To increase its efforts to promote the use of ICT for development and to enhance awareness of governments and other stakeholders about key applications and uses of ICT, UNDESA through DPADM and UNDESA-GAID are organizing a series of regional roundtables on the "Use of ICT for Reaching the MDGs". The roundtables will provide higher visibility and support to the initiatives of UNDESA-GAID and help build an ICT for MDGs knowledge Matrix and Global Knowledge Base.

The roundtable taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 14-15 December 2009 will be organized in close collaboration with the Regional Commission for Africa, the African Union, the GAID Regional Network in Africa, and other relevant partners from the public and private sectors.

Contact: Enrica Murmura at murmura@un.org

The fourth annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), organized by DESA through DPADM, will be held from 15 to 18 November 2009 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The overall theme of the meeting is Internet Governance - Creating Opportunities for All. The theme reflects the basic purpose of the IGF to develop a common understanding of how to maximize the opportunities the Internet provides, and how to address the risks and challenges, while also raising awareness of the development dimension of Internet Governance.

There are six items on the agenda: (1) managing critical Internet resources; (2) security, openness and privacy; (3) access and diversity; (4) Internet governance in light of WSIS principles; (5) desirability of the continuation of the Forum; and (6) impact of social networks.

Contact information: Wai Min Kwok at kwok@un.org