DRAFT

28 November 2006


GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AND DEVELOPMENT


Business Plan for 2006 – 2007



A. BACKGROUND


  1. The Millennium Declaration of 2000 and the Outcome of the 2005 World Summit established a clear set of internationally agreed development goals. The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) forged a global consensus on the importance of information and communication technologies (ICT) as tools for achieving these development goals.


  1. To help advance this cause, on 28 March 2006 the United Nations Secretary-General approved the establishment of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID). The decision was based on the internationally recognized need for an open, multi-stakeholder forum that brings together governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector, media and other stakeholder constituencies in a common effort to better harness ICT – including such traditional mass broadcast media as radio and television and communications media as fixed and mobile phones – for advancing development. The Alliance is an embodiment of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 8: develop a global partnership for development and, “in cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications technologies”. As underlined by the outcome document of the UN World Summit in September 2005, the Global Alliance will also “enhance the contributions of NGOs, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders in national development efforts, as well as in the promotion of the global partnership for development” (paragraph 22-e).



B. MISSION


  1. The mission of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development is to contribute to transforming the spirit and vision of WSIS into action and promoting the use of ICT for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. It will do so by providing an inclusive, multi-stakeholder global forum and platform for cross-sectoral policy dialogue and advocacy and by catalyzing multi-stakeholder action oriented partnerships encouraged under the GAID umbrella. In itself, it will not have any operational or implementing role. The Alliance will provide multi-stakeholder input to intergovernmental bodies, including Economic and Social Council and the Commission for Science and Technology for Development.


C. LONG TERM OBJECTIVES OF THE ALLIANCE


  1. The open global consultations during 2005 that paved the way to the launch of the Global Alliance identified six broad objectives that the Alliance will pursue over its lifetime:


  1. Mainstreaming the global ICT agenda into the broader United Nations development agenda;

  2. Bringing together key organizations and other stakeholders involved in ICT for development to enhance their collaboration and effectiveness for achieving the internationally agreed development goals;

  3. Raising awareness of policymakers on ICTD policy issues;

  4. Facilitating identification of technological solutions for specific development needs and goals and launching of pertinent partnerships;

  5. Promoting creation of an enabling environment and innovative business models for pro-poor investment, innovation and entrepreneurship and growth and for empowering people living in poverty and other marginalized communities; and

  6. Providing the Secretary-General with advice on ICTD-related issues.

  1. Within the framework of these objectives, specific attention will be given to mainstreaming ICTD into the United Nations development agenda, raising awareness of policy-makers and providing advice to the Secretary-General on ICTD policy issues.

D. VALUE ADDED, CORE ASSETS AND STRATEGY OF THE ALLIANCE


  1. The Alliance adds unique value to development activities by harnessing the cumulative strength of its core assets to focus on goals that could not be achieved without the involvement of diverse stakeholders and the approach that cuts across sectors, industries and constituencies, and by novel working methods and joint leadership of the UN system, governments, private sector, civil society, academia, media and other stakeholder communities.


  1. Alliance’s core assets include:


  1. Convening power, universality and legitimacy of the United Nations and patronage and support of the Secretary-General.

  2. Global reach through its open regional and stakeholder networks.

  3. High-level, multi-stakeholder commitment and leadership by the Steering Committee.

  4. Deep strategic understanding of and wealth of experience in ICTD within the Strategy Council, the High-level Panel of Advisers and the Network of Champions.

  5. Engagement of diverse actors from all categories of stakeholders at the national, regional and international levels;

  6. Informal, results-oriented, transparent and participatory working methods.


  1. The strategy of the Alliance is to trigger significant action in ICTD by its stakeholders by focusing on:



  1. As a management method, the Alliance relies on executive guidance of the Steering Committee, strategic vision of the Strategy Council, the depth of advice from the Group of High-level Advisers, and the bottom-up inputs via the Network of Champions, global and regional networks and stakeholder networks1. Effective, pro-active and open communication is imperative to sustain the Alliance’s value added.


  1. In the context of the follow-up to WSIS, the Alliance will not be operational itself, and will not be involved in funding and execution of projects on the ground. It will respect existing initiatives, including the work of existing initiatives and actively seek collaboration with them. It will help trigger concrete action and strengthen the Alliance’s development impact through enhancing the visibility of and collaboration among existing activities, and by fostering new multi-stakeholder action-oriented partnerships. The Alliance will avoid duplication of existing activities, in particular WSIS Action Lines, but will seek to strengthen and contribute to them. The Alliance will closely involve in its work relevant organizations of the United Nations system (ITU, UNDP, UNESCO, WIPO, UNCTAD, the World Bank, Regional Commissions and others), Global Knowledge Partnership, regional development banks (IADB, ADB, IsDB, …), private sector organizations (ICC, GBDe, WITSA, GIIC and others), civil society, Internet community, media organizations including community media and regional broadcasting unions such as the European Broadcasting Union, and others.


  1. A matrix of GAID activities and collaborative relations with other partners and networks will be developed to clarify and crystallize GAID’s working relationships with other institutions, entities, initiatives and networks.



E. FIRST YEAR (2006-2007)


  1. The Inaugural meeting of the Alliance in Kuala Lumpur in June 2006 agreed that the Alliance will initially focus on the use of ICT in promoting the following four broad areas:


  1. Education

  2. Health

  3. Entrepreneurship

  4. Governance (enhancing citizens' participation and promoting accountability, transparency and efficiency in governance processes).


  1. Activity within those areas, or those of a horizontal cross-cutting nature, will take place predominantly via a limited number of flagship partnership initiatives, advocacy themes and thematic Communities of Expertise. In addition, the regional networks and stakeholder networks may launch specific activities, while keeping the above focus areas in mind.


  1. Over the course of the first year, GAID and its networking mechanisms will undertake advocacy activities to keep ICTD high on the political agenda, organize or support thematic and/or regional meetings, training sessions and other events, including an annual Global Forum, with a view to contributing to global policy dialogue and building human and institutional capacities. Furthermore, GAID will collaborate with other relevant entities sharing similar goals, including organizations engaged in the implementation of WSIS Action Lines, the United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS) and the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, with a view to enhancing synergy of existing activities and to facilitating creation of new partnerships.


I. Flagship partnership initiatives:


  1. In order to leverage joint resources and to spur visible action across the four focus areas, several stakeholders in the Alliance are developing flagship initiatives that they will be responsible for implementing in collaboration with partners in order to produce concrete and measurable deliverables. The initiatives are expected to set targets within a short-term (two to three years) timeframe based on current reliable baseline data (e.g., ITU Telecommunications and Development Report as well as other relevant reports), taking into account existing targets, including those in the WSIS Geneva Action Plan, and galvanize global action to meet them. These initiatives are expected to respect, collaborate with and build on existing initiatives and partnerships, avoid duplication and overlap and develop working relationships with relevant institutions, entities and networks. When they inscribe themselves and directly contribute to the implementation of Action Lines of the Geneva Plan of Action, such initiatives and their deliverables should also be brought to the attention of the Action Line facilitation process in order to help speed up this implementation and ensure coordination with UNGIS.


a. Better Connectivity with Broadband to Africa


  1. As a key enabler of the four priority areas of the Global Alliance, this initiative will support African efforts to accelerate the roll-out of communication infrastructure and increase broadband access across Africa. ICT infrastructure is essential for African countries to achieve regional integration and to enable poor people to participate in markets and help reduce poverty. Economic growth in Africa will depend upon widespread access to ICT services which in turn provide access to local, national, regional and global markets. Therefore, national and regional backbones, cross-border links, and rural connectivity need to be vastly expanded, in parallel with the deployment of applications to take advantage of connectivity for productive use.


Deliverables:

Lead: World Bank

Partners: The World Bank, with support from GAID will develop appropriate partnerships with governments, other interested institutions including the European Commission, the African Development Bank, the International Telecommunication Union, the E-Africa Commission/NEPAD, bilateral and multilateral donor organizations, telecommunications operators associations, and representatives of users and civil society.


b. Telecentre 2.0: scaling up for global success


  1. Building on the existing telecentre.org program -- which aims to significantly scale up the successes of the telecentre movement, to increase local capacity and promote long-term sustainability -- this GAID flagship partnership initiative will promote a more inclusive digital world by helping telecentres become stronger, more sustainable and more numerous. The aim is to move beyond simply providing access to also include e-learning, training and skills development, local content generation, financial services, e-government and others services relevant to the local community. Partners rallying under the GAID/telecentre.org banner will work in four areas: 1) building telecentre networks; 2) developing content and services; 3) documenting knowledge and learning; and 4) convening events for telecentre leaders.

Deliverables:

Lead: IDRC

Partners: Microsoft, SDC, GKP. The initiative also works actively with dozens of network and knowledge sharing partners at the national level.


c. Cyber Development Corps

  1. The Cyber Development Corps will promote capacity-building through South-South cooperation. This initiative will establish a global outreach programme based on the spirit of volunteerism to help lesser-developed nations and communities benefit from global information and communication technologies, infrastructure and resources; and help enhance their national development plans towards becoming equal participants in the global information-knowledge society.


Short Term Output (within 2 years):

Medium Term Outcome:

Long Term Impact:

Lead: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia

Partners (TBC): UNDP, Intel, Digital Opportunity Trust, regional development institutions and banks


II. Partnerships for Advocacy Themes:


a. Free Access for all Schools to the Net


  1. Given the revolutionary developments in new information and communication technologies, to be part of the knowledge society requires the opportunity to access this wealth of information and knowledge and capacity to use the new ICTs. Schools are particularly fertile grounds to innovatively foster the development of a new generation of innovative citizens who have the skills and are actively engaged in the global knowledge society. Efforts to connect societies and people to the Internet are in the making, however, no specific and systematic effort has been undertaken to connect all schools to the Internet and henceforth enable teachers and students alike to benefit from the information society. GAID would support and help find innovative financial solutions (avoid cost burden for schools), lead campaigns to mobilize support etc. GAID in launching the initiative would perform the advocacy work whereas the implementation would need to be at the country-level through partners.


Key Elements of the Advocacy Theme:


Visionary (cumulative) Deliverables:


Lead: Initiative submitted by SDC to build partnerships at the national level for promoting free access for all schools to the Internet; appropriate organizations active in this area will be identified to mobilize support.

Partners: TBC


b. Global Initiative for Inclusive Technologies


  1. This initiative will (1) promote ICT solutions for people with disabilities and related best policy practices among governments in the context of the new United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and expanded member states legislations and regulations, and (2) accelerate the development by industry and civil society of the scientific, industrial, standardization and economic conditions to make such solutions affordable worldwide.


Deliverables:

Lead: Wireless Internet Institute and World Times, Inc.

Partners: United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, UN Enable, IBM, NIIT, other ICT private sector participants (to be confirmed upon approval of business plan), Georgia Institute of Technology, UNITAR.



III. Communities of Expertise:


  1. With a view to creating a flexible mechanism to bring together motivated and capable actors to address specific, well-defined ICTD problems in a results-oriented manner and to identify and disseminate good practice, the Alliance issued a call for proposals to establish Communities of Expertise (CoE). The criteria for evaluation and list of proposals approved by the Steering Committee are contained in Annex B.


  1. Since one of the principal goals of the Alliance is the achievement of synergy and coherence of efforts of diverse stakeholders, CoE are clustered in the four focus areas. Some CoEs address cross-cutting issues (gender, rural development) and are listed separately.


  1. GAID strongly believes that building productive links and fostering cooperation among initiatives working in specific areas of ICTD would not only help advance development and spread benefits of ICT across the globe, but will also enhance visibility and impact of such initiatives, facilitate replication and scaling-up of best practices, while at the same time highlighting and strengthening unique distinctive features of collaborating initiatives. In this context, those CoEs that are complementary will be encouraged to join hands to develop collaborative arrangements and undertake activities jointly, without losing their distinct identities or specificities of their objectives. The lead organizations will be requested to work in concert and coordinate to ensure cooperation, complementarity and interoperability of the CoEs as well as expand their outreach by creating linkages with networks that may not be in the GAID family but share similar goals. In particular, CoEs should build on and collaborate with networks set up in the framework of WSIS Action Lines.


  1. The Communities of Expertise will function in accordance with the principles laid out in the document “Modalities of organizing the work of UN GAID”2 and under the patronage of the Steering Committee, but are self-organizing and self-resourcing entities with a considerable flexibility as regards their working methods. Communities of Expertise are expected to establish metrics against which progress toward their objective(s) may be measured.

  1. It is envisaged that there will be further indications by individuals, organizations and entities of their interest to engage with GAID and its networking mechanisms3. As their action-oriented work programmes are developed and modalities for cooperation among stakeholders are defined, further these proposals will be presented to the Steering Committee for endorsement.



IV. Stakeholder Networks


  1. GAID will build on and create synergies among stakeholder networks that may already exist or are being created in the areas of gender, youth, people with disabilities, local and regional authorities, parliamentarians, media, business, academia, professional and scientific organizations and other constituencies. The Alliance will reach out to engage all these and other relevant stakeholder networks to maximize participation by all interested entities, extend the outreach of GAID and promote channels for smooth communications and collaboration.


  1. Stakeholder networks and the lead organizations are: Civil Society Network – CONGO; Youth Network – ATHGO International, Ms. Titi Akinsanmi (Global Teenager Project), Fulbright Fellowship Programme and International Labour Organization Youth Employment Network; Persons with Disabilities Network – UNDESA/DSPD (UN Enable), Wireless Internet Institute (W2i), IBM; Parliamentarian Network – International Parliamentarians Association for Information Technology (IPAIT), Global Centre for Parliaments, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB); Local Government and Regional Authorities Network – IT4all Bilbao; and Gender Stakeholder Network – IT4Change, Center for Women and Information Technology, and Center for Feminist Research and Action.



V. Regional Networks


  1. The Alliance will form Regional Networks, which will have a large degree of autonomy in organizing themselves and their work, with a view to ensuring open, inclusive, participatory and truly global character of the Alliance, and adequate reflection of regional perspectives and specific needs in the activities of GAID along the four focus areas. Such networks are envisaged in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Arab World4.


  1. Regional networks and regional centres of excellence being formed, led by the following organizations: Latin America and Caribbean Network -- Government of Argentina, Inter-American Development Bank; Costa Rican Centre of Excellence, Omar Dengo Foundation (TBC); Asia Pacific Regional Network – UNESCAP, Shanghai Regional Authorities, Asia Pacific Telecommunity; Korean Centre of Excellence (Seoul), – UNESCAP; Regional Network in Transition Countries – Government of Azerbaijan, UNDESA/DPADM, UNESCAP (TBC), UNECE (TBC); African Regional Network – UNECA, African Civil Society for the Information Society; Arab Regional Network – UNESCWA; and European Regional Network – (TBC).


VI. Media Strategy, Advocacy and Outreach


  1. The effectiveness and impact of the Global Alliance depend critically on its ability to project its activities and achievements, generate interest and goodwill and secure continued financial support. The Alliance will undertake energetic awareness-raising and outreach efforts to mobilize support through various platforms and with the support and commitment from all involved stakeholders. The communication strategy will promote the Alliance’s mission, goals, objectives, multi-stakeholder and transparent working methods, activities and achievements, and will be integrated into all its activities. The effectiveness of this strategy will depend on a clear articulation of target audiences, clarity of message, careful choice of media, and of the clear understanding by all participating stakeholders of the process leading to its activities and orientations and of its interactions with other processes within the UN system.


  1. GAID will undertake a three-pronged awareness-raising and outreach programme to 1) influence policy at all levels (international, regional, national and local) with a view to promoting enabling environment for the effective use of ICT to stimulate or accelerate economic and social development, 2) strengthen capacity of policy- and decision-makers to formulate effective and sustainable ICTD policy, and 3) build brand recognition of the added value of the Alliance among all relevant stakeholder groups; promote awareness of its mission, objectives and role in the follow-up to WSIS; and attract their contribution and participation.


  1. A New York-based programme for policy-makers undertaken jointly by GAID, UNITAR and Intel will be a cornerstone of GAID’s capacity-building campaign in the United Nations.


  1. Activities on the outreach and advocacy agenda will include:



F. SECOND YEAR


  1. In its second year, the Global Alliance and its networks will continue to develop and pursue advocacy, policy dialogue, capacity-building and other activities in support of the thematic areas of focus and the achievement of these overarching global goals. Each network will develop a programme of work, which will form the basis for input into the 2007/2008 business plan. A second Global Forum will be held in the spring of 2008.



G. THIRD YEAR


  1. By year three, GAID will have built a wide-spread, multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder network of partners interested in leveraging ICT for development and the attainment of the internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs. The Alliance envisions that its Regional Centres and Networks will be fully established with activities that support the overall objectives of GAID, within the areas of focus. Stakeholder Networks will ensure channels for consultation and collaboration. Flagship partnership initiatives would have delivered intermediate results. Communities of Expertise will continue to bring stakeholders from various groups together around specific ICTD challenges or issues. The Steering Committee and the Strategy Council will undertake, with the assistance of the High-level Advisers and the Champions, an overall review of GAID’s work and priority areas of focus in order to ensure that the Alliance remains aligned with the dynamic international ICTD environment and identify possible new or emerging issues for attention, so that the work of GAID continues to evolve and remain on the leading edge.



H. FUNDING AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION


  1. The activities of the Global Alliance will be funded by voluntary contributions, both financial and in-kind. An estimated $1.5 million is required in the first year to cover operating expenses, including the core activities and the Secretariat. Contributions of all values and types will be publicly acknowledged through appropriate means, including but not limited to GAID's website, public relations materials and promotional activities for events organized by the Global Alliance.


  1. Having both the heightened responsibility and interest in ensuring GAID’s effectiveness, Members of the Strategy Council and Steering Committee are strongly encouraged to support the Alliance through annual contributions. It is encouraged that Members that are capable of providing cash donations contribute a minimum of $50,000 towards funding GAID's core activities and staff. OECD donor governments, multilateral financial institutions, large private sector members and foundations are expected to contribute $250,000. In consideration of the financial constraints of some Members (in particular non-profit organizations, civil society organizations and developing countries), the Alliance also welcomes their in-kind support, including hosting meetings, contributing to logistical or staff support, co-producing publications, sponsoring developing country representatives to participate in meetings, providing networking support, etc. The level of financial contributions to the GAID core activities should not be seen as a condition for membership into the GAID governing structures: contributions from GAID governing structures members is only part of the general fundraising efforts to support the work of the Global Alliance.


  1. The Trust Fund for the Global Alliance for ICT and Development will be executed initially by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) under the overall supervision and guidance of the Under Secretary-General of DESA. The project will be administered in accordance with the financial rules and regulations of the United Nations under the supervision of the Controller, and subject to the internal and external auditing procedures of the organization.


  1. The Trust Fund should allow, if possible, for a limited but balanced number of fellowships to support participation in the Global Alliance of civil society representatives and SME representatives from LDCs.



I. MONITORING AND EVALUATION


  1. The activities and progress of the Global Alliance will be monitored by the Secretariat and reported periodically to the Steering Committee and the Strategy Council.


  1. An external evaluation will be conducted in mid-2008 to provide a comprehensive assessment of activities undertaken by the Alliance in accordance with its areas of focus and the Business Plan, and their value added. The results of this evaluation will provide the basis for decision making on activities of the Global Alliance during the period of 2009-2010. Subsequent evaluations, every two years, will be undertaken systematically to assess progress and impact and to ensure that the Alliance continues to add value to overall ICTD work.


Annex A:

The Structure of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development5


As a multi-stakeholder partnership supported by the United Nations, the Alliance will closely link its work to the broader United Nations development agenda, including the internationally agreed development goals and the MDGs, leading to the 2015 goalpost. The Alliance, being a non-operational entity, will promote focused dialogue on ICT for development issues, primarily using virtual means and related events that attract relevant actors. It will organize one annual thematic Global Forum (as a rule, in April-May so that the results of discussions could be presented at the annual substantive session of ECOSOC) plus may hold meetings in conjunction with other major relevant events. The Alliance will function as a decentralized network of forums, institutions and think tanks, bringing them together into a global platform under the patronage of the Secretary-General and the auspices of the ECOSOC. It will rely primarily on on-line collaborative tools that will link communities of experts, regional networks of the Alliance, groups of stakeholders and ad hoc thematic groups set up for preparation of thematic discussions.


The strategic guidance and vision for the Alliance is provided by a Strategy Council composed of sixty prominent personalities with balanced representation of all relevant stakeholder groups and with due regard to stakeholder, gender, geographical and institutional balances. The members, among other things, also contribute to the development of an action-oriented policy platform, undertake awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns for ICTD and GAID, and promote multi-stakeholder partnerships and initiatives with innovative networking and information-sharing approaches.


A Steering Committee provides executive direction to and priority setting for the Alliance, as well as oversight and guidance to the secretariat. The Committee endorses the establishment and mandates of thematic Communities of Expertise and Regional Networks and reviews their periodic progress reports. It also identifies and transmits relevant cutting-edge and emerging issues and inputs on ICT for development, and exercises a leadership role in high-level advocacy and policy advice in the field of ICTD. It is composed of a Chairman and several Co-Chairmen representing major constituencies, plus the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and the Executive Coordinator of the Secretariat ex officio.


For policy and expert advice, the Strategy Council and the Steering Committee may draw upon a Group of High-level Advisers who contribute to research and development and help advance relevant theory and/or practice in the field of ICTD in their respective areas of expertise. The Network of Champions is a group of practitioners, experts and activists who facilitates the diffusion of knowledge and experience of innovative uses of ICT for the attainment of development goals, provides “bottom-up” flow of information on implementation of ICTD activities on the ground to inform policy discussions at the Global Forum and in the Steering Committee and the Strategy Council and promote the implementation of Alliance’s outreach efforts, as well as foster formation of partnerships.


The Alliance will form Regional Networks, which will ensure the open, inclusive, participatory and truly global character of the Alliance, and the adequate reflection of regional perspectives and specific needs in the activities of GAID in the four focus areas. Communities of Expertise are thematic groups established by a mandate from the Steering Committee to carry out a well-defined, specific task or tasks, within one or more focus areas of the Alliance. Stakeholder Networks will maximize participation by all interested entities, extend the outreach of GAID and promote channels for smooth communications and collaboration.


A small Secretariat provides substantive analytical support to the Steering Committee in formulating draft strategy and plans for consideration by the Strategy Council, as well as organizational and logistical support for the Alliance, its events and activities.





Annex B:

Communities of Expertise


Following the call for proposals issued by the Steering Committee, twenty proposals for communities of expertise were received, covering the four focus areas identified at the inaugural meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as well as several major cross-cutting issues.


Criteria were defined to assist the selection and monitoring of the ongoing contribution of Communities of Expertise:






The Steering Committee reviewed the proposals against these criteria and approved the following CoEs6:


Focus Areas

  1. E-governance for Development (Division for Public Administration and Development Management, UNDESA)

  2. E-services for development (Observatory for Cultural and Audiovisual Communication)

  3. Information and Communication Technologies for Peace (ICT4Peace Foundation)


  1. ICT Policy and Finance for Social, Community and Public Entrepreneurship (Association for Progressive Communications)

  2. Expanding financial services to the unbanked (Intel)

  3. Enterprises' competitiveness through the use of ICTs (ILO)


  1. ICT Competencies for Teachers (UNESCO)

  2. Strategy and Policy with ICT for Preservation of and Access to S&T Data in Developing Countries (Chinese Academy of Science)

  3. Beyond Distance Research (Leicester University)

  4. ICTs in education (GeSCI)

  5. ICT Integration and Pedagogical Engineering (WITFOR Education Commission)



Cross-cutting areas

  1. E-agriculture (FAO)


  1. Information Society (IS) policies, gender and development (IT for Change)

  2. Women and ICT Taskforce (Center for Women and Information Technology)


  1. Youth Social Technopreneurship (Philippine Resources for Sustainable Development)







Annex C:

Regional Networks


Activities

Actors

Asia Pacific Regional Network Meeting, Shanghai, China, 19 October 2006

Shanghai Authorities, UNDESA/DPADM

Regional Ministerial Meeting, “GAID: Governance, Partnership and Regional Networks in Transition Countries,” Baku, Azerbaijan, 2 October 2006

Government of Azerbaijan, UNDESA/DPADM

Latin American and Caribbean Regional Meeting, Buenos Aires, First Quarter 2007

Government of Argentina, IADB



1 See Annex A for the Structure of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development

2 See: www.un-gaid.org.

3 See the GAID website for the complete terms of reference for its components.

4 See Annex C for more information on regional network activities

5 Please see the GAID website for terms of reference for governance bodies, regional networks, communities of expertise and the stakeholder networks.

6 The Steering Committee requested additional information on some proposals. Pending review and evaluation of the more-detailed proposals, further CoEs may be approved.