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UNGAID MDG eCenter
Presentation and Open Consultation
WSIS Geneva,12-13 May 2010
Archived 2010 WSIS Webcast Session : UN-GAID ICT4MDG Consultation process
On 12-13 May, the concept and prototypes of the Matrix of ICT Solutions for Advancing the MDGs and of the Computer-aided Strategic Planner were presented to the participants of the WSIS Forum which is the principal annual gathering of key stakeholders involved in the follow-up to the World Summit on Information Society.
Both sessions were well attended by representatives of governments, UN agencies, private sector and civil society and the outcome was both positive and constructive. The overall reaction of the attendees was unequivocally positive. No one questioned the utility and value of the proposed set of ICT4MDGs tools. Representatives of several developing country governments were very encouraged by a presentation and endorsement from the Minister of ICT of Macedonia who shared his positive experience with the current prototype of the Strategic Planner. Government representatives expressed their urgent interest in testing the Planner and contributing to its further development.
The comments and suggestions of the participants could be grouped as follows:
- Institutional concerns: it was stressed by two participants, in particular by ITU, that the proposed tool should complement rather than duplicate existing knowledge repositories and tools, and should contain data and statistics consistent with agreed standards.
- Quality assurance: several participants highlighted the need to develop effective vetting mechanisms for ensuring the credibility, consistency and comprehensiveness of knowledge presented in the Matrix and used as primary data for the Planner. The need to ensure multilingualism of the Portal and vendor neutrality as regards presentation of commercially available tools was also mentioned.
- Substantive areas to be covered: several participants proposed that in addition to functionalities present in the current prototypes of the Matrix and the Planner, the Portal should also address such needs as: providing a tutorial on strategic ICT planning; presenting methodologies and tools for development of strategies for ICT in sectors (education, health, etc.) to assist ICT ministries in their interaction with sectoral partners; monitoring progress in introducing ICT in development activities; and assessing the development impact of ICT. The latter was thought to be especially necessary for ensuring cooperation of government entities (such as finance ministries, for example) which currently quite often remain skeptical about ICT4D.
These and other very constructive and useful comments and suggestions are currently being analyzed by the teams developing the Portal with a view to fully incorporate them in the forthcoming updated versions of the Portal.
While this iterative process of consultations, feedback and updating will continue enabling the further development of the Portal, the enthusiastic response to this initiative, particularly from developing countries and the private sector representatives participating in the open consultations at the WISIS Forum, have clearly demonstrated both the value-added of and the urgent need for such a powerful web-based tool with a potential global and game-changing impact on the advancement of MDGs in the next five years.
MDG eSolutions Center :
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Draft overview of UN-GAID MDG eSolutions Center - ICT Solutions to advance MDGs quickly,universally and effectively . |
For comments please contact :-
Secretariat of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development
Two UN Plaza, DC2-1439
New York, NY 10017
United States
Phone: + 1 212 963 5796
Fax: + 1 917 367 4340
E-mail: gaid at un dot org
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