What:    The Second Arab High-level Forum (AHLF) on World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in partnership with the ITU Arab Regional Office (ITU), Lebanese Government, OGERO Telecom-Lebanon (OGERO), and the League of Arab States (LAS).
 
After setting the scene and following official opening remarks, ESCWA will launch its new publication on Arab Horizon 2030: Digital Technologies for Development.
 
Where:            ESCWA Headquarters, Riad el-Solh Square, Beirut, Lebanon
 
When:             Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 March at 9:00hrs
 
Who:   Participants include policy- and decision-makers who are directly involved in the process towards developing the information society and the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Arab region. Experts in the field of ICTs and Internet policies, applications and services, and ICT for SDGS, as well as representatives of the public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations, and international and regional organizations.
 
Special Features:
 
The Forum is composed of the following events:

1- WSIS Community Thematic Plenaries/Workshops (Tuesday 19 to Wednesday 20 March)
2- ITU Regional Development Forum for Arab States (Tuesday 19 March)
3- ESCWA-LAS Meeting of the Program Advisory Committee for ArabIGF-5 (Tuesday 19 to Wednesday 20 March)
4- ESCWA Meeting on National and Arab Digital Development Reports (Tuesday 19 to Wednesday 20 March)
5- ESCWA Meeting of Arab e-Government Directors (Tuesday 19 March)
6- ESCWA Inter-governmental meeting on Technology for Development (Wednesday 20 to Thursday 21 March) Find out more: https://bit.ly/2JeHdkv
 
Why:      The forum aims to bring together various stakeholders and experts from different sectors in the Arab region to review and discuss the linkages in the areas of information society, digital economy and Internet governance, with the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. It enables building institutional capabilities of Arab states through specialized technical cooperation tracks.

              The topics encompass Internet governance, digital financial inclusion, digital economy, Arab digital horizon 2030, Arab digital agenda, social inclusion, economic growth, partnerships for sustainable development, and dialogue on the WSIS action lines and SDGs targets and the way forward.

              Information discussed in the event will result in an outcome document regarding the linkages between the WSIS process and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with specific messages targeting strengthening the contributions of the information society and digital technologies to the implementation of sustainable development in the Arab region.
 
 
The ESCWA Communication and Information Unit (ECIU) kindly asks media representatives wishing to cover this meeting to confirm their attendance at +96170008879.
 

 
For more information:
-Nabil Abu-Dargham, Head, ECIU, +961-70-993-144; email: dargham@un.org
-Ms Rania Harb, Public Information Assistant, +961-70-008-879; email: harb1@un.org