ETC Symposium

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Report on ECAs activities in the area of ICTs in
2005-07 Work programme for the biennium 2008-09,
including highlights on the implementation of the
CODI IV recommendations
  
1st May 2007 United Nations Conference Center
Addis Ababa http//www.uneca.org/codi
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Presentation outline

• Update on activities since CODI IV
• With Highlights on recommendations
• Work programme 2008-2009

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CODI IV

• Theme Information as Economic Resource, 23
  28 April 2005
• Examined the role and impact of information as an
  economic resource in African economies
• Major areas of recommendations
• Participation in the World Summit on the
  Information Society (WSIS)
• Creating an enabling environment for the
  development of the E-economy
• Mobilizing stakeholders and partners
• Support to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)

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Formulation of national e-strategies
Harmonization of sub regional policies and
regulations

• Legal framework for ICT development with ECOWAS
  and the UEMOA
• Regional e-Government strategy for the East
  African Community (EAC)
• ?activities supported by the Gvt of Canada in
  the framework of ePol-Net

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Raising awareness on the challenges and
opportunities of e-commerce

• The Forum on ICTs, Trade and Economic Growth and
  the launch of the Initiative
• Country studies in Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana,
  Kenya, Senegal, South Africa
• Pilot projects on e-Payment systems (Ethiopia)
• An African Cyber Security Strategy programme
  under the framework of ePolNet
• ?Activities supported by the Gvt of Canada

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Enhancing capacity of member states in the area
of ME / Information Society indicators

• Second Phase of the Scan-ICT program
• NSOs, national observatories for ICTs, and ICT
  ministries involved in the process
• Countries Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritius,
  and Rwanda
• International, multi-stakeholder Partnership on
  Measuring ICT for Development
• gt with partners such as ITU, OECD, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO Institute for Statistics, UN Regional
  Commissions (ECLAC, ESCWA, ESCAP, and ECA), the
  UN ICT Task Force , the World Bank, and EUROSTAT
• gtActivities supported by the Government of
  Finland

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Developing capacity in FOSS

• Support to consensus building forums, RD
  activities for provision of cost-effective
  applications and human capacity development to
  building a critical mass of skilled human capital
  in OSS
• Free Software and Open Source Foundation for
  Africa (FOSSFA) second Idlelo Conference, on FOSS
  for the MDGs, Nairobi, Kenya, February 23 - 25,
  2006
• VarsityNet project
• Inter University Council of East Africa (IUCEA)
• Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
• gtActivity supported by the Ford Foundation

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Facilitating the Involvement of the Private
Sector

• Activities aimed at the development of strategies
  to facilitate a better involvement of the private
  sector in building the Africa knowledge economy
  and strengthen local actors
• Sub-regional forum on Africa Private sector and
  the Knowledge Economy organized alongside the
  2006 International Services Salon in Tunis

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Setting a mechanism at national, regional and
international levels to implement and evaluate
activities and initiatives derived from WSIS
Plans of Action and the Accra Commitments

• ECA spearheaded Africas participation in the
  Tunis Phase of the WSIS, 16-18 November 2005
• ARAPKE
• Support to the African Civil Society on the
  Information Society (ACSIS) network
• Activities supported by the Gvt of Canada,
  Finland, Italy, India, Korea, SDC, IDRC, GKP,
  Ford Foundation

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Institutional and individual capacity building

• Empowering MPs in building an inclusive
  Information Society
• Capacity building activities in Gambia, Niger,
  Swaziland and Kenya as well as the SADC
  Parliamentary Forum
• Establishment of an ICT for Development Network
  of MPs
• Strengthening the capacity of stakeholders in the
  formulation and implementation of ICT policies in
  Africa
• Support to the African Youth in ICT for
  Development Network (AYIN)

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Institutional and individual capacity
building(continued)

• Capacity building activities at the Information
  Technology Centre for Africa (ITCA)
• Ethiopian Customs Officers troubleshooting and
  networking
• African policy-makers Internet Governance
• Ambassadors Information society issues
• Strengthening the capacity of stakeholders in
  e-strategies formulation process
• Workshop on the Development and implementation of
  ICT policies in Africa Strengthening the
  capacity of stakeholders, 16 - 19 October 2006,
  Dakar, Senegal

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Mainstreaming gender in e-strategies

• Inclusion of Gender Perspectives in NICI policies
  and plans in Chad and Togo
• Gender and e-Government
• Workshop on Gender and e-Government for
  Francophone African countries, Tunis, Tunisia, 19
  - 21 June 2006
• Workshop on Gender and e-Government for
  Anglophone African countries, Maputo, Mozambique,
  28 - 30 May 2007
• (COMING UP)
• gtActivities supported by the Gvt of Canada
  Finland

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Strengthening and harmonizing regulatory
frameworks

• Study on Convergence in the ICT sector in Nigeria
  and Sierra Leone
• report on ICT convergence in both countries
• clear recommendations on integrated institutional
  mechanisms
• gtwith the support of the Government of Finland

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• ISTD Work Programme 2007 2009
• Information and Science and Technology for
  Development

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• The objective of the sub programme is to
  strengthen and sustain an African information
  society and KE
• develop capacity for the formulation, adaptation
  and implementation of appropriate science and
  technology policies and programmes

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National e-Strategies (NICIs)

• Objective Improved capacity of African countries
  to formulate, implement and evaluate
  e-strategies for I4D , with consideration given
  to gender equality
• Target More countries formulate and implement
  information policy in the form of NICI and SDI
  policies and plans
• NICI development implementation Burundi,
  Cameroon, Chad, DRC, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda,
  Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Togo, etc.
• New requests Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania

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Regional e-Strategies (RICIs)

• Objective Improved capacity of African RECs to
  harmonize and coordinate e-strategies in their
  respective sub-regions
• Target More regional agreements and activities
  to support NEPAD and the RECs on information for
  development programming as reflected in the work
  programme and policy documents of RECs, NEPAD and
  other regional stakeholders
• RICIs (in progress)
• ECOWAS Development of an e-Commerce Legal
  Framework,Harmonization of ICT policies,
• CEMAC ICT Strategy for Central Africa
• e-SADC programme, EAC e-gov strategy

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Sectoral e-Strategies (SICIs)

• Objective Improved capacity of African countries
  to formulate, implement, coordinate and evaluate
  sectoral policies and strategies for the
  socio-economic sectors such as health, trade,
  education, etc.
• Target More countries formulate and implement
  SICI policies and plans
• eHealth Strategy Uganda
• eGovernment Strategy Gambia
• ePol-NET eTrade initiative - Egypt, Ethiopia,
  Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa
• North Africa - e-commerce platform
• e-gov apps, e-customs (EAC)
• eGovernment eEducation eCommerce Burkina
  Faso Benin, Mali, Niger
• eServices - Mozambique
• e-commerce - BCEAO, UEMOA

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ICT Measurement

• Objective Improved capacity of African countries
  to collect, analyze, and disseminate data on
  ICT4D indicators to support the policy making
  process and promoting the Information Society in
  Africa with focus on new trends (MDGs and
  Indicators)
• Target More countries participate in the
  programme through their National Statistical
  Offices (NSOs)
• Countries implementing the project (in progress)
  Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritius, and Rwanda
• International Partnership for Measuring ICTs ECA
  coordinating the Task Group on e-Government
  indicators

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Capacity Building

• Objective Improved capacity of member states and
  stakeholders in ICT4D through ISTCA (policy
  makers, custom officials, parliamentarians, media
  practitioners, ambassadors etc)
• Target More capacity building pilot programmes
  delivered through the Information Technology
  Center for Africa (ITCA)
• Programmes On-site training, eLearning Platform,
  Exhibition, ICT4D Resource Portals, etc.
• Requests Gambia public sector, Niger CB on
  implementation, IG for francophone policy makers

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Stakeholders networks

• Objective Support various ICT4D stakeholders at
  national, and regional levels to develop their
  capacity in ICT4D process, including Research
  Innovation activities
• Target More networks created at national and
  regional levels, and existing networks
  strengthened
• Programmes
• ICT4D Networks Media, Youth, women (e-network of
  national gender machineries), Parliamentarians
  (Niger, Rwanda), Civil Society, Academia, etc.
• Research Innovation Varsitynet activities in
  Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tunisia

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Outreach Communication

• Objective Improved availability and use of
  information for development resources at the
  national, regional and sub-regional levels
• Target More pilot programmes, including
  incorporating gender dimension at the national,
  regional and sub-regional levels
• Programmes AISI Media Awards, TIGA Awards,
  Dgroups, Newsletters (PICTA Bulletin, iConnect
  Africa, Policy Briefs, etc.), Audio-video
  documentaries, websites, etc.

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Studies publications

• AISI and NICI publications
• E-trade national reports
• ICTs and Employment
• Telecom regulation/ convergence Nigeria Sierra
  Leone
• Telecom regulation/ competition Rwanda,
  Swaziland, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso
• Innovation and knowledge trends in national
  development policy implementation
• Legal and regulatory frameworks for the knowledge
  economy
• Policy briefs on the KE

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Partnership

• African Union/NEPAD
• UN International agencies
• Development Cooperation with Government of
  Finland, Government of Canada through ePolnet,
  IDRC and Connectivity Africa, Swiss Development
  Cooperation, IICD, Gov of Japan and Korea etc.
• PICTA
• GKP Africa Node?Input to GKIII Conference on
  Emerging People, Technologies and Markets (Dec
  07)
• Global Alliance

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Thank You !
http//www.uneca.org/aisi/
aisi_at_uneca.org