Expert Meeting in Support of the Implementation and Follow-up of WSIS:
Using ICTs to Achieve Growth and Development
Geneva, 4 - 5 December 2006

 

The main objective of this event is to provide a discussion forum for Government representatives, experts, business people and academia on the potential of harnessing ICTs for economic and social development. During this two-day event experts will examine the latest empirical evidence on the way ICTs impact on the productivity and growth of firms, industries and countries with a view to identify how developing countries can best benefit from the information economy. Additionally, the analysis of recent trends in trade in ICT-enabled goods and services, labour markets and employment in the ICT sector, including outsourcing and offshoring to developing countries will help experts in formulating their future ICT strategies.

---

The Expert Meeting in Support of the Implementation and Follow-up of WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society): Using ICTs (information and communication technologies) to Achieve Growth and Development, convened in accordance with the decision taken by the Commission on Enterprise, Business Facilitation and Development at its tenth session, will be held from 4 to 5 December 2006. The Meeting will open at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, at 10 a.m. on Monday, 4 December 2006, and is being organized jointly by UNCTAD, ILO and OECD.

Background and purpose of the Meeting

Research findings confirm that ICTs contribute positively to economic growth in both developing and developed countries. They boost productivity by improving efficiency of individuals, firms, sectors and the economy as a whole. ICT use can also generate positive effects in the economy through learning-by-doing, transfers of know-how and increased transparency. However, greater participation in the information economy, particularly by women, is needed for the full potential of ICTs to be achieved. Each social category excluded from the information economy represents the waste of an important development input.

In developing countries, ICT adoption creates unprecedented opportunities for industries and businesses to overcome the constraints posed by limited access to resources and markets. Better access to trade finance and e-finance could be achieved through improved ICT solutions for credit and e-credit information structures. This would help SMEs in particular, as they face additional constraints of lower growth potential and higher uncertainty.

ICTs also facilitate trade and therefore result in new international business opportunities, particularly for developing countries. Along with more trade, there is also more outsourcing and foreign investment from developed countries ? and increasingly from developing countries as well ? to developing countries. Evidence shows that developing countries with better and more efficient ICT infrastructure attract more outsourcing and trade more.

ICTs are important factors in determining who works how, where and when, and they can be associated with employment growth in both developing and developed countries. However, the introduction of ICTs favours skilled workers and tends to overlook those working in rural areas, the poor, unskilled workers and women. Without intervention, the greater use of ICTs can increase existing social and economic divides. Gender balance and other social issues must be considered.

This Expert Meeting will bring together experts from both developed and developing countries, from international and regional bodies involved in using ICTs to achieve growth and development, and from civil society organizations. During the event, experts will learn, through experience-sharing and best practices, how to benefit the most from the opportunities offered by ICTs to achieve better economic and social development. They will analyse the process of designing and implementing effective ICT strategies and tools from a private and public perspective, based on partnerships among the stakeholders of the WSIS process.

Participation

Member States of UNCTAD are requested to nominate experts at an early date and not later than 17 November 2006. Experts, who will participate in the Meeting in their personal capacities, are expected to have proven expertise in the subject and may be selected from governmental and non-governmental organizations, private entities or academia. The Meeting may be of particular interest to government officials and representatives of the private sector dealing with ICT and e-business issues.

Specialized agencies and intergovernmental bodies wishing to participate in the Meeting, as well as non-governmental organizations in the general category and those in the special category wishing to participate as observers, are requested to inform the UNCTAD secretariat of the names of their representatives by 17 November 2006.

Financial assistance

Funds will be made available to finance the participation of a limited number of officially nominated experts from developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Governments requiring funding are therefore invited to explicitly request financing in their letters of nomination. The decision as to which experts should receive financing will be based on the principle of equitable geographical representation, needs of beneficiaries, in particular LDCs, and the expertise of the experts concerned, as well as the type and availability of funding in the Trust Fund for Financing the Participation of Experts at the time. Changes of nominated experts will be considered as new nominations.

Nominations with requests for financing should be received no later than 3 November 2006, and should be accompanied by the following information about the nominee:

• Curriculum vitae;
• Mailing address;
• Telephone and fax number;
• E-mail address; and
• Name of a contact person in the Permanent Mission in Geneva.

It should be noted in this connection that once the list of experts to be financed has been finalized, all travel arrangements will be made in accordance with United Nations rules and regulations, and only the least costly fare will be authorized.

These experts are required to prepare brief papers on issues they consider particularly important. The papers will be made available at the Meeting in the form and language in which they are received.

Background documents and contributed paper

The provisional agenda for the Meeting, together with the secretariat's annotations thereto, is being circulated as document TD/B/COM.3/EM.29/1. In order to facilitate discussion, the secretariat has prepared a background note, which will be circulated as TD/B/COM.3/EM.29/2. The documents and information will be available on the UNCTAD website www.unctad.org under the heading "Meetings". In addition, a more detailed analysis on the subject can be found in the Information Economy Report 2006 (UNCTAD/SDTE/ECB/2006/1), which will be made available to the participants and at www.unctad.org/ecommerce as of mid-November 2006.

All experts are encouraged to submit written contributions related to their country's experience on the subject under discussion. These papers will be made available to the Meeting in the form and language in which they are received.

Logistics

The Meeting will take place at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Palais des Nations. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in the six official languages of the United Nations.

Upon arrival, participants are requested, before entering the Palais des Nations, to collect their badge at the UN Security Service, Pregny Gate entrance, 14 Avenue de la Paix. The Security Service is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Because of the security measures in force, participants are strongly advised to arrive before 9 a.m. in order to complete entry procedures in good time and proceed to the Meeting in the E-Building (Bâtiment E) of the Palais. Participants are requested to carry a passport or similar national identity card with them. Taxis are not allowed to enter the grounds of the Palais des Nations, and visitors will therefore be dropped off at the requested entrance gates. Furthermore, luggage may not be brought into the buildings unless the UN Security Service gives special clearance.

Further information and contact details

Nominations and related communications concerning representation at the Meeting should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat, Intergovernmental Affairs and Outreach Service, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10; fax: + 41(0) 22 917 0214; e-mail: correspondence@unctad.org.

Enquiries concerning substantive issues should be addressed to Ms. Diana Korka, Assistant Economic Affairs Officer, the ICT & E-Business branch (Division for Services Infrastructure for Development and Trade Efficiency); office E.7085, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10; tel: +41 (0) 22 917 5548, fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0052, e-mail: diana.korka@unctad.org.