The use of ICT for health, or e-health, is fundamental in health care delivery and public health practice. It has particular value in responding to shared global health challenges such as emerging epidemics or the health consequences of natural disasters. It is well documented that ICT is sorely lacking in countries that need it most: those countries most vulnerable to threats from diseases, disasters and poverty.

The World Summit Award (WSA) is a global initiative launched on occasion of the United Nations' World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2003/05. WSA is an invitation project and a global hub to help bridge the digital divide by selecting and promoting creative contents and innovative applications.

The WSIS Geneva Declaration of Principles states in Para. 11 that young people must be «empowered as learners, developers, contributors, entrepreneurs and decision-makers» in the emerging Information Society. This statement has been further strengthened by Para. 25 of the WSIS Tunis Commitment which acknowledges that youth should «actively engage... in innovative ICT-based development programmes and (be given) opportunities... to be involved in e-strategy processes».

In March 2003, the 47th session of the United Nations Commission for Women published its Agreed Conclusions that focused on the importance of increasing women's access to and use of ICT. The areas particularly identified by the Commission as important include education and training for women and girls in ICT and via ICT; and support to women's economic activities.

Why a CoE on GDISP?

A framework that constructs ICTs as a constitutive element of a new systemic social architecture, rather than just as a set of useful tools, provides a better possibility for understanding their transformatory nature. Within such a framework, it is necessary to understand and acknowledge the gender dimensions of these changes and to suitably engender information society (IS) policies.

Defining E- Agriculture is a very challenging and complex process which requires extensive contributions and consultations involving the widest possible range of stakeholders. The reason for this is that E-Agriculture goes beyond technology, to promote the integration of technology with multimedia, knowledge and culture, with the aim of improving communication and learning processes between various actors in agriculture locally, regionally and worldwide.

In most developing countries, the access to education on all levels is limited while the quality of education is generally poor. Open and distance teaching and learning (ODL) methodologies, blending and integrating traditional distance education technologies with consolidated information and communication technologies (ICT) can play a substantial role in stepping up the quantity and quality of education provision in these countries, particularly in Africa. These opportunities are not yet fully, if at all, exploited in any level of most national education systems.

The world has recognized over the last decade that technology influences learning. More and more governments are investing in educational reform or "transformation" through connected schools and connected communities as a way to join the global economy with knowledge workers who have 21st century skills and are inspired by life-long learning.

The community of expertise will share experience and practice-led expertise around two main themes: first, concerning issues of distance learning implementation (contexts, learners and technologies), and second, on how mobile learning technologies can be integrated into the e-learning environment and help to address emerging issues including digital exclusion, student learning and support in different parts of the world.

Scientific and technical (S&T) data constitute an important resource for innovation and support in all four of the focus areas listed above, and more generally for the social and economic development in the information society. As discussed below, we focus our attention on "governance", specifically on the policy and practice associated with the open access to and preservation of governmental or publicly-funded S&T data.