Extending the Information Society to All: Enabling Environments, Investment and Innovation

Transcription

1 Extending the Information Society to All: Enabling Environments, Investment and Innovation An infodev Forum in the context of The World Summit on the Information Society Phase 2, Hannibal Room KRAM Exposition Center, Tunis November 17-18, 2005

2 About infodev The Information for Development Program (infodev) is an innovative global partnership of international development agencies focused on how information and communication technologies (ICT) can help to combat poverty and promote opportunity, empowerment and economic growth in developing countries. This partnership is coordinated and served by an expert Secretariat housed at the World Bank, one of infodev's principal donors and founders. For more information: The Information for Development Program (infodev) 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC USA Tel: Fax: Website: The infodev Forum at WSIS Tunis The infodev Forum at the Tunis Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society focuses on addressing some of the key challenges facing the international community in seeking to harness information and communication technologies (ICT) as tools of broad-based development, poverty reduction and opportunity for all. It will provide an opportunity for reflection on our experience with these issues in the past decade, the questions and challenges still remaining, and ways forward in addressing these issues and challenges. Each session of the Forum focuses on a key question facing the international community. A moderator will lead a semi-structured discussion among a small group of expert panelists, with significant audience participation. Sessions will seek to draw key lessons and messages, particularly about priorities for governments and international donors.

3 Thursday, November 17 Agenda (subject to final confirmation and amendment) 9:00-10:30 Opening Session Chair and Introduction of Speakers: Mohsen Khalil, Director, Global ICT Department, World Bank Group Welcoming Speech, Katherine Sierra, Chair, infodev Donors Committee And Vice President, Infrastructure, World Bank Welcoming Speech, H.E. Montasser Ouaili, Minister of Communications Technologies, Tunisia (to be confirmed) Welcoming Speech, Stefano Manservisi, Director General for Development Cooperation, European Commission Keynote Address, The Hon. Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal 11:00-12:30 Panel 1: Do ICTs Matter to the Poor? The international donor community, and developing countries, has paid a great deal of attention to ICT as tools of development in general. Yet it has often been left as an unspoken assumption that ICT will be "pro-poor", that they will serve to empower the poor economically and socially in those countries. This session will explore whether, and under what conditions, ICTs can have a "propoor" impact in developing countries, and how developing country governments and international donors can maximize the pro-poor dimensions of ICT interventions. Moderator: Kerry McNamara, infodev 1. Peter Smith, Assistant Director-General, Education, UNESCO 2. Caroline Nyamai-Kisia, AfriAfya, Kenya 3. Namrata Bali, Self-Employed Women's Association, India 4. David Woolnough, DFID 5. Elhaj Gley, Director General, La Poste Tunisienne

4 Thursday, November 17 15:00 16:30 Panel 2: Do National ICT Strategies Matter? A large number of developing countries have articulated national ICT strategies, often in cooperation with donor agencies and other partners. Many have experimented with a variety of institutional arrangements for implementing these strategies and integrating them into broader government strategies, policies, investments and programs. Yet the evidence of their effectiveness remains spotty. This panel will explore whether, and under what conditions, national ICT strategies are a useful and effective tool for maximizing the beneficial economic and social impacts of ICT. Moderator: Diane Coyle, Enlightenment Economics, London 1. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa 2. Eng. Albert Butare, Minister in Charge of Energy and Communications, Republic of Rwanda 3. Mme. Khédija Ghariani, Secretary of State, Ministry of Communication Technologies, Tunisia (to be confirmed) 4.. Hamadoun Toure, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

5 Thursday, November 17 17:00 18:30 Panel 3: Do Policy and Regulation Matter? (Session Organized in Cooperation with International Development Research Centre) In the ICT field, technologies, applications and business models are changing faster than ever before, creating growing challenges for policy makers and regulators in both developed and developing countries. In this context, the question arises as to whether government policies and regulations risk being as much a hindrance as a help to the innovation and entrepreneurship that drive the growing availability and diversity of ICT infrastructure, tools, applications and services. Furthermore, in the context of rapid technological change that empowers local innovation and requires particular responses to particular sets of challenges, the value of established "best practices" and standard approaches drawn from experience in other contexts becomes increasingly questionable. This panel will explore how complexity and rapid change in the ICT field affect traditional approaches to designing, implementing and sharing policy and regulatory practices. Moderator: William Melody, LIRNE.NET, Center for ICT, Technical University of Denmark 1. Muna Nijem, Chair, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Jordan 2. Eng. Alaa Fahmy, Executive President, National Telecom Regulatory Authority, Egypt 3. Jean-Michel Hubert, French Ambassador to WSIS 4. Ronaldo Balsinde, European Telecom Practice Leader, McKinsey & Co. 5. Rohan Samarajiva, Executive Director, LIRNE Asia 6. Donald Abelson, Director, International Department, Federal Communications Commisison, USA

6 Friday, November 18 9:00-10:30 Panel 4: Is Information Infrastructure a Public Good? Most forms of infrastructure are recognized as having a significant public-good component, and substantial public resources have been invested in infrastructure in both developed and developing countries. Yet in information and communication infrastructure there is an ongoing and intense debate about the appropriate scope and focus of public investment. It is widely acknowledged that private investment and innovation are core drivers of the growth of, and increasing variety of, information and communication infrastructure. Yet there is little consensus on the proper balance of public and private investment. Recent experience with local/municipal networks and open access models for backbone infrastructure has provided new fuel for this debate. And rapid change in technology and business models makes possible new approaches to this question that dismantles the key assumptions of the old debate. This panel will explore these issues and models, drawing both on recent experience with new approaches (e.g. municipal networks) and new models (e.g. Open Access) and on the impact of technological change on business models and on our understanding of the boundaries of public and private. Moderator: Russell Southwood, Balancing Act Africa 1. Dr. Khaled Ismail, Senior Advisor to the Minister for Technology Development, Egypt 2. Ousmane Sy, ICT Advisor, Office of the President, Senegal 3. Mark Cooper, Director of Research, Consumer Federation Of America, and Fellow, Center for Internet and Society, Stanford Law School 4. Meni Styliadou, Director, EU Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Corning Inc. 5. Pierre Guislain, Manager, ICT Policy Division, World Bank 6. Bengt Oberger, Senior ICT Advisor, Swedish International Development Agency

7 Friday, November 18 11:00-12:30 Panel 5: How can Local Innovation be Unleashed? Many of the most promising innovations to harness ICT as tools of economic growth and social empowerment which respond to the information and communication needs of the poor in developing countries are occurring at the local level in communities, in NGOs serving the poor, in the minds and hands of small-scale entrepreneurs and local solution providers. New technologies by making ICT applications and services more accessible and affordable at the local level, even in remote areas create new opportunities for local innovation. Yet these innovators face enormous challenges in taking their solutions to scale. Apart from their own resources and, in some locations, micro-finance loans, they have little access to capital, and particularly to growth capital after the earliest stages of their success. Regulatory burdens on small business creation are often enormous, and are sometimes compounded by corruption among the officials responsible for licensing new businesses. Affordable access to ICT hardware and software, and to telephony and data services, is often not available. And they often have little access to advice, mentoring and critical skills enhancement. Some already marginalized groups such as women face even greater hurdles in accessing financing, support networks and mentoring to start and grow businesses. This panel will explore how the international community, and developing countries, can more proactively and creatively support local ICT-enabled innovation. Moderator: Mohsen Khalil, Director, Global ICT Department, World Bank 1. H.K Mittal, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India 2. Rahul Patwardhan, CEO, IndiaCo 3. William Siu, Vice President & General Manager, INTEL Corp. 4. Mondher BenAyed, UTICA (Tunisia) 5. Namrata Bali, Self-Employed Women's Association, India Symposium Summary and Closing Remarks: Mostafa Terrab, Program Manager, infodev