SCANICT

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Building an Inclusive Information Society in
Rwanda The Role of Journalists
18-19 May 2006, Kigali, Rwanda
The African Regional Plan of Action on the
Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE)
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Justifications

• The WSIS first Phase adopted a Declaration and an
  Plan of Action
• They recommended elaboration of Regional Action
  Plans
• The Accra Conference
• The African Union July 2005 Summit
• ARAPKE is an answer to all above recommandations

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Context

• The African Information Society Initiative (AISI)
  since 1996
• 2000 NEPAD ICT Programme
• 2002 WSIS process from Bamako2002

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Basic Reference Documents

• Geneva Declaration
• Geneva Plan of Action
• Accra Commitments
• Friends of The Chair Documents

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ARAPKE FOUNDATIONSAccra commitments for
Tunis 2005
General principles

• Building the information and shared knowledge
  society to achieve the MDGs and improve quality
  of life, and eradicate poverty
• Building an inclusive information society with
  all stakeholders(Government, private sector,
  civil society and UN and other regional and
  international organizations)

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The Vision

• To use information to accelerate development,
  induce good governance and foster stability
• To provide wellbeing and increase employment,
  reduce poverty and empower underprivileged groups
• To enhance the natural capital and human
  capacity of the region and minimise internal
  inequalities

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Objectives

• Define an African approach and positions in the
  preparation of the WSIS Tunis Phase,
• Create the foundation for national, regional and
  international cooperation on Information Society
  issues over a period of 10 years, up to 2015

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Major steps

• 2-4 February 05 in Accra, Ghana, Africa Regional
  Conference of WSIS
• 24 April 2005 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as a side
  event of ECAs fourth Committee on Development
  Information (CODI) meeting
• 9 May 2005 in Cairo at the Arab Preparatory
  Conference for the WSIS
• From Geneva phase to WSIS Prepcom3 of the second
  phase

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Contributors

• Economic Commission for Africa
• Bamako Bureau
• African Union Commission
• ATAC (African Technical Advisory Committee)
• African delegates (Accra, Addis, Le Caire)
• On-line Contributions
• African Civil Society for the Diaspora (DAPSI)
• ATU

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Stakeholders

• Government
• Private Sector
• Civil Society
• Parliaments
• Academia
• Media
• International organisations
• Vulnerable minorities

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ARAPKE Themes based on The Accra Commitments
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Implementing ARAPKE

• Use of ARAPKE Template for resource mobilization
• 83 Project proposals received so far
• Proposals arranged in 31 categories
• Criteria for resource mobilization proposed by
  ATAC
• Selection Committee established in January
• Selection criteria are being discussed

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Template for ARAPKE Projects (1/3)

• Target country/ies
• Leading Agency/RECs/Stakeholders
• Potential Partners
• Project Title
• Programme/Project Focus Areas
• Brief Project description
• Background

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Template for ARAPKE Projects (2/3)

• Alignment with Sub/Regional Strategies
• Proposed Project activities
• Sub/Regional benefits
• Anticipated Outcomes
• Risk Assessment

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Template for ARAPKE Projects (3/3)

• Budget
• Schedule and Milestones
• Priority
• Long-term Sustainability
• Submitted by
• Date of submission

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Categories covered by proposals (1/2)

• Local Languages
• Awareness raising Capacity Building
• Resource Mobilization Partnerships
• Electoral systems
• Information Society Indicators
• Out of School Youth
• Media

• E-Strategies and Policies
• Internet Governance
• Virtual Learning
• Research Development
• Incubation
• Environment Protection
• Geographical Information Systems

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Categories covered by proposals (2/2)

• Youth Empowerment
• Women empowerment
• Harnessing the Digital Diaspora
• Postal services
• Infrastructure Development and Acces
• Legal Services
• Persons with Disability
• Free and Open Source Software

• E-commerce
• E-Health
• E-education
• E-Government
• E-Procurement
• E- Rural
• E-Local
• Content development
• Implementing WSIS Recommendations

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Next steps

• African Ministers to meet from 18-20 April 2006
  in Cairo
• An Implementation Committee to be established in
  April 2006
• Resource mobilization conference to be held in
  Second Half 2006

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Thank you for your attention
aisi_at_uneca.org http//www.uneca.org/aisi/wsis2005