UN Commissions Promote
the Regional Dimension of the Information
Society
Geneva, 16 December
2003 - The five United Nations regional
commissions for Africa, Europe, Asia and
the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean,
and Western Asia played an active role at
the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) held in Geneva last
week, promoting the importance of national
strategies and regional actions in the development
of a global Information Society. It was
widely agreed that the regional perspective
is an indispensable intermediate stage in
bringing together national particularities
and global requirements for the Information
Society.
The regional commissions, together with UNDP, UNCTAD, the
UN ICT Task Force and the World Bank, organized four panel discussions on
the theme of "National Strategies for the Information Society and the Role
of Regional and Global Organizations".
Each panel, chaired or moderated by one of the Executive
Secretaries of the regional commissions - Mr. K.Y. Amoako (ECA), Mrs. Brigita
Schmögnerová (ECE), Ms. Alicia Barcena (Deputy, ECLAC), Mr. Kim
Hak-Su (ESCAP), and Ms. Mervat Tallawy (ESCWA) - brought together high-level
speakers from around the world, including Ministers of Communication, representatives
of business, civil society and international organizations.
The discussions highlighted the important role the regional
commissions will play in the implementation of the outcomes of the first phase
of WSIS through technical assistance, capacity building and training; facilitating
peer dialogue, exchange of experience and promoting good practices; development
of indicators and benchmarks; and in the design and future development of
national and regional Information Society strategies and roadmaps.
Continuing cooperation by the regional commissions will be
instrumental in realizing the Geneva goals and building momentum on the road
from Geneva to Tunis for the second phase of WSIS in 2005.
The regional commissions also jointly published a brochure
on the regional dimension of the Information Society. To view the brochure
or for more information on the work of the United Nations regional commissions
on the Information Society, please consult the following web sites:
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) http://www.uneca.org/aisi
Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)
http://www.unece.org/etrades/ict
Economic Commission for Latin America
and the Caribbean (ECLAC) http://www.eclac.cl/ddpe/socinfo
Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) http://www.unescap.org/icstd/index.asp
Economic and Social Commission for
Western Asia (ESCWA) http://www.escwa.org.lb/ictd
Ref: ECE/TRADE/03/P12