PICISOC : IGF2006Workshop

PICISOC Workshop at Internet Governance Forum Athens 2006

PICISOC Workshop at IGF Athens 2006 Venue: Workshop Room II, Divani Appollon Palace, Vouliagmeni, Athens

Title short	ICT to Achieve MDGs	Workshop Page on IGF website
Title long	ICT to Achieve MDGs: Issues and Challenges for Small Islands States and Developing Economies
Organisers	Rajnesh D. Singh	E-mail	Chairman - Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society
	Gisa Fuatai Purcell	E-mail	Manager - ICT Secretariat, Government of Samoa
Audio Stream	Download it from here	An audio capture of the Workshop. Please note reduced audio quality for the first half, significantly better quality audio in second half
Theme
The workshop will explore issues facing small island states/developing economies and consider how ICT can be used as a tool in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Objectives
The objective of this workshop is to highlight real issues facing SIDS and developing economies today and to explore some possible solutions to alleviating these. ICT, and in recent times, more so the Internet, has been recognised as an important tool for economic growth and social development. In this context, Access to such technology is critical, for without affordable, easy and efficient Access, the Internet and ICT would have little real meaning for those living in the developing world. It is hoped that participants at the workshop will come away with a greater level of awareness and understanding of real world issues in the developing world. For various stakeholders, the workshop will provide some examples of real world solutions to real world problems, and it is hoped the ensuing discussions at the workshop will fuel further on-going discussion, strategies and ultimately, action, towards adopting a practical rather than philosophical approach to solving issues in the developing world.
Speakers
Workshop Chair		Rajnesh D. Singh	COO – PATARA, Chairman – Pacific Islands Chapter, Internet Society, Director – pacificIT.org Rajnesh is Chief Operating Officer at PATARA, a leading technology vendor in the Pacific, and is the current Chairman of the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society. He is an engineer and an entrepreneur with a wide technical background and management experience across many sectors. He graduated in Communications Systems Engineering with Honours and Automation & Control Systems Engineering. He has designed and deployed numerous Wireless and Wired networks in the Pacific Islands and consulted on Communications & Power Infrastructure, Project Management and Business Strategy for medium to large companies and organisations. He is a Member of the Institute of Engineers, Australia, IEEE, an active Member of the Balloting Group, IEEE Standards Association and holds numerous advisory roles across multiple sectors. He has also served on the South Pacific Games (SPG) Suva 2003 Organising Committee and was Project Manager IT for SPG 2003. His current areas of interest are practical ICT Policy in Developing and Emerging Markets, Internet evolution, Standards, and effective Business Strategies. Rajnesh speaks multiple languages and has a strong interest in sports. He is also President of the IPv6 Forum Pacific Islands and Director of the Pacific Internet Technology Centre (pacificIT.org).
Moderator		Jovan Kurbalija	Director - Diplomacy University Jovan is the founding director of DiploFoundation?. His professional and academic background is in diplomacy, international law and ICT. In 1992 he left the Yugoslav diplomatic service and established the Unit for IT and Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta. Since 1994 Mr Kurbalija has been conceptualising and directing a course focussing on the impact of ICT/Internet on diplomacy. In 1999 this year-long course received academic accreditation from the University of Malta as a Postgraduate Diploma in ICT and Diplomacy. As part of this course, Mr Kurbalija designed and runs a negotiation simulation exercise on drafting an International Declaration on the Internet. More than 250 diplomats and civil servants, mainly from developing countries, have participated in Diplo’s courses. As well as lecturing for Diplo’s courses, Mr Kurbalija has lectured and delivered courses at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta, the Vienna Diplomatic Academy, the Dutch Institute of International Relations (Clingendael), the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, the UN Staff College, and Wilton Park, among others. Mr Kurbalija has published books, articles and book chapters, and edited books including: Internet Guide for Diplomats, Knowledge and Diplomacy, Influence on IT on Diplomatic Practice, Information Technology and Diplomatic Services of Developing Countries, Modern Diplomacy and Language and Diplomacy. The year, with E. Gelbstein and S. Baldi, he co-authored the Information Society Library, a set of nine booklets covering a variety of issues such as information security, online learning, Internet governance, and more. The Library was presented at the WSIS.
Panellists		Dr Vinton Cerf	Internet Pioneer, Chairman - ICANN, Chief Internet Evangelist - Google Dr Cerf is commonly referred to as one of the "founding fathers of the Internet" for his key technical and managerial role in the creation of the Internet and the TCP/IP protocols which it uses. He was also the founder (in 1992) of the Internet Society (ISOC), which is intended to both promote the views of ordinary users of the Internet, and also serve as an umbrella body for the technical groups developing the Internet (such as the Internet Engineering Task Force). He served as the first chair of the Internet Society. As Vice-President? of MCI Digital Information Services from 1982 to 1986, he led the engineering of MCI Mail, the first commercial email service to be connected to the Internet. Dr. Cerf is also working on the Interplanetary Internet, together with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It will be a new standard to communicate from planet to planet, using radio/laser communications that are highly tolerant to signal degradation, and is also Chairman of ICANN - the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the organisation which administers the Internet's Domain Name System.
		Bria McElroy?	Director of International Relations - Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT), University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) In her first three years with the organization, she led two of the Center’s major initiatives to attract more young women to the fields of information technology and engineering. The CWIT Scholars program offers scholarships to approximately 30 talented undergraduates per year in the fields of chemical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, information systems, and mechanical engineering. Much of the success of the Scholars program is due to the weekly activities and mentoring program she helped to develop. With a background in international relations, Bria focuses on the dissemination and implementation of CWIT’s many effective practices at the international level. She is providing leadership in the development of the newly formed International Taskforce on Women and ICT to create action to ensure women’s full participation and leadership in ICTs. The Taskforce is recognized by the UN Global Alliance for ICT for Development as a community of expertise on gender and ICTs. CWIT hosted the first International Symposium on Women and ICT in June 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland. In November 2006, CWIT will host the first formal Taskforce meeting at UNESCO in Paris, France.
		Keith Davidson	Executive Director – InternetNZ Keith is Executive Director of InternetNZ, and a former owner/manager of a regional ISP and has a background in accountancy. InternetNZ is a not for profit organisation which holds the delegation for the .nz domain name space. InternetNZ's vision is "an open and uncaptureable Internet for New Zealand".
		Gisa Fuatai Purcell	Manager ICT Secretariat, Government of Samoa Mrs. Gisa Fuatai Purcell, Director of the ICT Secretariat for the government of Samoa led the development of Samoa's national ICT strategy which was launched in March 2006. Gisa wears a few hats for the government of Samoa. She is the Director of ICT Secretariat, ICT Advisor to Government, and Secretary of the National ICT Committee. She has a Master of Commerce and Administration specialising in Information Systems. She is driving the implementation of Samoa's national ICT strategy. Gisa represented Samoa throughout the WSIS process 2002-2005 and was selected a member of the UN Task Force for financial mechanisms, member of the UN Gloabal Alliance Strategy Council, ICT Expert for WSA, and Advisor for the UNDP/APDIP among others. From May to July, Gisa worked as a UN fellow at the Secretariat of the IGF from May to July 2006. She is an expert in ICT for Development. Gisa is also a researcher and has published articles and book chapters, on ICT issues and development.
		Alexander Ntoko	Chief, E-strategies Unit, Policies, Strategies and Financing Department, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU Alex is Chief of the E-Strategies? Unit at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland. His main responsibility includes the execution of ITU’s Development mandate in the use of telecommunications and ICTs for social and economic development for countries world-wide.
		Mike Johnstone	CEO, SamoaTel Mike is the Chief Executive Officer for SamoaTel?, responsible for the operations of Telecommunications and Postal services in Samoa. Prior to joining SamoaTel? in 2004, Mike has spent over 25 years in the Telecommunications industry, where he has held various executive positions in Australia, New Zealand and USA. These roles have included Managing Director for AT&T New Zealand, Managing Director for AT&T South Asia, Executive development program in the USA managing AT&T’s domestic access market and Head of Sales for Telstra Wholesale (Australia) responsible for customers that ranged from start venture companies to full Telco carriers. Mike has lived in five countries travelled extensively, has a MBA and is currently a Board member of SamoaTel?. Spare time interests include fishing, squash and riding his motorbike.
		Scott Phipps	International Relations Manager – VIA Technologies As the International Relations Manager for VIA Technologies Clean Computing and pc-1 initiatives, Scott Phipps is focused upon two fundamental international development issues: effectively bridging the global digital divide and; fostering renewable energy sources. With a career spent predominantly in the public, international and academic sectors the move into the private sector is a new endeavor for Scott, who is also working to better integrate the skill sets of all sectors (public, private, civil society, IO and academic), as well as humanize the private sector and further corporate responsibility. Scott's academic background includes an Honours BA in international politics from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, a Masters of Science degree in Communications and Development from the London School of Economics, London, England and plans to complete a Ph.D. in Faith and Conflict studies that he has been carrying out over the years.
Format
7 mins	Introduction to workshop theme and speakers
56 mins	Speakers (7 mins each)
20 mins	Q&A
5 mins	Summary
2 mins	Closing Comments
Background & Useful Links
This workshop is one of the outcomes of the Pacific Islands Internet (PacINET http://www.picisoc.org/tiki-index.php?page=PacInet) 2006 conference that was held in Samoa recently. The workshop aims to highlight “access and openness” issues in small island developing states (SIDS) and developing economies/states, and stimulate discussion on practical strategies for using ICT as a tool to achieve MDGs. This workshop is designed to create a synergy between various stakeholders where the availability of sustainable and affordable solutions can contribute significantly to ICT development in developing economies/states and to create awareness and understanding of the challenges in making such solutions available. The workshop aims to explore alternatives, and identify ways to eliminate relevant barriers, so that opportunities for new applications, especially in the field of broadband data services can be made available. The stakeholders taking part in this workshop have been selected because they have background/experience or have proven methods or solutions that they can provide to help SIDS and developing economies in any part of the world. The workshop focuses both on the communication costs, hardware aspects of distributed Internet access, especially to rural areas, and the utilisation of online learning as well as the development of online applications.
Pacific Islands Chapter, Internet Society
The Pacific Plan
Pacific Islands Digital Strategy
ICT Policy and Strategic Plan, Government of Samoa
Pacific Internet Technology Centre
IPv6 Forum Pacific Islands
PATARA
Diplomacy University
ICANN
Google
CWIT
AfriNIC
SamoaTel
Motech
VIA