So, what next? :-/ >>>> 6 July 2009 Press Release No. G/46/2009
UN Joins Forces with Timor-Leste and Indonesia to Harness the Power of ICT for Development A south-south initiative expands human capacity in using technologies effectively Bangkok (UN/ESCAP Information Services) – More than 60 high-ranking Timorese officials will learn this week how information and communication technology (ICT) can be used to assist with making policy decisions and further development goals through a United Nations initiative underway across the Asia-Pacific region. The workshop in Dili, which runs 7 to 10 July, is based on a curriculum developed by the UN Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT), and comes on the heels of a session held last week for officials in Indonesia. National and local government officials from around Timor-Leste will be trained on the first two modules of the “Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders“, focusing on linkages between ICT and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and ICT for development policymaking. The MDGs are a set of ambitious pledges made by world leaders in 2000 to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger, combat AIDS, promote gender equality, and tackle other global ills, all by 2015. The training is the first in a series led by the Directorate National for ICT, Ministry of Infrastructure, in close collaboration with APCICT and the University of Indonesia, and will be used to build a pool of Academy resource persons in Timor-Leste. “APCICT is committed to facilitating South-South cooperation such as the case in Timor-Leste where we have supported a qualified resource person from the University of Indonesia to work with our partners in Timor-Leste,” said Hyeun-Suk Rhee, Director of APCICT. “The rich diversity of the South provides an excellent opportunity for forging mutually beneficial partnerships to work towards the common goal of sustainable social and economic development.” >From 30 June to 3 July in Solo City, Indonesia, 40 heads of ICT >agencies/department of provincial and city governments were trained with the >Bahasa Indonesia version of the comprehensive Academy curriculum, which had >been translated by the University of Indonesia. The Ministry of Communication >and Information Technology (MCIT), which is leading the Academy in Indonesia, >had to increase the available slots for this third workshop due to demands >from participants of previous workshops to come back for the training. “The roll-out of the Academy in Indonesia is a manifestation of synergy between international agency, government, and university,” remarked Herry Abdul Aziz, Director of e-Government at MCIT. “The translation and delivery of the modules has removed language barriers and contributes significantly to comprehending the contents. We plan to disseminate the modules as much as possible to other government agencies in Indonesia.” http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2009/jul/g46_apcict.pdf
