Dear GKD Members, Initial Announcement: ICT Stakeholders' Forum: Special Focus on Least Developed Countries, Mauritius, 7,8,9 July 2004
The Commonwealth Business Council in conjunction with the International Telecommunications Union, the Government of Mauritius and the E-Africa Commission (NEPAD) will be organising a three-day forum aimed at bringing stakeholders together to examine concrete projects, proposals and models which will help integrate least developed countries into the global economy through the effective deployment of information communication technologies (ICTs). The forum will bring under one roof, decision makers from stakeholder organizations and engage them in fruitful discussions that will hopefully lead to commitments that can be implemented on the ground. * The forum will include a mixture of plenary and multi-stakeholder roundtables. * On the first day there will be a "ministerial" session drawing on the experiences and challenges facing LDCs; launch of a publication on market opportunities in least developed countries' ICT sector; a scene setting session; a private sector roundtable. * The second day will focus primarily on discussing ICT projects and on donor perspectives. * The projects will cover: projects successfully completed; projects that have made some headway but could do with additional stakeholder support; proposals for new projects * The forum will cover four broad areas: Infrastructure, Education/Health, Universal Access and SME Development * The projects will have been identified well in advance of the Forum and a projects catalogue will be published The goal is to find innovative solutions to the problem of under-development and to set the stage for replicating solutions or projects that have worked elsewhere in order to save time and resources without having to re-invent the wheel. The idea is to move away from the so-called "perpetual pilot project syndrome" to projects that can make a difference on the ground. This forum will provide a rare opportunity for key stakeholders to come together not only to discuss, but to map out practical strategies for deployment of ICT projects for development. The Forum is a complete departure from past such forums where the end product has tended to be reports, and expressions of commitment. The goal of the Forum is to challenge delegates to provide real world, deployable ICT solutions for development and to encourage practitioners and high-level participants to brainstorm real world ICT driven solutions, which will meet development challenges head-on. We would encourage all stakeholders to attend this Forum and bring their own unique perspective. This is an initial announcement and there will be further announcements in due course. Please visit http://www.cbcglobelink.org/cbcglobelink/events/ICT04/ for further details and to register your interest. Regards Shondeep ---------------------------------------------------------- SHONDEEP BANERJI Commonwealth Business Council, 18, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5LU Programme Manager - ICT4D [t] +44 (0) 20 7024 8229 (Direct) [t]: +44 (0) 20 7024 8200 (Switch Board) [f] +44 (0) 20 7930 3944/3945 [e] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [w] http://www.cbcglobelink.org ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
