UNCTAD is launching a new partnership on Information and Communication Technologies for Development. The objective of the partnership is build concrete strategies to improve access to and use of ICT applications to enhance the economic competitiveness of developing countries. The partnership will focus on the following key areas: (a) measuring the information society, (b) e-tourism, (c) ICT policies in developing countries, (d) e-finance for small and medium-size enterprises, and (e) free and open-source software.
Reliable data is essential for policy makers to design and implement information society programmes. This is the subject of "Measuring ICT for Development". Led by UNCTAD, an unprecedented effort is under way in the international community to collaborate in helping developing countries develop the ICT data and indicators necessary for monitoring and benchmarking their information societies, and for measuring the digital divide. This effort brings together key stakeholders involved in the statistical measurement of ICT, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UNCTAD, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Regional Commissions (ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA), the World Bank and the United Nations ICT Task Force.
The partners have agreed to work together to define and collect a set of common ICT indicators and to assist developing countries in producing information society statistics. This will be key to measuring the socio-economic impact of ICT and their potential contribution to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
“Our collective challenge”, says Richard Simpson, Director General, Industry Canada, on behalf of the UN ICT Task Force, “is to clearly demonstrate the contribution ICT makes to the global development agenda, notably to achieving the eight goals set by world leaders in 2000.”
UNCTAD will contribute by assisting developing countries in their efforts to produce e-business statistics, and by developing a database on e-business in developing countries as an input to a global ICT database to be developed by partners, and to UNCTAD's annual E-Commerce and Development Report.
For more information: http://measuring-ict.unctad.org
Another key aspect of the ICT partnership is tourism. ICT is a strategic issue for the tourism industry. Internet in particular drastically changes the tourism promotion, marketing and sales. Drawing on UNCTAD’s earlier work on e-commerce and tourism, the E-Tourism initiative is designed to give developing countries the technical means to promote, market and sell their tourism services online so that they can develop their own tourism sector using ICT-based tools.
This initiative will develop an e-tourism model that includes an IT platform, a generic business plan and training activities. This web-based platform is a genuine decision-making, management and promotional tool that will interface with existing IT systems and partner organizations. Cooperation has already started at the operational level with the World Tourism Organization.
For more information: http://etourism.unctad.org
For ICT to work for development, there needs to be an ICT-friendly policy environment. UNCTAD is joining ePol-NET, a global e-policy resource network that mobilizes international efforts to support national e-strategies. Current partners include the Governments of Ireland, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom and international bodies such as ECA, ITU, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), OECD, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and Accenture. UNCTAD will contribute its expertise in the design of national e-strategies and on specific subjects, such as e-commerce and e-business, legal and regulatory issues, e-measurement, e-finance and aspects of e-government. The network will help individuals and organizations from developing countries acquire the capacity to develop, implement and maintain rational ICT strategies and policies.
For more information: Please refer to the separate press release and to www.epol-net.org.
Access by small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to trade finance and e-finance through the use of online solutions for credit information and risk management is a major factor affecting the competitiveness of enterprises. This partnership initiative will develop private-public collaborative risk-sharing arrangements, using Internet-based e-credit information, e-credit ratings and e-finance, so as to improve enterprises’ access to e-finance at more competitive terms.
Several organisations have expressed interest in working together to improve SMEs access to finance and e-finance, including the World Trade Point Federation, Coface (a credit insurer), International Financial Consultants (a credit insurance and information consultancy) and the International Trade Centre. Discussions are underway with Visa International, the World Bank, IFC, ABN AMRO, Dun & Bradstreet, Enablis, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the Costa Rica Development Bank and other potential partners.
Another important aspect of the partnership is training in the use of free and open-source software (FOSS). This initiative is designed to foster autonomous IT communities in developing countries. It will set up a portal on international FOSS training events by late 2004 and will support at least one FOSS training event per year on each of the three developing continents. It will make trainers and materials available as well as provide additional technical and policy training as needed. Invited partners include civil society organization promoting FOSS (FOSSFA, FOSSAP), international technology companies (Novell SUSE, HP) and UN agencies (UNCTAD, UNESCO and UNDP).