Read the latest UNPAN Newsletter.

The mission of the United Nations Public Administration Network (UNPAN) is to promote the sharing of knowledge, experiences and best practices throughout the world in sound public policies, effective public administration and efficient civil services, through capacity-building and cooperation among the United Nations Member States, with emphasis on south-south cooperation and UNPAN's commitment to integrity and excellence.

This study trip will take place in Paris from 4-5 December 2008.

A guide to the mindset needed to perform competent knowledge work.

At present, we live in the era of knowledge and technological advances. Research laboratories and institutions are on the increase across the world, either to deepen existing knowledge or discover new ones. There is increasing talk about knowledge economy, knowledge management and even knowledge-based development. Those who understood this reality and invested in knowledge are drawing obvious benefits therefrom.

In front of this reality, isn’t it high time for African countries, in particular research and training institutions in the public and private sector, to examine in-depth and objectively this phenomenon and learn lessons for the Continent’s development ? In other words, how could knowledge in various priority development fields influence economic and social development in African countries ?

This meeting will also be an opportunity to examine, in the light of what is done elsewhere, how to encourage, support and promote the creation, effective management, preservation, dissemination and good use of knowledge to sustain the current development efforts in the Continent.

The conference will draw together officials, researchers and trainers from research and training institutions across the Continent, including international institutions interested in the topic.

Venue : To be determined
Date : September 2008
Duration : 3 days
Languages : French and English.

Please visit http://www.cafrad.org/ for more information.

It’s my privilege to announce the publication of Governance Asia-Pacific Watch, July 2008, Issue 80, faithfully compiled by RCOCI working unit which consists of, among others, UNPAN-AP Editorial Department, and Shanghai JGC Network Technology Co., Ltd.

The idea of creating a monthly e-journal to cover public administration news in the Asia-Pacific region went back seven years ago when I assumed the responsibility of being Chief Editor for RCOCI in late 2001. Following the example of Governance World Watch, leaning from ASPA, CLAD, EROPA, etc., and thanks to the advice of Chief Haiyan Qian and the support of New York staff as well, we boldly kicked off a trial issue by the end of 2001. It was an immediate success as we expected! In reflection, I believe, the reason is as simple as one phrase—“demand-driven.”

Now, Governance Asia-Pacific Watch enjoys a large audience, and frequents the list of “Top 50” most clicked UNPAN documents. It has accompanied as well as benifited from the steady growth of UNPAN, and become one of the flagship series of RCOCI. Needless to say it will keep growing up, and I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all those for their support, concern and feedback.

Wang Jianhhua
Chief Editor, UNPAN-RCOCI
Professor, Institute of Information, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, China 

The Information Society Portal for the ESCWA Region (ISPER) is a flagship web portal application, developed and maintained by the Information and Communication Technology Division (ICTD) of UN-ESCWA, within the framework of follow-up activities to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). This dynamic, bilingual (English/Arabic), database-driven, open-source application provides stakeholders with a unique entry point to essential information on the current status of the information society in the region and facilitates cooperation and regional integration opportunities in order to promote the building of a regional knowledge-based economy.