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tries to fully participate in, manage, and benefit from, the process

of globalization, as well as in overcoming key development chal-

lenges in a cost effective manner.

At the same time, there is not enough awareness of the real and

positive impacts that the application of these technologies can

have in key areas of economic and social development, includ-

ing

inter alia

, commerce, effective and transparent governance,

disaster reduction and efforts towards sustainable development

and poverty reduction.

ESCAP is therefore focusing on supporting the development of

cross-sectoral policies and strategies, and on promoting ICST

applications in key sectors, through support for key national insti-

tutions. ESCAP is also promoting regional cooperation aimed at

making the expertise of many relatively advanced countries of the

region available to the less advanced countries, and at addressing

critical issues which require regional cooperation, such as cyber

crime and information security.

Website:

www.unescap.org/icstd

E-mail:

escap-icstd@un.org

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

ESCWA promotes regional cooperation and integration among

its 13 Arab Member States and serves as the main development

forum within the United Nations system for the region. The

objective of ESCWA is to accelerate the pace of economic, social

and technological development in the region and to minimize

the unsustainable exploitation of its natural resources.

Information and Communication Technology Division

ICTD, which was established in mid-2002 through ESCWA

restructuring, aims to increase the capabilities of Member States

in harnessing information and communications technology for

their development, including achievement of the United

Nations Millennium Development Goals. In this respect, it

provides support with regard to the development of informa-

tion and communications technology policies, infrastructure,

and applications, and raises awareness with regard to the

potential of ICT in promoting sustainable development and

enabling ESCWA countries to integrate into the global

economy.

Developing the ICT sector and Arab content industry

ICTD’s launching of the Arab Content Initiative to build up an

Arab content industry and promote and disseminate digital Arabic

content was followed by collaboration with the League of Arab

States (LAS) and initiating projects to construct needed tools.

This should make the Internet of interest to the non-English

speaking Arab populations. An Arabic Domain Names Task Force

under the auspices of ESCWA laid the groundwork for using the

Arabic language to access the Internet. ESCWA and LAS are jointly

tackling the deployment of an Arabic Domain Names System,

which should facilitate the use of the Internet among Arabic

speaking communities. ESCWA is also promoting regional ICT

sector development by providing expertise on related policies and

strategies and supporting incubation schemes for nascent ICT

enterprises.

ICT for sustainable development

Within the framework of its Initiative on Technology,

Employment and Poverty Alleviation (TEPA), ESCWA is imple-

menting a number of programmes and projects with a view to

piloting concepts and modalities aimed at harnessing new tech-

nologies, including ICT, for socioeconomic development.

Through training on ICT and other modern technologies, these

projects are creating new job opportunities among the remote

and rural communities. A number of modalities have been iden-

tified and implemented for delivering new technology inputs at

the local community level, including ICT community centres

and smart community projects. Partnerships have been estab-

lished with municipalities, civil society institutions and

enterprises involved in activities targeted by TEPA.

Website:

www.escwa.org.lb/divisions/ictd/main.htm

E-mail:

bizri@un.org

Implementation of the WSIS Geneva Action Plan

Through intergovernmental conferences, expert group meetings, regional

workshops, advisory services and technical assistance, ESCWA is

supporting the Member States and coordinating their preparation for

WSIS, while working towards building the regional Information Society.

The Second Regional Preparatory Conference for WSIS, under the motto

“Partnership for building the Arab Information Society”, was held in

preparation for the Tunis Summit and culminated with the Damascus

Call for partnership to provide strategic support for the implementation

of projects whose implementation should establish solid foundations for

the Arab Information Society. The conference also led to the development

of a Regional Plan of Action for Building the Information Society (RPoA)

addressing a range of issues for building the Information Society in

Western Asia while taking into account Arab regional specificities.

Partnerships are being forged by ESCWA to fulfil the objectives of the

Damascus Call and to pave the way for the implementation of the RPoA,

such as increasing community access with emphasis on the marginalized

and disabled. Within the framework of the global Partnership on

Measuring ICT for Development, ESCWA organized a roundtable and a

regional workshop to agree on a common set of core indicators for

measuring the information society and to build capacities of national

statistics offices and ICT units in this domain.

In preparation for the Tunis phase of WSIS

ESCAP, in cooperation with other international/regional organizations,

established the Regional Interagency Working Group on ICT (IWG) in

August 2001, with a view to strengthen cooperation and coordination at

the regional level, and to promote mutually complementary and coherent

strategies and programmes which would ensure synergy of efforts in

achieving Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). The IWG played an

instrumental role in developing regional consensus in the regional

preparation for WSIS. Members of IWG made substantial contributions

to the organization of the Regional Preparatory Conferences and other

regional events. They also participated in the formulation of the Regional

Action Plan towards Information Society.

With inputs from four sub-regional preparatory meetings, a High Level

Asia-Pacific Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society

was held from 31 May to 2 June 2005 in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Conference was organized jointly by the Government of the Islamic

Republic of Iran and the United National Economic and Social

Commission for Asia and the Pacific in cooperation with the UNDP Asia-

Pacific Development Information Programme and the International

Telecommunication Union.

The objectives of the Conference were to define regional course of

action towards building a people-centred, inclusive and development-

oriented Information Society in Asia and the Pacific as stipulated in the

Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action adopted by the Geneva

phase of WSIS and contribute to the preparatory process of the Tunis

phase of the WSIS. The Conference adopted the Tehran Declaration and

the Regional Action Plan – Programmes/Projects and Methodology for

Regional Cooperation. The Action Plan pays special attention to the

promotion of the use of ICT for empowerment of women, young and

senior people as well as people with disabilities .