Please find attached the February issue of Partners. For a printable copy of Partners visit the external GKP website (www.globalknowledge.org) under Highlights. _____________________________________________________________ PARTNERS: Vol. 3 No. 2 February 2001 In this issue: DOT.Force Consultations Update New GKP Partner GKP Meeting Update GKP Action Plan Update Letter to the Editor InfoDev Call for Proposals New Resource: Tanzania Online Information Center Calendar How to Subscribe DOT.FORCE CONSULTATIONS UPDATE Readers will recall the recent announcement in Partners that the GKP has been asked to provide input into the DOT.Force Consultations, which will eventually form the basis for action by the G8. The consultation process began in January, and is moving into full speed. GKP members have been contributing in four venues: - We have reactivated the GKD discussion list, and are looking for input into the consultation discussion. The GKD list has historically played a critical role in the global forum on ICTs for development, and its reactivation has sparked a lively and informative discussion. - We have received great cooperation from individual GKP members. More than 20 member organizations have agreed to participate in consultation activities and to provide their organization's materials for the consultations. If your organization has documents and other materials that are appropriate for the DOT force consultation, please send them to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with a short note on how they can be used in the consultation. - In conjunction with the team working on the action program, we are developing a new set of web pages for the GKP web site. Using some interesting new software, a set of specific pages addressing each issue in the DOT.Force will be developed. Each page will be backed by a library of materials and links, and will have a method for GKP members to post discussions and other materials. We plan to have these pages up and running by the GKP Annual Meeting in March. - The DOT.Force has proposed to use the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) for some more immediate, face-to-face input into the consultations through some videoconferences. They have asked us if GKP members would consent to being involved in these events, which may occur in April. A large part of the GKP Annual Meeting in March will be devoted to the consultation process. By that time, we expect to have a large body of information collected and organized for the GKP submission. The discussion at the Annual Meeting will be important to craft the submission to the DOT.Force so that it accurately reflects the positions of the GKP and its members. As a reminder, the broad issues the DOT.Force is to address include: - Fostering policy, regulatory and network readiness; - Improving connectivity, increasing access and lowering costs; - Building human capacity; - Encouraging participation in global e-commerce networks. A fuller description of the issues and more general information on the DOT.Force can be found at www.dotforce.org For information on the consultation process contact Larry Forgy at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Joan Hubbard at [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the GKD List either go to the GKP website at www.globalknowledge.org and click on "Join a Discussion" or send an e-mail directly to the LISTSERV host: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Do not enter a subject. In the body type the text: SUBSCRIBE GKD Remember not to put anything after GKD. You will receive a Welcome Letter to confirm that you are on the GKD list.] NEW GKP PARTNER This month's Partners welcomes and features another new organization that has joined the Partnership. (Visit the GKP website at www.globalknowledge.org for a full list of GKP member organizations with links to their websites.) The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) CTO is a partnership of Commonwealth governments and telecommunications businesses. Its aim is to promote telecommunications in the interests of consumers and businesses and to promote social and economic development. CTO has three main strands of activity: - Telecommunications business development - Telecommunications policy and regulation - Telecommunications for social and economic development CTO currently has 35 full members. Most Commonwealth countries are full members of CTO and make a financial contribution in ratio to their telecommunications turnover. In addition, eight Commonwealth states and ten dependent territories participate as associated national members. The government of each member country holds the membership in CTO, but delegates it to one or more telecommunications entities, usually the government department or major private sector organization that delivers telecommunications services. Member governments also nominate a representative to sit on the Commonwealth Telecommunications Council. For more information visit the website at http://www.cto.int GKP MEETING UPDATE The GKP's Annual Meeting is being hosted by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), in Geneva on March 22-23. If you're interested in attending, please contact Joan Hubbard at the GKP Secretariat for details ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). The three main agenda items will be: discussion of GKP's report to the DOT force; review of the GKP Action plan; and election of new members to the Partnership's Executive Committee. GKP ACTION PLAN UPDATE In preparation for the GKP's Annual Meeting, Nalan Yuksel of CIDA has agreed to prepare an update of the GKP's Action Plan, and to work with Larry Forgy in bringing the action items together with the issues raised in the DOT.Force Consultations. The synergies between the two, and the work already done on the action plan, should provide excellent input to the GKP's submission to the DOT.Force. Nalan has already had individual discussions with many GKP members. She says she is "impressed with what has been accomplished in areas of the Action Plan. We now need to bring this together in a comprehensive fashion." GKP members will be asked to help in three ways: - Contribute to the on-line GKD discussions being held on the DOT.Force Consultations (see previous article). - Provide a one-page summary of activities their organization has been involved in during the past year that relate to the Action Plan. These can be activities undertaken with GKP members or with other organizations, but must have a link to the Action Items. - Help build a new GKP mini-portal/extranet site for GKP members and GKP's DOT.Force Consultations. Look for details in Partners and at www.globalknowldege.org soon. Nalan will be contacting champions and leaders for the individual Action Items soon. All members, and especially new GKP members, are however encouraged to provide input as soon as they can. Send submissions, comments, or questions to Nalan Yuksel at [EMAIL PROTECTED] LETTER TO THE EDITOR: from Stephanie Hankey (OSI) The OSI is pleased to be one of GKP's newest members and to have been featured in last month's Partners. Due to a strategic change in the work of the Information Programs at the OSI, we would like to add to Partners' description of our activities. The Open Society Institute (OSI), part of the Soros foundations network, has been a major player in developing the information sectors in emerging democracies over the past ten years. Focusing primarily on the post-communist countries of Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Central Asia, OSI has run large-scale programs to develop Internet access, digital content provision, publishing and libraries. In the last year, the OSI has been in the process of rethinking its activities in this area. Recently it merged three previously separate programs (Internet, publishing and libraries) to form the Information Program. It has begun working in new areas, supporting initiatives with global implications in Internet policy and social applications of technology, as well as extending its work to include new geographical areas, including Southern and Western Africa. The mission of this new OSI information program is civic empowerment and effective democratic governance through the deployment of information and communication resources in new democracies and countries in transition. Information regarding the activities of this new program will be appearing on our website in the coming months. For more information please contact Stephanie Hankey at [EMAIL PROTECTED] INFODEV CALL FOR PROPOSALS The World Bank's Information for Development Program (infoDev) has announced two calls for proposals for the infoDev ICT Infrastructure and E-Readiness Assessments Initiative. The first is a call for proposals for countries or regions to carry out their ICT Infrastructure and E-Readiness Assessments. The second is to establish and maintain a Facilitation Center to provide coordination, organizational, and technical support to developing and transition countries that receive infoDev grants for assessment of ICT infrastructure and E-readiness. Information about the Initiative and directions on submitting a proposal can be found on the infoDev website at http://www.infodev.org/ereadiness/ NEW RESOURCE ALERT Tanzania Online Information Center Tanzania Online is a gateway to information on development issues in Tanzania. A UNDP/UN, Government of Tanzania and Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) initiative, the website will benefit government officials, policymakers, members of the private sector, civil society and the donor community, as well as researchers and academicians who are searching for information on development in the country. For more information, visit http://www.tzonline.org CALENDAR May 28-June 3, 2001. Building Bridges with Traditional Knowledge. Honolulu, Hawaii. "Building Bridges" is an international summit on issues involving indigenous peoples, conservation, sustainable development, and ethnoscience. More than 1200 participants--representing universities, businesses, governments, conservation organizations, and indigenous peoples--will convene in Hawaii to share their perspectives and develop new, collaborative relationships. For more information on the conference, please e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/traditionalknowledge Information for the calendar is gleaned from GK-AIMS, which can be found at http://gkaims.globalknowledge.org or from the GKP home page by clicking on "Help Build the Knowledge Base." For more detailed information on calendar listings, visit GK-AIMS or the event website. To reach a wider audience for your events, always post details in the GK-AIMS database. And to find out what others are doing, visit often. For help, send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Partners is issued monthly. If you wish to receive this regular briefing, or if you know of others who would like to receive it, please send the e-mail address to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Comments and suggestions? Items for inclusion? Send them to [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________________ Partners is the newsletter of the Global Knowledge Partnership, a growing partnership of public, private and not-for-profit organizations working together to help people access knowledge and harness information and communications technologies that will help them live meaningful and fruitful lives. Editors: Miriam Razaq & Lesley Anne Simmons, Editorial Assistant: Megan Breece. The Global Knowledge Partnership Secretariat, c/o The World Bank Institute, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington D.C. 20433 Tel: 1 202 473-4799 Fax: 1 202 522-1492 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] website www.globalknowledge.org _______________________________________________ GKP maillist - [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.lists.w3internet.com/mailman/listinfo/gkp ------------ ***GKD is an initiative of the Global Knowledge Partnership*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.globalknowledge.org>
