World Bank Global ICT Department Launches Series of Seminars on "ICT as Enabler for Growth and Public Sector Reform"

The World Bank's Global Information and Communication Technology Department (GICT) is sponsoring a series on seminars on "ICT as Enabler for Growth and Public Sector Reform" in the context of the World Bank's Annual Conference on Poverty Reducation and Economic Management, PREM.
The PREM Network is the Bank’s focal point on key issues such as Economic Policy and Debt, Gender, Poverty Reduction, Public Sector Governance and Trade. Its mission and overarching objective is to integrate the Bank’s poverty reduction efforts at the country level and provide policy advice to the Bank’s clients during the formulation and implementation of policies and programs
The conference, to be held in Washington D.C. on April 15 & 16, 2008, will focus on issues related to inclusive and sustainable Growth. This year's conference also features 4 sessions on the use of ICTs for economic growth and public sector reform:

• BBL on India's Emergence as a Global IT Player: The Role of NASSCOM (April 15, 2008)
  
• PREM Conference: Session on Global Sourcing of Services for Achieving Sustainable and Inclusive Growth (April 16, 2008)
  
• Government Enterprise Architecture as Enabler of Public Sector Reform (April 17, 2008)
  
• ICT Applications for the Public Sector (April 23, 2008)

These workshop series aim to address practical issues in the development of projects that have ICT components as well as to enhance knowledge of ICT issues so World Bank operational staff can better deploy ICTs as a tool to meet the demands of their clients in international development.

http://www.infodev.org/en/Article.211.html

by info Dev

New Gitex Global Leaders Summit Hosts World's Foremost ICT Business Minds

Some of the world's most influential IT decisions makers and experts in communication technology are set to converge in Dubai for the first-ever Gitex Global Leaders Summit, one of the new highlights of the region's largest ICT event.

As Gitex celebrates its 30th anniversary at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 17 to 21, 2010, many of the technology industry's most respected names will be available to give firsthand advice from an expert perspective.

Providing cutting edge insights into today's global ICT landscape, the Global Leaders Summit will host Rajeev Asija, Executive Vice President Enterprise Solution & Services Business, HCL Infosystems, a Gitex strategic sponsor; Ali Faramawy, Microsoft Corporation Vice President, Microsoft International and Area Vice President, Microsoft Middle East & Africa; Bhaskar Gorti, Senior Vice President and General Manager - Communications Global Business Unit, Oracle; and Randi Zuckerberg, Director of Market Development, Facebook.

The Gitex Global Leaders Summit celebrates the theme 'Inspiring Innovation and Collaboration' where speakers will cover topics that address emerging communications and technology trends, as well as the coordinated efforts needed from the region's stakeholders to bring about change. The Summit is an exclusive opportunity to network with the region's top decision makers and meet some of the world's foremost thinkers.

Rajeev Asija, Executive Vice President of HCL, India's $5bn global technology business begins the sessions on October 17. This HCL veteran of nearly 30 years heads Enterprise Solutions and Services Business and will be speaking on 'Transcending Boundaries'.

Ali Faramawy, Vice President of Microsoft International, is directly responsible for Microsoft's operations across the Middle East and Africa. He plays a leading role in the company's worldwide emerging markets community and will discuss the phenomenon of cloud computing in 'How to Thrive and Grow with the Cloud'.

Bhaskar Gorti, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Communications Global Business Unit for Oracle will share his expertise in telecom growth and developing markets. He is responsible for managing Oracle's strategic planning, product development, sales, service and support for Oracle's communication products. Gorti will be highlighting the issues on how to 'Thrive in the Age of Telecom Transformation'.

Returning to Gitex Technology Week for the second year in a row, Steve Guggenheimer, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Original Equipment Manufacturer Division will also present 'Innovation and How that Equals Opportunity for You' on October 18, at an exclusive, invitation-only keynote address.

Gitex is also hosting the Global Conferences programme featuring over 30 thought-provoking sessions led by ICT leaders.

Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO, Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of Gitex Technology Week, said:

"Gitex has established itself as an ICT event that provides opportunities for regional companies to attract global business. As the largest technology show in Africa and the Middle East, it acts as a driver for investments and knowledge sharing. We are committed to keep Gitex fresh, cutting edge and relevant, and along with the show's other new features, the new Global Leaders Summit aligns perfectly with that. The attendance of world-class speakers illustrates the impact Gitex has made on the international ICT stage."

Running alongside the Global Leaders Summit, the Gitex Cloud Confex, with platinum sponsors HP, and Gitex Mobile Apps & Content World with Industry Partner MEF also make their debut to ensure the event reflects and drives the most relevant ICT issues of the day. The Gitex Global Conference will ensure the event is the most comprehensive knowledge platform in the region and will bring together business leaders, government departments and trade professionals to network, discuss critical industry issues and explore opportunities for growth.

The Global Conference includes 30 streams and more than 50 local and international industry expert speakers, giving advice on a full spectrum of information and communication technology issues. Small and medium businesses, GULFCOMMS, environmentally-friendly IT, the future of security and dozens more debates will ensure hundreds of delegates are kept up to date, informed and aware of the latest developments.

Contributors include Tareque Choudhury, Head of Business Continuity and Security at BT, Khaled Kefel, General Manager of RIM Middle East, and Edmund English, EMEA Senior Marketing Manager, Dell and Irfan Ali, Senior Operator Account Manager, Nokia.

The three days of streamed networking and knowledge sharing will be followed by a Developer Day on Thursday, October 21, where developers, programmers, engineers, analysts, technicians, network managers and many others will gain expert advice and top tips.

Gitex embodies the continuing momentum of growth in the Middle East ICT sector and draws global attention and mounting investment to the region. The show connects more than 133,000 industry professionals from 135 countries with over 3,500 suppliers and is one of the most influential and high-profile events in the global ICT sector today.

Gitex Technology Week runs from 17 - 21 October 2010, at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Admission is for trade and industry professionals only. To register or for more information please visit www.gitex.com.

                                                                  Gitex Technology Week.

http://www.ameinfo.com/244645.html

International ICT Policies and Strategies

The World of Domain Name is fast changing. Whether it is the Policy decisions or the issues of securing Internet and Domain Names, lots of development is taking place these days. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has been taking many pro active steps in this regard. For instance, recently ICANN and INTERPOL have agreed to work in the direction of securing Internet.

ICANN has also widely contributed for the World of Domain Names. ICANN has formulated the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) that has been in effect for over 10 years. It is widely recognised as one of ICANN’s defining accomplishments from its formative years. While not perfect, the UDRP has successfully offered parties a far less expensive alternative to costly litigation for resolving international disputes involving domain name cybersquatting. In the last decade, the Internet community has come to rely on the consistency, predictability, efficiency, and fairness generally associated with the present implementation of the UDRP.

The UDRP has not been reviewed by the GNSO Council since its inception. Now a Preliminary Issue Report on the Current State of the UDRP has been prepared at the request of the GNSO Council and it has been posted online for public comment. The Public Comment period ends on 15 July 2011. Upon the publication of the Final Issue Report, the GNSO Council will determine whether to commence a Policy Development Process (PDP) on the UDRP.

In response to the GNSO Council’s request, Staff conducted preliminary research on the UDRP to identify issues for inclusion in this Report. Due to the tremendous volume of cases and materials available regarding the UDRP (including, over 300,000 hits on Google alone), it became clear that there was no effective way to evaluate these materials. Instead, at the suggestion of the GNSO Council, Staff conducted a Webinar on the Current State of the UDRP (UDRP Webinar), to solicit feedback and information from UDRP experts and representatives from a broad cross-section of stakeholders.

While periodic assessment of policies can be beneficial to guard against unexpected results or inefficient process, the GNSO Council should consider the perspective of the ICANN community with regard to whether such review is necessary or warranted. Although properly within the scope of the GNSO’s mandate, Staff recommends that a PDP on the UDRP not be initiated at this time. However, if the GNSO Council nevertheless believes that the UDRP should be reviewed, Staff suggests an alternative approach for addressing this issue. After carefully evaluating the issues and concerns expressed by the ICANN community regarding the UDRP, Staff has concluded that many issues relate to process issues associated with the implementation of the UDRP, rather than the language of the policy itself. The GNSO Council should consider in lieu of commencing a PDP, convening a small group of experts to produce recommendations to improve the process or implementation of the UDRP policy as an initial step. If after consideration of such expert recommendations, there continues to be a desire to conduct a more thorough review of the UDRP, the GNSO Council could subsequently initiate a more focused PDP at that time.

This Report addresses the GNSO’s specific request for information on:

(1) How the UDRP has addressed the problem of cybersquatting to date, and any insufficiencies/inequalities associated with the process.

(2) Whether the definition of cybersquatting inherent within the existing UDRP language needs to be reviewed or updated.

This is an opportunity for the ICANN community to provide its views on the current state of the UDRP, and on whether a Policy Development process should be initiated to review the UDRP. This Report will be updated to reflect such feedback in the Final Issue Report to be presented to the GNSO Council after the closing of this public comment forum.

http://ictps.blogspot.com/2011/05/preliminary-issue-report-on-current.html

Latest ICT Developments in Asia Pacific

"Today, the Internet is the primary instrument for communicating and sharing information around the world, and more so with each passing day.
"If previously, the key challenges included infrastructure, connectivity, and access, today the key issue is human capital development through education," said Shahid Akhtar, DirAP's Editor-in-Chief.
Mr Akhtar was in Singapore this week for a three-day DirAP authors' meeting.
With him were some 50 experts from government, academe, industry, and civil society from more than 30 countries. They were meeting to brainstorm as they review a draft of the DirAP 2009-2010.
"The DirAP biennial is not only an ICT publication; it is about a network and Asian networking so that experiences are shared. It's an opportunity to learn from each other," added Mr Akhtar.
The biennial Digital Review of Asia Pacific project is coordinated by Dr Claude-Yves Charron, who is Secretary-General of ORBICOM (the Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communications), and also Vice-Rector of the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada. 
The project is supported by the International Development Research Centre of Canada, which is represented on the DirAP Board by Ms Maria Ng Lee Hoon, an ICT specialist, based at IDRC's Southeast and East Asia Regional Office in Singapore.
It is a comprehensive guide to the state-of-practice and trends in information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) in Asia -Pacific.
Their target audiences include policymakers, ICT professionals, and academics, not only in the Asia-Pacific region but around the world.
The 2009-2010 publication will be the fourth edition of the biennial DirAP series.
It is expected to cover themes such as ICTs, education and the Millennium Development Goals, distance education, ICTs and non-formal education, private-public partnership in ICTs for education, and knowledge and innovation.
The review, to be released in the first quarter of 2009, will also include two overview chapters - one on emerging ICT4D technologies and their relationships to markets and communities, and the other, on regulatory approaches to ICTs and best practices.
The author of one of the overview chapters, Mr Rajesh Sreenivasan - a lawyer from Singapore - said the public sector could encourage the development of ICTs with tax incentives, and studies into intellectual property legislation and enforcement. Also important, he stressed, was the need to train a special group of people to understand these issues.
He said this when asked about what the public and private sectors could do to enhance ICT development.
As for the private sector,, Mr Sreenivasan opined that they could support the government by giving feedback from the ground, and be more pro-active in creating new technologies.

http://www.researchsea.com/html/article.php/aid/2849/cid/6

 by Vivian Chiam, International Development Research Center

Fourth Issue of ICT World Today Now Available Online

ICT World Today is a journal on Information and Communication Technology for Development developed by the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) with support from APCICT. This fourth issue of ICT World Today entitled, "ICT and Innovation: Facing the Emerging Global Issues," focuses on ways to encourage ICT innovation and enhance efficiency to overcome the global financial crisis; and tackle climate change, natural disasters, price hikes in resources and food, and the spread of contagious diseases.


This issue of ICT World Today covers articles contributed by experts from various sectors to promote a comprehensive understanding of policy response and international cooperation with regard to the aforementioned issues, through which it discusses ICT and innovations that address global challenges from various perspectives. Articles examine the role ICTs play in: sustainable development; poverty reduction; agriculture; low-carbon cities; security; ageing society; disaster response; empowering women entrepreneurs; capacity building; and more.
The issue ends with some news briefings on the latest ICT tools and projects, and a calendar of events.
Contributors to this issue include experts from international and UN agencies such as InfoDev, International Telecommunication Union, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific; government agencies such as the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; research and educational institutions such as the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and National University of Singapore; and private companies such as Korea Telecom.
ICT World Today aims to contribute to developing economies, enhancing the quality of life in developing countries, and boosting ICT human capacity. Topics in the journal include: ICT access and the digital divide, digital convergence, cybersecurity, disability, gender, legal and regulatory issues; and the role ICT plays in agriculture, climate change, commerce, cultural development, disaster management, education, energy, environmental management, governance, health, small and medium enterprises, and trade. The journal welcomes pluralism in its approach, methods, and disciplines and includes the following type of articles: academic research articles, case studies, interviews, article digests and reviews.

http://www.unapcict.org/news/fourth-issue-of-ict-world-today-now-available

by Asian Pacific Training Center for Information and Communication Technology for Development