Geneva

At the Pan-European Regional Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society to be held on 7-9 November in Bucharest, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is to launch the Information Economy Report 2002-2003, an annual review series prepared to assist member States, particularly from transition economies, in developing and implementing e-strategies, e-policies and e-regulatory framework towards a knowledge-based economy.

The publication contains a series of national progress reports prepared by relevant experts from 16 countries taking stock of current initiatives of e-policy development in the region. The report was put together by members of the UNECE Team of Specialists on Internet Enterprise Development (TSIED) who met at the UNECE/EU Joint Expert Panel on E-Strategy and E-Policy Development in Transition Economies, 3-4 October 2002 in Brussels. It also benefited from contributions of the South East Europe Digital Economy Project of the European Commission.

The report provides an overview of national e-development strategies, main policy directions and instruments, relevant legal and regulatory framework, and the state-of-the-art e-statistics as available. The reports included in this publication are from Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, with other countries of the region to be added as of the forthcoming edition. It also contains a brief regional overview on the main regional trends and future directions.

The report highlights several key areas that decision makers in transition economies should consider when formulating policies on the Information Society. It serves two main purposes: to enable the country concerned to appraise the institutions and mechanisms that contribute to Information Society development in terms of country assessment; and to encourage better dissemination of relevant policies and best practices in terms of knowledge economy development.

Main message of the report is that whilst the role of private sector is becoming more relevant, public policy does matter, at the national and international levels, in creating an enabling environment for the Information Society.

The report also aims to serve as a reference material for events in the context of the World Summit on the Information Society: the Pan-European Regional Conference in Romania in 2002, the World Summit on the Information Society in Switzerland in 2003 and in the year 2005 in Tunisia, contribute to deliberations at these events, and help to bring about an improved understanding of new information technology-related processes and policies that are essential for the agenda of economic and social transition.

For further information please contact the UNECE secretariat at:

Mr Daewon Choi

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Palais des Nations - Office 427

CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Phone: +41(0)22 917 24 74

Fax: +41(0)22 917 01 78

E-mail: daewon.choi@unece.org

Ref: ECE/OPA/02/19