[Index]
INTEGRATED TRANSITION APPROACH
From Industry Restructuring to Knowledge Economy
UNECE Working Party on Industry and Enterprise Development
Palais des Nations, 14-15 February 2002
Geneva, 12 February 2002
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is
holding the 3rd session of the Working Party on Industry and
Enterprise Development (WP.8) at the Palais des Nations, on 14-15 February in
conjunction with 10 thematic meetings on key issues for a new integrated
approach of economic transition process in central and eastern Europe and the
CIS during the week of 11-15 February 2002.
Policies introduced a decade ago for transition economies
have produced different institutional and
productive systems. This third session of the
Working Party aims at assisting Governments in the
region in establishing enabling and effective framework conditions for
enterprise development from industrial restructuring to knowledge economy
development. This new approach draws on the UNECE’s new cross-sectoral
approach; the ongoing enlargement of the European Union; and finally, the
integration of transition economies into a knowledge-based world economy. Three
major pillars of the approach are as follows:
Framework for industrial restructuring
In many countries the industrial restructuring remains an
unfinished agenda and delays the emergence of a modern economy, which requires
innovative production and supply chain system, both in manufacturing and
services. Achieving the sustainability of the industrial production in the
context of environment and competitiveness remains a challenge to be met. A
better information flow on this subject with an establishment of a programme
would facilitate investment decisions by domestic and foreign companies and
could contribute to a better allocation of financial resources among the
enterprises subject to restructuring.
Framework for fostering entrepreneurship
The productive enterprises do not emerge automatically from
price liberalization and competition. Entrepreneurship supportive frameworks are
required to make the transition process sustainable. A number of instruments
specific to the development of enterprises and entrepreneurship will be necessary to create the enabling environment towards
quality-based production system. Special attention should be given to support of
the entrepreneurship and self-employment of youth and women.
Framework for integrating into the knowledge-based economy
The determining factor for an effective integration of
transition economies into the European and global economy is the efficient use
of information and knowledge. The full access to the Internet and the
Internet-based enterprise development has become imperative to consolidate the
ongoing transition process. The youth and women from transition economies are
well positioned to tap this potential. However, for many countries in transition
there is a lack of technical, financial and legal infrastructures. The
redressing mechanism for this imbalance is one of the most daunting and imminent
challenges for the region when addressing issues of enterprise and
entrepreneurship development in the forthcoming years.
Against this background, the following considerations were
given to the new activities of the Working Party on Industry and Enterprise
Development: first, ongoing activities need to be integrated into a single,
coherent and synergy-based framework; second, for the sake of institutional
coordination, various Teams of Specialists associated with different components
of the programme of work need to be linked to each other and coordinated under
the umbrella of the WP.8; third, a scalability of the work programme needs to be
reinforced in order to reflect further changes in the overall work programme.
This mechanism will create a possibility of introducing new
concepts and work programme in reflection of the needs of member States, on the
one hand, and the recommendations made internally by the United Nations General
Assembly, on the other hand, such as the Millennium Declaration and the General
Assembly resolution on ICT development for transition economies which brought
issues of gender, youth and poverty into the area of enterprise development in
transition economies.
To this end, during the UNECE Enterprise Development Week of
11-15 February 2002, 10 thematic meetings are being held dealing with
specific and technical aspects of the aforementioned issues:
Team of Specialists on Entrepreneurship in Poverty Alleviation, 11
February (Salle VIII)
Executive Session of the Team of Specialists on Internet Enterprise
Development, 11 February (afternoon, Salle V)
The first meeting of national Coordinators on Youth Entrepreneurship, 12
February (Salle F.3)
Team of Specialists on Women’s Entrepreneurship I, 12 February (Salle
VIII)
Round table on Industrial Restructuring in European Transition Economies:
Experience to Date and Prospects, 12-13 February (Salle XIX)
Workshop on Cyberspace Regulatory Framework Development, 13 February
(Salle V)
Meeting of Experts on Quality Management Systems, 13 February (morning,
Salle XI)
Working Party on Industry and Enterprise Development, 14-15 February
(Salle V)
Team of Specialists on Women Entrepreneurship II, 15 February (Salle IX)
For further information on the integrated transition
programme and details of the meetings please contact:
Daewon Choi
Secretary, Working Party on Industry and Enterprise Development
UNECE Coordinating Unit for Operational Activities
Palais des Nations, Office 427
CH – 1211 GENEVA 10
Tel: + 41(0)22 917 2474 - Fax: + 41(0)22 917 0178
E-mail: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/OPA/02/05