Policy-makers from governmental institutions in charge of ICT policy development, particularly from least developed and post-conflict countries in the region, will attend a Workshop on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy Making in UNESCWA Member Countries. Organized by UNESCWA in coordination with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the workshop will last from 2 to 4 May 2006, at the UN House, Beirut.
The workshop, which will open at 9:30am, is a major component of a UN project on “Capacity-building for ICT Policy-Making” led by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in collaboration with the Regional Commissions, UN Development Programme (UNDP), and UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The main goal of this project is to provide technical assistance and advisory services to decision makers from developing countries and countries with economy in transition, in order to develop comprehensive and sustainable ICT-for-development policies and effectively integrate them into overall national development programmes and strategies. It will also promote bilateral, regional and international cooperation, particularly South-South cooperation, in the areas of ICT policy-making and through the establishment of a network of ICTD stakeholders and policy makers.
Within this framework, the workshop aims at contributing to the streamlining process of building a regional integrated knowledge society in accordance with the outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). It will provide decision makers in the region with a framework and a guide for the design, development and implementation of national strategies aimed at the realization and advancement of the information society and knowledge-based economies.
In order to fulfill its target, the workshop will discuss methodologies for crafting national ICT strategies for development, formulation of national and sectoral policies as part of an integrated knowledge society, and implementing these strategies and related plans of action. Reviewing existing national ICT strategies, measuring, analyzing and evaluating the impact of ICT policies, as well as designing partnership schemes and financing initiatives towards the knowledge society will also constitute key activities in the workshop. A major outcome of the event will be the establishment of a regional network for ICT policy-making, in order to enhance the capacity of governmental institutions of ESCWA member countries in formulating and implementing ICT national strategies and plans of action, as well as effective participation in global and regional ICT policy making processes.