a distributed and decentralized network of networks in scientific data and information resources for innovative research, sustainable development and better quality of life in the developing world. Led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), 29 organizations from 17 countries have already been invited to participate in the community. It was launched in Sao Paolo, Brazil, on 7 May 2007 to review and discuss the e-SDDC implementation plan. Some 80 members of the COE participated in the event. 38. Upon the successful launch in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the e-SDDC conducted numerous other meetings in Pretoria, (South Africa), Washington DC (U.S.A), and Beijing (China). The CoE also focused its efforts in 2008 on training (e-SDDC action line 4) and showcase application network (Open Knowledge Environment) (e-SDDC action line 5) of scientific data in developing countries. The data center network (e-SDDC action line 2) and technology transfer and assistant network (e-SDDC action line 3) will also be continuously developed. The CoE organized two workshops in 2008, one in Shanghai in May 2008 and one in Kiev, Ukraine in October 2008. The Shanghai workshop was a coordinated effort with the GAID Asia regional network office in Shanghai for the GAID Session on Shanghai Forum held in May 2008; the Kiev workshop was held in collaboration with CODATA and IAP. 39. ICT for Education: Based on the premise that there is a clear link between competent use of ICTs for teaching and learning and the development of knowledge-based economies, this CoE, composed of educators, public authorities, NGOs, academics and other stakeholders, aims to highlight gaps in the effective use of ICT for education, provide a platform for sharing experiences, and mobilize support and expertise. This CoE was led by the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI), until September 2007. It is now under the leadership of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization. 40. ICT integration and pedagogical engineering: Led by WITFOR Education Commission, in partnership with the University of Mauritius; Lund University (Sweden); the University of Botswana; the University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and BBC Worldwide Interactive Learning, this CoE aims to focus on education for sustainability and collaborative e-learning to empower citizens with knowledge and skills. Through 2007, this CoE will be engaged in several events and onsite workshops for empowerment and capacity-building through ICT integration in Botswana, Ethiopia (WITFOR 2007), Malaysia (ICOOL 2007) and Mauritius. The community will also participate in, and benefit from, the establishment of regional resource centres, such as the Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning Technologies (VCILT) of the University of Mauritius. (4) Health

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41. ICT for country health strategies: Led by the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with United Nations agencies and regional commissions, academia, independent forecasting and research groups and country experts, the CoE aims to implement, through GAID, a collaborative process to improve ICT access in the health sector, which represents a contribution to WSIS action line C7: ICT Application (e-health). The deliverables include the creation of an analytic model/framework, the preparation of strategy assessments and the organization of workshops with key sectors and actors, in order to refine strategies and share results. (5) Rural development 42. E-agriculture: Recognizing that the ICT revolution can have a tremendous positive impact as an instrument of sustainable development, the CoE aims to enhance the contribution of ICT to agriculture and rural development through a multi-stakeholder, people-centred, cross-sectoral platform that will bring together all stakeholders from relevant constituencies. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which leads this community of expertise and facilitates WSIS Action Line C7: ICT Applications (e-agriculture), completed the Analysis of Global e-Agriculture Survey3. (6) Gender cluster 43. Gender, development and information society policies (GDISP): The CoE is a network of organizations engaged in gender and ICT advocacy, as well as non-ICTD groups with a history of engagement in global policy advocacy on gender, development and rights. It has begun to synthesize perspectives on gender and the Information Society (IS) emerging in the work of its constituent members covering themes, such as globalization and work, education and skills, digital spaces and identity, media and community, and institutional and structural changes. Members met in August 2007, at a workshop to analyze current policy frameworks of global and regional agencies implementing WSIS action lines and to make concrete recommendations to meet gender equality goals. This meeting was also a first step to systematize inputs into IS-related policy bodies in the future. 44. International Task Force on Women and ICT (ITF): The goal of ITF is to ensure that the participation of women in engineering, education and employment in ICT is measurably and significantly increased globally within five years. The ITF is led by a steering committee and has three working groups: education, workforce development and entrepreneurship. An advisory committee was formed. The ITF has supported/pursued a number of important initiatives for women and girls in engineering, science, ICT and other technologies around the world. ITF held its annual leadership meeting last 9-10 December 2007 in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting, which preceded the Third Global Knowledge Conference in Malaysia, was co-hosted by the Secretariat of the Global Alliance and held under the patronage of the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP). The Task Force has developed a Framework for mainstreaming gender in ICT policies and programs. The Task Force is working to set up a Global Center and ten regional centers for research and development on gender and ICT issues in all regions. (7) Youth 45. Youth social technopreneurship: The CoE, led by the Philippine Resources for Sustainable Development (PRSD), Inc., recognizes the potential of capitalizing on enterprising youth and their affinity to technology for socio-economic advancement. It aims to train young people in social technopreneurship and gather, support and deploy young entrepreneurs in developing countries to use ICT in community development and social empowerment. It has 13 active institutional members, most of which are based in sub-Saharan Africa. At present, the CoE is collaborating with the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion to deploy ICT specialists to the community's member organizations in Burundi and Uganda through its Internet Volunteers Programme.

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(8) Local content 46. e-Content and creativity – World Summit Award and Network (WSA-net): The CoE aims to strengthen the impact and to sustain an inclusive global platform and foster multi-stakeholder activity in the selection and promotion of best practice in e-content. International road shows bring visibility to some of the best content identified through the World Summit Award process. Several other ICT-and-development awards have been approached by the GAID secretariat to devise a more coherent and concerted approach to the promotion of best practices in the use of ICT to achieve the development goals. The World Summit Award Network held a meeting on 3-4 November in Venice, Italy with an awarding ceremony that was the highlight of the entire WSA process 2005-2007 to honor excellence in multimedia and e-Content creation. (9) Access and Connectivity 47. The Indigenous Peoples’ Appropriating the Knowledge Society (IPAKS): Led by the Northern Indigenous Communities Satellite Network (NICSN), the COE promotes satellite-enabled broadband networking to provide a means for the sharing of experience and good practice in the application of ICT in support of development by indigenous peoples. It will produce handbooks on Internet access and e-health in the context of indigenous peoples in rural and remote areas. Additionally, it will establish a framework of good practices on climate change and resource management and indigenous language and content platform. 48. Wireless for Development (W4D): will provide a policy forum and increase awareness on the potential use of wireless-related technologies to reduce poverty, accelerate development, and improve ICT decisions made by public administrations and citizens/civil society networks. (10) Discontinued COEs 49. The following COEs have been discontinued: ICT policy and finance for social, community and public entrepreneurship (led by APC); Expanding financial services to the Un/under banked (led by Intel); Enterprises' competitiveness through the use of ICTs (led by ILO, ICC, UNCTAD); and Beyond distance research (led by Leicester University). C. Regional Networks 50. GAID Regional Networks ensure the open, inclusive, participatory and truly global character of the Global Alliance and the adequate reflection of regional perspectives and specific needs in its activities along the four focus areas. As at December 2008, the following networks have been established:

Region Lead organization(s) Status Transition countries Azerbaijan Launched in Baku, 2

October 2006 Asia Pacific UNESCAP, Shanghai

Municipal Authorities Launched in Shanghai, 19 October 2006

Europe Germany, AMD Launched in Dresden, Germany, 16 January 2007

Africa UNECA, NEPAD Launched in Addis Ababa, 23 March 2007

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Latin America and the Caribbean

ECLAC, Inter-American Development Bank, IDRC-ICA

Launched in San Salvador, February 2008

Arab States UNESCWA To be launched in 2009 (1) Transition countries 51. The network for transition countries was formally launched in conjunction with a GAID regional Ministerial meeting on “Governance, partnership and regional networks in transition countries” on 2 October 2006, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Participants discussed the interrelations, roles and functions of government and non-governmental actors in the process of formulation and implementation of ICT strategies and programmes for development to achieve the internationally agreed development goals in conditions of transition to a market economy. The Government of Azerbaijan hosts the network. A second meeting of the network took place in October 2007 with participation of 22 Ministers from the region and representation of key stakeholders. The meeting adopted a statement identifying education and the setting up of Technology Parks in the region as its key priorities. (2) Asia Pacific 52. The Asia Pacific Regional Network was officially launched at a session on “GAID and its regional networks and activities”, alongside a regional meeting on e-governance on 19 October 2006, in Shanghai, China, which was held as a complement to the Sixth Annual Forum on City Informatization in the Asia-Pacific Region (CIAPR VI). The meeting was convened in cooperation with UN/DESA’s DPADM and UNESCAP. A Steering Group composed of the Shanghai Regional Cooperation Office for City Informatization (RCOCI), UNESCAP, Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) and the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation was established. The Asia Pacific Regional Network now serves as a platform to disseminate information and knowledge and share best practices. A regional meeting will take place in May 2008 in Shanghai, China. (3) Europe 53. The GAID European Network was launched on 16 January 2007, in Dresden, organized by the Government of Germany and hosted by AMD Saxony. Approximately 30 representatives from European governments, companies and NGOs participated. GAID Europe aims to connect European initiatives (especially those coordinated by the European Commission and that are EU-based) that are working toward the development goals. The regional network promotes the use of ICT for reducing poverty worldwide and encourages concrete, multi-stakeholder projects furthering this overarching aim. A GAID Europe Steering Group has been established to coordinate the network’s activities and a website is under development. (4) Africa 54. Hosted by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the launch and first meeting of the Africa Regional Network took place on 23 March 2007, alongside the African Civil Society Forum (22-24 March) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. More than 50 representatives from African governments, civil society and other stakeholder groups took part in the event, which was supported by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relations with the United Nations (CONGO). The meeting created an African Regional Network Steering Committee composed of three facilitators, one each from academia, government and civil society from West, Central and North Africa sub-regions to steer the GAID African Network, with the assistance of ECA, which hosts the secretariat.

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(5) Latin America and the Caribbean 55. The GAID Latin American and Caribbean Regional Network was launched on 4-5 February 2008 in San Salvador, El Salvador. The Launch Seminar was organized by GAID in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the International Development Research Centre - Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (IDRC-ICA), and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The seminar gathered ICT-for-development policy-makers, experts from governments, private sector, academia and civil society, to elaborate concrete proposals to present at the II Ministerial Conference, in the areas of ICT and poverty eradication, health, education, youth employment, and e-government for improved accountability. 56. The GAID LAC Network will take stock of the current situation in the Region, establish links among stakeholders, help them to coordinate and meet, and identify key areas for its first year of existence, in order to create an action-oriented agenda. In order to promote the intra and inter-regional collaboration among the interested stakeholders, a web site for the Network was established. D. Stakeholder networks 57. Stakeholder networks build on existing groups and generate new synergies among constituents with shared interests. The Alliance will reach out to maximize participation by all interested entities, extend the outreach of the GAID and promote channels for smooth communications and collaboration. Following are the stakeholder networks formed under the umbrella of the Global Alliance:

Constituency Lead organization(s) Civil society CONGO Youth ATHGO International, Global Teenager Project,

Pace University, ILO Youth Employment Network Gender IT for Change, Centre for Women and Information

Technology, Centre for Feminist Research and Action

Persons with disabilities W2i, Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Division for Social Policy and Development, UN/DESA), IBM

Parliamentarians International Parliamentarians Association for IT (supported by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, Rome)

Local government and regional authorities

IT4All (Bilbao)

(1) Civil society 58. CONGO is leading the formation of a Civil Society Stakeholder Network to provide a channel for bottom-up input from, and engagement by NGOs and grassroots communities into GAID processes. Such participation was instrumental in the launching of the African Regional Network, which was held in conjunction with the African Civil Society Forum in Addis Ababa, in the Youth Global Forum and several others GAID events. (2) Youth

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59. A number of youth networks, organizations and individuals are being tapped and galvanized in support of the work of the Global Alliance. In fact, a key outcome of the GAID Global Forum on Youth and ICT for Development held last 24-26 September 2007 in Geneva, was the proposal for establishing a Global Youth Coalition/Network that would support the agenda of the United Nations in harnessing ICT for the achievement of the MDGs. This coalition will enable the youth around the world to exchange knowledge and experiences on ICTD and to spearhead youth-led programmes and initiatives particularly in the regions. The coalition will be comprised of youth networks around the world and will be coordinated by a “Committee of eLeaders of Tomorrow”, a body composed of regional youth representatives, from each region, as well as successful youth leaders from various fields. 60. On 21-24 October 2008, the GAID Committee of eLeaders of Tomorrow and ATHGO International organized a Global Forum for Innovation and Education for Development in Yerevan, Armenia. The event gathered over 300 young people who designed cutting edge ICT based solutions to development challenges in the areas of education, climate change and health. (3) Gender 61. A Gender Stakeholder Network is being formed under the leadership of IT for Change, the Centre for Women and Information Technology and the Centre for Feminist Research and Action that would ensure that gender issues perspectives are adequately addressed in GAID events, initiatives and output. The network will be complementary to the gender CoEs, and constitute a pool of experts to bring gender issues to the forefront of GAID activities. (4) Persons with disabilities 62. The international network of the disabled and advocates for the disabled that is being built through the G3ict Flagship Advocacy Initiative will be leveraged not only to engage members in the work of the Initiative and to transmit knowledge and make available tools that will contribute to making ICT accessible to the disabled but also to incorporate the views and needs of persons with disabilities in the work of the Alliance in all focus areas. (5) Parliamentarians 63. At its Fifth Assembly, the International Parliamentarians Association for Information Technology (IPAIT) decided to lead GAID’s network of parliamentarians, building on IPAIT's work and experience. IPAIT is supported by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, based in Rome, which cooperates with the Association to promote the role of parliaments in advancing the IS and hosts its webpage and online network4. IPAIT will hold its next annual Assembly in Sofia, Bulgaria, in June 2008, on "Ethics and the Information Society". This network, in particular, will be critical to GAID in promoting its objectives at the national level. (6) Local government and regional authorities 64. A stakeholder network of local and regional authorities is being formed under the leadership of Bilbao-based IT4ALL, a network of local authorities created with the dual purpose of ensuring that local authorities contribute to the WSIS implementation and of systematizing and sharing the knowledge available on matters concerning the IS by designing and implementing mechanisms for cooperation in this field. Through this network, GAID hopes to be able to promote its objectives at the local and regional levels.

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E. Other partnerships 65. In addition to the valuable partnerships that make up the FPIs, CoEs, and Regional and Stakeholder Networks, GAID has formed a number of additional mutually beneficial partnerships with important organizations from a variety of stakeholder groups (see annex). A few examples are highlighted in this section. 66. Mr. Craig Barret, Chairman of Intel Corporation was selected as the first chair of the Global Alliance in recognition of its commitment to leveraging the creativity and innovation pervasive in the ICT industry to further contribute to economic and social development. This significant partnership has deepened Intel’s relationship with the United Nations. GAID Chairman, Mr. Craig Barrett, also Chairman of the Board of Intel Corporation, is a strong advocate for improving education around the world and a vocal spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards globally. Intel is also participating in several GAID FPIs and CoEs. 67. Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) and GAID have developed a close working relationship, aligning their objectives and ensuring that their activities are complementary. GAID benefits from GKP’s broad and deep experience with, and networking reach among, practitioners, activists and grass-roots organizations dealing with ICTD. GKP is represented in the GAID Steering Committee by the Chair of the GKP Executive Committee. 68. The Government of Malaysia has played a key role in the establishment of the Global Alliance. The launch meeting was held under the patronage of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, who is a member of the GAID Steering Committee. In addition to its support of the launch event, the Malaysian Government has contributed in-kind to the GAID secretariat and is spearheading the Cyber Development Corps FPI. 69. Working from within, GAID effectively leverages the relevant parts of the UNS working with ICT and development issues. Dr. Hamadoun Touré, the new Secretary-General of ITU, has extended his full support to, and cooperation with, GAID. With ITU’s powerful networks and extensive technical and development knowledge, GAID offers an even stronger proposition for creating real improvement in infrastructure and access to benefit development, especially through the FPI on connectivity to Africa. 70. Another special partnership has been formed between GAID and UNITAR. GAID supports the Continued IT Education (CITE) programme for diplomats to strengthen their IT skills and the Web Seminar Series on ICT Policy Issues for Development. UNITAR and GAID also plan to collaborate on regional work. 71. As a multi-stakeholder entity, the Global Alliance works closely with the International Chamber of Commerce and the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations, which are both represented in the Steering Committee, to ensure engagement from, and outreach to, the private sector and civil society. 72. Generous support from Armenia, Bilbao IT4All Network of local authorities, Canada (IDRC), Cisco Systems, Cisneros Foundation, EMC Corporation, Finland, Intel Foundation, Ericsson, Microsoft, Switzerland, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International, STMicroelectronics Foundation, and the Inter-American Development Bank has contributed greatly to the Alliance’s success in the past year. Pledges have also been received from Intel Corporation, NComputing, Azerbaijan, and other organizations. V. Events organized and outreach activities

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73. In its first year and a half of operation, GAID convened its Strategy Council thrice and the Steering Committee six times and co-organized a number of thematic events. These activities were complemented by an outreach programme that aimed to establish the GAID brand and widely promote the entity. A. Events

(1) Inaugural meeting of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development, and First meetings of the Strategy Council and Steering Committee, Kuala Lumpur, 19-20 June 2006

74. More than 500 participants from all regions, representing all stakeholder groups came together to launch the Global Alliance at an event hosted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia. Participants engaged in a rich two-day dialogue on the mission, substantive focus and modalities of the work of the Alliance and examined multi-stakeholder frameworks for developing effective policies and sustainable partnerships in the GAID focus areas. A showcase organized in parallel to the Inaugural meeting exhibited ICTD initiatives by Malaysian and international technology companies and development organizations. A statement by the co-organizers was released at the Closing session of the meeting, summarizing the highlights of the event and key elements around which a broad consensus had emerged. 75. The First meeting of the Strategy Council was held in the morning of 19 June. Members of the Council agreed upon the four focus areas of the Alliance, discussed its modalities of operation and reaffirmed its focused and action-oriented approach. 76. The Steering Committee met in the evening of 20 June. There was strong agreement among the members to expeditiously translate GAID’s intentions into action, in order to produce tangible results. Several proposals for activities by GAID and its partners were discussed, as well as how the various networks of the Alliance would interact. (2) Second meeting of the GAID Steering Committee, United Nations Headquarters,

New York, 27 September 2006 77. The Secretary-General, the ECOSOC President and the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs addressed the GAID Chairman and principal members of the Steering Committee at this high-level strategy meeting. Decisions were taken on refining the business plan; terms of reference for the governing and advisory bodies were approved; a voluntary funding strategy was devised; and the date, venue and theme for the first GAID Global Forum were discussed. (3) Our Common Humanity in the Information Age: Principles and Values for Development, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 29 November 2006 78. This unique event broadly addressed the challenges of globalization and the common destiny of human beings. The event was structured around six values highlighted in the Millennium Declaration: freedom; solidarity; equality; tolerance; respect for nature; and shared responsibility. Over 1,100 multi-stakeholder representatives participated in person. Through live webcast and interactive chat rooms, the larger public around the world had an opportunity to listen and participate in real time. A youth forum on the same theme wad been held on 28 November. (4) “UN Meets the Silicon Valley”, Second GAID Strategy Council Meeting and Third

GAID Steering Committee Meeting, Silicon Valley, California, 27-28 February 2007

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79. Intel organized a special event “The UN Meets the Silicon Valley” on 28 February 2007, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, bringing together more than 200 participants from United Nations organizations and members of the GAID Strategy Council and the local IT industry, academia and venture capital community. The event explored how technology and industry can bolster development and how to promote partnership in ICTD between the public and private sectors. Panel discussions were organized on the contributions of Silicon Valley innovators to the development agenda, the relationship between venture capitalism and the MDGs, and developing locally relevant content. 80. On 27 February 2007, approximately 130 participants - members of the Strategy Council and the Panel of High-level Advisers - met at Intel Headquarters in Santa Clara, California. During the meeting, the GAID Flagship Partnership and Advocacy Initiatives and Communities of Expertise were presented by their lead organizations and discussed. The members of the Steering Committee met for the third time in the afternoon of 27 February, when they reviewed the implementation of the GAID Business Plan, the 2007 and 2008 GAID Global Forums, and funding of the Alliance. It was decided that the work of the Alliance should focus on the overarching issues of connectivity and access with special attention to Africa and that the Alliance should pursue a limited number of initiatives with a clear articulation of themes, partners and milestones. (5) “ICT for Development – A follow up to the World Summit on the Information Society”, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, 22 May 2007 81. This panel discussion, organized in collaboration with the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology Secretariat, was held during the Tenth Regular Session of the CSTD as a follow-up to the WSIS with the participation of approximately 200 individuals. Four panels examined innovative uses of ICT that are helping to achieve individual development targets; ways to stimulate and support ICT innovation in developing countries; ICT innovations that are truly making “value at the bottom of the pyramid”; and partnerships that are making innovative uses of ICT to deliver e-government services. The event discussed achievements and challenges since the Tunis phase of WSIS and what lies ahead for the development community, and aimed to demonstrate the value of multi-stakeholder actions and debates in an intergovernmental setting. (6) Panel Discussion on “Information Society: New Perspectives for Post-WSIS Scenarios?” Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, 5 July 2007 82. On 5 July 2007, during the substantive session of ECOSOC in Geneva, UNDESA-GAID organized a panel discussion on “Information Society: New Perspectives for Post-WSIS Scenarios”. More than 150 participants took part in the event, including Mr. Hamadoun Touré, the Secretary-General of ITU, Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, and about 25 Ministers and Ambassadors. Participants and panelists commended the leadership role of the United Nations under ECOSOC and CSTD in mobilizing key stakeholders to promote the implementation of the WSIS outcomes. ICT was seen as a key instrument for transforming development cooperation and make it a tool for bringing the poorest and most disadvantaged populations into the mainstream of the world economy. The panel stressed that the global vision and the general framework articulated at WSIS for building an inclusive, development-oriented and people-centred information society must be translated into reality, and that this can only be done through new forms of solidarity, partnership and cooperation among all stakeholders. Panelists also stressed the need to analyze the emerging trends and perspectives and, in particular, issues of innovation, social and human dimensions of the Information Society and the respective roles of stakeholders in building coalitions for the achievement of common development goals. Members of CSTD welcomed the convening of this joint event, and called for similar events in the future.

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(7) “Building a knowledge society for all: The role of science, technology and innovation and the importance of creating trust to foster partnerships”, Geneva, Switzerland,

19 July 2007 83. On 19 July 2007, the substantive session of ECOSOC in Geneva, UNDESA-GAID organized a High-level roundtable in partnership with the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), UNCTAD, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP). The event explored the role of science, technology and innovation as an enabling platform towards knowledge development, management and sharing. The roundtable focused on the tensions and synergies between global and national policy-making, highlighting the importance of creating trust to foster partnerships. The roundtable focused on how to build and enhance the relationship between different stakeholders (public and private sector and civil society), and looked at the enabling conditions and the best models for establishing multi-stakeholders partnerships. (8) Fourth meeting of the GAID Steering Committee, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 19 September 2007 84. The Deputy Secretary-General and the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs addressed the GAID Chairman and principal members of the Steering Committee at this high-level strategy meeting. The meeting reviewed the progress made by GAID in its first year and charted the course for 2008. (9) Global Forum on Youth and ICT for Development, Geneva, Switzerland, 24-26 September 2007 85. UNDESA-GAID organized a Global Forum on Youth and ICT on the theme “Youth as Agents of Change” at the International Conference Centre in Geneva, on 24-26 September 2007. Attended by more than 500 participants, the Forum engaged the youth in debates and discussions with their peer representatives, policy makers and technology leaders in exploring ways to empower the community and to participate more fully in society through the appropriate and responsible use of ICT. The Forum also provided a platform to showcase youth-led initiatives and created a space to foster adult-youth cooperation to encourage inter-generational transfer of skills and resources. Young people shared ideas and learned from peers who have successfully used ICT as a tool in promoting their own economic and social advancement, as well as that of their communities. Some 30 partners including ITU, UNESCO, ILO, WHO, UNFPA, HABITAT, Intel, Microsoft and civil society organizations contributed to the organization of the Forum (10) Connect Africa Summit, Kigali, Rwanda, 29-30 October 2007 86. On 29-30 October 2007, the Connect Africa Summit, organized by UNDESA through the Global Alliance for ICT and Development in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and the African Union Commission, was attended by over 1,000 participants, including six heads of state, 23 ministers, 20 leading private sector companies, along with development banks, international organizations and other stakeholders. The Summit was organized in four separate tracks, each with a high-level panel, where the participants discussed key issues, including the identification of the gaps and solutions to the deployment of broadband infrastructure, access to ICT in rural areas, establishment of business-friendly policy and regulatory environment to encourage investment in broadband infrastructure and the development of an ICT-skilled workforce and relevant applications and services.

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87. The Summit recognized the significant role of ICT as catalyst for accelerated progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in Africa, the sole region not on track to meet the goals by 2015. The event helped mobilize the human, financial and technical resources required to bridge major gaps ICT infrastructure across Africa, with the aim of supporting affordable connectivity and applications and services to stimulate economic growth and the achievement of the MDGs. Demonstrating the power and potential of public-private partnerships to narrow the digital divide, the Summit produced concrete results, which exceeded the expectations of many participants. The private sector and multilateral finance institutions announced several important pledges and commitments, amounting to an estimated $55 billion over the next five years. (11) International Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas, 8-9 January 2008 88. At the recent International CES® convention at Las Vegas, UNDESA GAID and Consumer Electronics Association jointly organized the Technology and Emerging Countries in Las Vegas on 8 – 9 January 2008. The objective of the dialogue was to address GAID’s initiative of providing 500,000 new and refurbished computers for 10,000 schools, catering for 35 million students by the year 2012. Representing the “demand side”, the brainstorming and dialogue sessions were attended by the Minister of Technology of Ghana, the Deputy Director General of the Department of Information Technology Industry of Vietnam, and representatives of Malaysia, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. Representing the “supply side” were the World Computer Exchange, Computer Recycling Center, Tech Soup, University of Iowa, Intel and the United States State Department of Commerce. The two-day session was moderated by Peace Corps and GAID. 89. There was tremendous goodwill and willingness to collaborate from all parties present, the private sector companies expressed interest to work with the UN, through GAID, in a coordinated fashion, to scale up the supply of new and refurbished computers and ensure that the targets are reached. The demand side representatives responded and reiterated their willingness and desire to accept the computers, in particular, Ghana and Vietnam. They agreed to work out the details and to put in place a structure and framework that is consistent in the receiving end at their respective countries. It was agreed that the supply side team will now develop a concept note based on the inputs provided during the session. This concept note will be discussed and presented to the UN GAID Steering Committee at the upcoming Annual GAID Meeting in Kuala Lumpur in May 18, 2008. It is expected that a pilot project with a committed multistakeholder approach will be developed and be rolled out in the four pilot countries before the end of 2008. (12) United Nations Meets Web 2.0 - New Media, New Entrepreneurs and New ICT Opportunities in Emerging Markets 90. As a follow up to the “UN Meets” event started in Silicon Valley last February 2007, GAID organized the “United Nations Meets Web 2.0 – New Media, New Entrepreneurs and New ICT Opportunities in Emerging Markets” on 25-26 March 2008 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The event consisted of a series of policy dialogues and panel sessions on the first day, showcasing a variety of perspectives on key issues, including the use of technology to drive development; understanding what is in the mind of ICT entrepreneurs and investors; and how the new media and content are shaping the landscapes of business and economics in developing countries. 91. The second day featured an Investors Forum, showcasing emerging business and investment opportunities in ICT in developing countries, including ICT initiatives from Angola, Bangladesh, Belarus, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, India, Madagascar, Pakistan and Turkey. (13) Forum on Sustainable Urbanization in the Information Age

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92. The Forum on Sustainable Urbanization in the Information Age, organized by GAID in collaboration with UN-HABITAT, the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter, and the Regional Plan Association and with the support of the City of New York, was held on 23-24 April 2008 at the United Nations Headquarters. 93. The event addressed the global challenges posed by rapid urbanization and its impact on global warming and the natural environment – from poverty and inequality to natural and man-made disasters – by calling for better sustainable planning for urban growth. The Forum brought together mayors and representatives of global cities, with leadership in sustainable urban planning and talked about their challenges for sustainable growth and renewal. (14) Panel discussion on ICT for Development – Programmes and Strategies in the Developing World 94. In support of the 11th session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), UNDESA-GAID organized a “Panel discussion on ICT for Development – Programmes and Strategies in the Developing World”, on 28 May 2008, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, that brought together prominent experts on ICTD and representatives from governments, private sector, civil society and international organizations who shared their experiences, perspectives, and cutting-edge ideas on how to leverage ICT to speed up and scale efforts to meet the objectives of WSIS outcome documents and the Millennium Development Goals. The multi-stakeholder event also provided the opportunity for showcasing innovative ICTD programmes and strategies of several developing countries. (15) Third Meeting of the Strategy Council, Fifth Meeting of the Steering Committee and Global Forum on Access and Connectivity: Innovative Funding for ICT and Development 95. The Third Meeting of the Strategy Council and the Fourth Meeting of the Steering Committee were held on 18 May 2008 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia. Around 150 members from the Strategy Council, Steering Committee, Panel of High-level Advisers and Champions attended the meetings. Members recognized that GAID should continue to provide multi-stakeholder inputs to inter-governmental policy dialogue in the General Assembly, ECOSOC and CSTD. It should also continue to play an important role to keep the attention on the need for maintaining ICT for development policy dialogue initiated by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Members also agreed that GAID should explore the potential roles of ICT in emerging issues such as climate change, food crises, and disaster mitigation, prevention and preparedness. It should help promote among governments the importance of an enabling environment for ICT investments through appropriate regulatory regimes and removing barriers to private sector investments, promoting public-private partnerships and fostering dialogue among stakeholders. 96. Following the recommendations of the Steering Committee, GAID is developing a more focused and integrated two-year programme of work with special emphasis on four thematic areas: 1) access; 2) connectivity; 3) local content; and 4) ICT education, placing their development impact at the centre. Within these thematic areas, it will focus on four cross-cutting areas of activity: 1) policy dialogue; 2) advocacy and awareness-raising; 3) networking and partnership-building; and 4) sharing of best practices and lessons learned and advisory services. 97. Following the GAID Annual Meetings, the Global Forum on Access and Connectivity: Innovative Funding for ICT and Development was held on 19-20 May 2008, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in conjunction with the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT). The event focused on the

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issues of access and connectivity in Asia-Pacific, Island States and least developed countries, as well as on innovative funding mechanisms for ICT for development in support of the achievement of the MDGs. Attended by around 400 participants, it brought together representatives from the UN system and other international organizations, leaders and experts from private sector, and representatives from civil society, academia and other regional organizations. 98. With its practical, result-oriented and interactive format, the Global Forum featured multi-stakeholder panel discussions and engaged the participants in debates on how to promote affordable connectivity, ICT applications and services for development and how to create the appropriate policy and regulatory environment in small-island, developing and least developed countries that can accommodate the much needed ICT investments and promote innovative financing for ICT for development. (16) Sixth Meeting of the Steering Committee and United Nations Private Sector Forum 99. The 6th meeting of the UNDESA-GAID Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UNDESA-GAID) was held on 24 September 2008, from 8:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to discuss and approve the UNDESA-GAID Work Programme for 2008-2009. 100. The Global Alliance, along with the Global Compact and other United Nations organizations, co-organized the first ever United Nations Private Sector Forum last 24 September 2008, in New York which gathered over 85 business, civic and Government leaders to work with the United Nations on a long-term response to the global food crisis and endemic poverty, and to connect and share ideas and experiences. At the Forum, technology was clearly recognized as a key instrument for bridging the gaps in poverty reduction and for improving health and education, particularly in Africa and other low income countries. ICT was also seen as a transforming factor in the efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The outcome of the Forum was reported to the High Level Event on the MDGs convened by the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly on 25 September 2008. (17) High-level Working Session “Innovative Financing for Digital Development 101. In support of the United Nations Conference on Financing for Development – the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus – in Doha, Qatar, UNDESA-GAID, in cooperation with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), organized a High-level Working Session “Innovative Financing for Digital Development” on 29 November 2008, at the Marriott Hotel, Doha, Qatar. 102. The event brought together high-level participants such as development, finance and technology ministers, industry leaders, and representatives from the private sector, NGOs, and UN organizations, who brainstormed on new ways to mobilize resources for realizing the ICT for development agenda and through leveraging virtual mechanisms such as social networking. B. Outreach activities 103. GAID pursues a three-pronged awareness-raising and outreach programme to: (a) influence policy at international, regional, national and local levels, with a view to promoting an enabling environment for the effective use of ICT to stimulate or accelerate economic and social development, (b) strengthen capacity of policy- and decision-makers to formulate effective and sustainable ICTD policy; and (c) build brand recognition of the added value of the Alliance among all relevant stakeholder groups;

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promote awareness of its mission, objectives and role in the follow-up to WSIS; and attract contribution and participation. 104. Outreach has been essential in the first year and a half of GAID’s existence in order to generate visibility, community interest, goodwill as well as continued financial support. The objective has been to deepen engagement with GAID in a number of ways: raise awareness and understanding of ICT4D issues, demonstrate leadership, and generate support for the implementation of GAID projects. Activities in our outreach agenda have included: publications and collaboration with journals and magazines (four books have been published in 2007, as well as several contributions to other publication); print and web-based material; international and regional meetings on ICT4D policy; coordination with existing relevant outreach campaigns and initiatives; and press events. 105. The outreach campaign has led to a good coverage, proved to be quite effective in reaching out to the ICT community and institutional stakeholders and had the merit of highlighting the advantages of the partnership and multistakeholder approach that GAID promotes and also to advertise the not so well known fact that the United Nations is active in the technology field on behalf of development. At the same time it brought out the strong commitment of many private sector leaders to be more engaged in development. (UN Meets Silicon Valley, World Information Society Day, Connect Africa Summit) Finally, by attracting attention in different sectors as well as across regions of the developing world, the communication effort made a major step in bringing out the image and role of the Alliance. 106. The GAID website provides background information on GAID and its activities and events, as well as a growing database of ICTD resources to serve as a reference for practitioners and researchers. An online collaborative platform allows GAID networks to conduct their activities, share resources and interact virtually. WSIS-online, a powerful portal developed for the Geneva and Tunis phases of the WSIS, was donated to GAID and is being integrated into its website. VI. Future activities 107. By end-December 2008, the GAID secretariat and its partners are actively preparing for a number of significant events and initiatives to take place in 2009 and beyond. A large number of events are anticipated to be organized by FPIs, CoEs, Regional and Stakeholder Networks and other partners. Some of GAID’s major scheduled events appear below. ANNUAL GAID GLOBAL FORUM AND MEETINGS OF THE STRATEGY COUNCIL AND STEERING COMMITTEE

10-12 JUNE 2009

MONTERREY, MEXICO

GAID Multi-stakeholder Event during the substantive session of ECOSOC

1st week of July 2009

Geneva

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GAID Multi-stakeholder Panel during the General Assembly Session

September 2009

New York

UNDESA-GAID Steering Committee Meeting

Fall 2009

New York

Preparatory Meeting for the GAID eLAC Forum on Education and ICT

10 February 2009

Cuba

InfoPoverty World Conference Lead: Observatory for Cultural and Audio-Visual Communication

18-20 March 2009

New York

Joint GAID-CSTD-ITU Forum (within the framework of CSTD and WSIS Follow-Up)

May 2009

Geneva

IT4All Annual Forum of Local and Regional Authorities

October 2009

Bilbao

VII. Assessment of progress 108. Over the past year, the Alliance contributed to the WSIS process through well-received events during the Tenth session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) and the 2007 substantive session of the Economic and Social Council. It has driven the ICT for development policy discussions through a set of key recommendations from its Chairman, stemming from the Strategy Council meeting that took place in February in Silicon Valley. Another outcome of the meeting was the launch of the Connect Africa initiative through a highly successful Summit in October in Rwanda, where stakeholders committed to invest more than $55 billion to accelerate the pace of infrastructure deployment in Africa. The Summit was attended by more than a thousand people, including more than twenty African ministers in charge of ICT and six Heads of State. 109. In September, the Global Alliance organized a Global Forum on Youth and ICT for Development that provided a platform for 600 young participants to reflect on the options to enable youth to participate more fully in advancing MDGs, through the appropriate and responsible use of ICT. A key outcome of the event was the recommendation by young participants to establish a Global Youth Network to support the ICT for MDGs' agenda of the United Nations. The Network would enable them to communicate with each other and with organizations working on the MDGs' for youth and ICTs and mobilize the energy, skills and resources of youth around the world. 110. GAID has acquired strong brand recognition as an innovative and open United Nations initiative, bringing together all key stakeholders around a single networking platform in support of the United Nations development goals.

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111. GAID has succeeded in securing the partnership of many competent and committed organizations, among them the ITU, World Bank, SDC, GKP, IDRC and the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation; and major United Nations agencies and entities, which are leading the networks and initiatives of the Global Alliance. In reaching out to the Silicon Valley’s industry, investors and think-tanks and to Europe’s private sector and civil society, GAID is bringing some new and influential actors into the ICTD arena and encouraging the private sector to leverage ICT to help attain the internationally agreed development goals while positively impacting their bottom lines. 112. GAID is now positioned to be a key contributor to the achievement of the outcomes of the WSIS, especially by bringing multi-stakeholder input to ECOSOC and CSTD. It is also well placed to further the United Nations Development Agenda, which includes the MDGs, and to make a meaningful contribution to harnessing the technology-driven WSIS process to support the broader United Nations development goals. It has already emerged as a spring-board and a major platform for the UNS, private sector and civil society partnerships in the strategic areas of education, health, entrepreneurship and governance, serving to advance common goals. 113. The Global Alliance will build on and strengthen the policy dialogue and the networks it has initiated. It will continue its contribution to the WSIS and inter-governmental process through CSTD and ECOSOC. Scheduled for May 2008 in Malaysia, the UNDESA-GAID Global Forum, with a focus on connectivity in small islands and least developed countries in the Asia/Pacific region, will provide the opportunity to follow-up on the Connect Africa Summit. It will also study innovative financing mechanisms for ICT for development to support the United Nations Development Agenda and contribute to the forthcoming Doha Financing for Development Review Conference. The Alliance will develop a Youth network in response to the recommendations made during the Global Youth Forum. 114. Following up on the highly successful “UN Meets Silicon Valley” event convened by Intel last year in Santa Clara, the Alliance will organize a “UN Meets Web 2.0” event to explore how the latest advances in information technology, notably social networking, can be harnessed to improve socio-economic development in poor countries. A country showcase will look at specific case-studies. 115. Regular meetings of the Steering Committee (May and September) and the Strategy Council (May) will take place, with a new membership beginning its term in both bodies in May. 116. The activities and progress of the Global Alliance will continue to be monitored by the secretariat and reported periodically to the Steering Committee and the Strategy Council. An external evaluation is being conducted, to provide a comprehensive assessment of the activities undertaken by GAID, in accordance with its areas of focus and the Business Plan and their value added. The results of this evaluation will provide the basis for determining the activities of the Global Alliance during the period 2009-2010. Subsequent evaluations, every two years, will be undertaken systematically to assess progress and impact and to ensure that the Alliance continues to add value to overall ICTD work.

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ANNEX

Organizations with collaborative arrangements with GAID

As of 31 December 2008

1. ATHGO International 2. Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization 3. Development Gateway Foundation 4. Digital Opportunity Trust 5. Enterprise Incubator Foundation 6. Global Knowledge Partnership 7. Inter-American Development Bank 8. International Development Research Centre 9. IT4ALL - Network of Local Authorities for the Information Society 10. Organisation internationale de la Francophonie 11. RiOS Institute 12. United Nations Foundation 13. United Nations Fund for International Partnerships 14. United Nations Institute for Training and Research 15. Wireless Internet Institute 16. World Federation of Scientists 17. World Summit Award 18. Chinese Academy of Science. 19. Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing

Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS)

Alliance partners also include, but are not limited to, relevant organizations with the UNS (ITU, UNDP, UNESCO, WIPO, UNCTAD, the World Bank, Regional Commissions and others), regional development banks, private sector organizations (GBDe, GIIC, ICC, WITSA), civil society, internet community, media organizations including regional broadcasting unions, and others.

Notes 1 “Principles and elements of a Global Alliance for ICT and Development” http://www.unicttaskforce.org/perl/documents.pl?id=1583. 2 The United Nations ICT Task Force, 2001-2005, was honoured by the United Nations Secretary-General in December 2006. with a UN21 Award for innovation, efficiency and excellence in the delivery of its programme and services. 3 http://www.itu.int/wsis/c7/e-agriculture/docs/survey-analysis-2007.pdf . 4 http://www.ictparliament.org/ipait/.