United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force

The United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (short: UN ICT TF) was an initiative of the various stakeholders ( en: ' multi-stakeholder ') associated with the United Nations, which has a global dimension to the multiple efforts to bridge the digital divide should provide, promote digital opportunities and provide ICT at the service of development for all.

  • 5.1 Measuring the Information Society
  • 5.2 Role of Parliaments in the Information Society
  • 5.3 Choosing the right technology solutions for education
  • 5.4 Establish partnerships for the Information Society
  • 5.5 ICT in the service of the Millennium Development Goals and the UN Development Agenda
  • 5.6 achieving higher quality and better cost efficiency in health and education through ICT
  • 5.7 Bridging the digital divide through broadband, wireless internet
  • 6.1 GeSCI
  • 6.2 ePol -Net

Establishment and mandate

The UN ICT Task Force was established by the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in November 2001, which it followed a recommendation of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC ) of 11 July 2000. She followed in the footsteps of the Global Digital Divide Initiative ( GDDI ) of the World Economic Forum (WEF ) and the Digital Opportunities Task Force ( DOT Force), which was founded in 2000 by the G8 at their annual summit in Okinawa, Japan. By the UN ICT TF was created a home within the United Nations, she was in the eyes of many developing countries a wider legitimacy than the previous WEF and G8 initiatives, even if these two initiatives each having a multi-stakeholder approach, with broad participation of interested participants from both industrial countries and from developing countries. The UN ICT TF initially received a mandate of three years (until end of 2004), which was extended for another year. The mandate is end of December 2005 finally expired.

Purpose and Objectives

The main purpose of the Task Force was to provide policy advice to governments and international organizations, such as the digital divide can be overcome. In the words of Kofi Annan:

The goal of the Task Force was to play a leading advisory role for the United Nations to provide support for the formulation of strategies for the development of information and communication technologies to provide these technologies in the service of development aid and on the basis of consultations all stakeholders and Member States to create new strategic partnerships between the United Nations system, private industry and financial funds and foundations, donors, recipient countries and other relevant stakeholders in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.

In November 2002, Kofi Annan, in its Challenge to Silicon Valley to create suitable systems at prices that are low enough to be held development everywhere, whether. Due to international assistance programs, charities or through support in the form of micro-credit This call was followed, but took advantage of 2004 only a handful of UN programs active information and communication technologies in developing countries. The UN Refugee UNHCR had a refugee camp in Tanzania, in the Global Catalyst Foundation which provided computer and communications equipment for use by the refugees from Burundi who had found shelter there. The International Telecommunication Union has worked with the Kingdom of Bhutan to the Simputer Project together.

Membership and Organization

The members of the UN ICT Task Force were next to senior representatives of the global information and communications industry (including Cisco Systems, Hewlett -Packard, IBM, Nokia, SAP, Siemens, Sun Microsystems) and global non-governmental organizations (eg: APC ), governments and international organizations represented. It was coordinated by a multi-stakeholder Bureau, assisted by a small secretariat at the UN Headquarters in New York. Technical advice was provided by the High Level Panel of Technical Advisors are available.

Remit

World Summit on the Information Society ( WSIS)

The Task Force was active among others in the process leading to the World Summit on the Information Society ( WSIS) in Geneva (December 2003 ) and Tunis ( November 2005). In order to participate in the second phase of the WSIS, which was originally 3-year limited mandate was extended by one year. The mandate expired on 31 December 2005. There will be no further extension.

Working groups

The Task Force members, experts of the Panel of Technical Advisors and other interested parties to work in working groups, which are organized according to four broad themes:

  • ICT Policy and Governance ( policy and management of ICT)
  • Enabling Environment ( Supportive environment )
  • Human Resource Development and Capacity Building ( personnel development and capacity )
  • ICT Indicators and MDG Mapping ( ICT indicators and assignment to the Millennium Development Goals )

Regional networks

Regional Activities were carried out in five regional networks:

  • Africa
  • Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Asia
  • Arab States
  • Europe and Central Asia

Meeting

17th - 18th June 2002: A meeting of the UN General Assembly was devoted to information and communication technologies for development and addressed the digital divide in the context of globalization and the development process. The meeting encouraged the relationship and synergies between various regional and international ICT initiatives. The meeting also contributed to the preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society. Many countries were represented by high-level representatives from the fields of communication and development.

The Task Force held ten or semi-annual meetings in different places, which served as an important meeting point for the exchange of ' best practices ' and the various stakeholders brought together to work on common issues. In the eyes of the participants those meetings were the most successful are those that were held in conjunction with a series of global forums:

"Innovation and Investment: Scaling Science and Technology to Meet the MDGs " In addition, the Global Roundtable Forum on was in New York on 13 September 2005 held. The primary focus of the forum was on the critical role of science, technology and innovation, particularly information and communication technologies in the creation of extensible by indigenous, national and global efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

WSIS II in Tunis

Parallel to the exhibition stand at the ICT4all exhibition was held a series of events under the auspices of the UN ICT Task Force and some of its members:

Measuring the Information Society

The Partnership for Measuring ICT for Development ' ( http://measuring-ict.unctad.org ) includes 11 organizations - Eurostat, the International Telecommunication Union ( ITU ), the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development ( OECD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations ICT task Force. five regional commissions of the United Nations and the World Bank

Role of Parliaments in the Information Society

MPs presented their view of the role of national and regional parliaments for the creation of the information society in a "High- level Dialogue on Governance, Global Citizenship and Technology" on November 16.

Choosing the right technology solutions for education

In this workshop, the Global e- School Initiative ( GeSCI ) their Total Cost of Ownership Calculator presented - a framework for the identification and selection of the right ICTs for schools through an assessment of services, feasibility and cost.

Creating partnerships for the Information Society

Two high-level roundtable discussions on November 16 focused on "Regional Perspectives on the Global Information Society" and "Women in the Information Society: the creation of a gender-neutral knowledge-based economy ".

ICT to the Millennium Development Goals and the UN Development Agenda

This round table discussion on November 17, addressed the issue of how ICT can be applied to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, and to discuss how to raise awareness of the role of ICT to support the development.

Achieving higher quality and better cost efficiency in health and education through ICT

This panel discussion on 17 November demonstrated the potential of ICT to improve the quality and cost of public key services, with a special focus on education and health.

Bridging the digital divide through broadband, wireless internet

This round table discussion on 17 November discussed the critical role of a broadband, wireless infrastructure for bridging the digital divide.

Results

GeSCI

One of the sticky note worthy results of the UN ICT Task Force was the creation of the Global eSchools and Communities Initiative ( GeSCI ), a new international non-profit organization in Dublin, Ireland, which has set itself the goal of the education efforts in schools and communities through the to improve the use of ICT. GeSCI was officially established at the World Summit on the Information Society ( WSIS) in Geneva in December 2003.

EPol -Net

Another result of the Task Force is the Global ePolicy Resource Network ( ePol -NET ), which was created to support the global efforts of national e - strategies for developing countries. The network provides policy makers for ICT in developing countries with information on the development of national regulations and strategies for ICTs. The network was originally proposed by members of the Digital Opportunities Task Force ( DOT Force), which led its activities in 2002 with the UN ICT Task Force together. The ePol -Net was also officially launched at the World Summit on the Information Society ( WSIS) in Geneva in December 2003.

Next Steps

The Task Force ended December 31, 2005, but the task of overcoming the digital divide is not yet done. The World Summit on the Information Society has decided to launch an Internet Governance Forum was to give the various stakeholders the opportunity to a global discussion of topics relating to the regulation of the global Internet resource. The WSIS also has an implementation and follow-up process decided for the principles that are embodied in the multi-stakeholder composition and working methods of the UN ICT TF, may be a useful model.

Selected documents

  • Report of the High Level Group for Information and Communication Technologies (22 May 2000), in which a UN ICT Task Force is proposed. (PDF file, 87 kB)
  • Draft Ministerial Declaration (11 July 2000), which calls for the establishment of the UN ICT TF. (PDF file, 28 kB)

Publications

As part of its work, the Task Force and its members have published a series of publications that address various issues in the work of the Task Force. These books can be purchased or downloaded as a PDF:

  • UN ICT Task Force Series 1 - Information Insecurity: A Survival Guide to the Uncharted Territories of Cyber- Threats and Cyber ​​Security ( By Eduardo yellow stone, Ahmad Kamal ) - July 2005, ISBN 92-1-104530-4
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 2 - Information and Communication Technologies for African Development: An Assessment of Progress and Challenges Ahead ( Edited, with an introduction by Joseph O. Okpaku, Sr., Ph.D. ) - July 2005, ISBN 92-1 -104531-2
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 3: The Role of Information and Communication Technology in Global Development - Analyses and Policy Recommendations ( Edited, with a EÄinführung Abdul Basit Haqqani from ) - July 2005, ISBN 92-1-104532-0
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 4: Connected for Development: Information Kiosks and Sustainability (By Akhtar Badshah Khan and Maria Garrido Sarbuland ) - July 2005, ISBN 92-1-104533-9
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 5 - Internet Governance: A Grand Collaboration ( From Don MacLean ) - July 2005, ISBN 92-1-104534-7
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 6 - Creating an Enabling Environment: Toward the Millennium Development Goals ( By Denis Gilhooly ) - September 2005 ISBN 92-1-104535-5
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 7 - WTO, E -commerce and Information Technologies: From the Uruguay Round through the Doha Development Agenda ( By Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, edited by Joanna McIntosh )
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 8: The World Summit on the Information Society: Moving from the Past into the Future ( Edited by Daniel Stauffacher and Wolfgang Kleinwächter )
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 9: Harnessing the Potential of ICT for Education - A Multi-Stakeholder Approach ( Edited by Bonnie Bracey and Terry Culver )
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 10: Village Phone Replication Manual ( By David Keogh and Tim Wood ) - September 2005 ISBN 92-1-104546-0
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 11: Information and Communication Technology for Peace - The Role of ICT in Preventing, Responding to and Recovering from Conflict ( By Daniel Stauffacher, William Drake, Paul Currion and Julia Steinberger )
  • UN ICT Task Force Series 12: Reforming Internet Governance: Perspectives from the Working Group on Internet Governance ( WGIG ) ( Edited by William J. Drake )
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