June 2015

1. DPADM Participates at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s new Global Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Entrepreneurship Initiative

On 28 May 2015, DPADM participated through videoconference, in a consultative meeting on ITU’s new global ICT entrepreneurship initiative called “E>merge - scaling Information Technology entrepreneurship for social impact” held at the WSIS Forum 2015 in Geneva.  The meeting was opened by Mr. Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General, who explained that this new initiative aims to provide a global platform to bring together ICT Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs and other key actors to help SME development and address unemployment challenges, particularly for the youth. Some 30 officials and experts from Member States, non-governmental organizations, UN system agencies and the private sector participated in the launch of this initiative. ITU will analyze the feedback received and share possible follow-up actions, as well as updated documents from the meeting for further exchanges.

2. DPADM Assists in Stocktaking Session, First Preparatory Meeting and Stakeholder Consultations in Preparation for General Assembly High Level Meeting on the Ten Year Review of the Outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10)

On 1 June, the President of the General Assembly appointed H.E. Mr. Janis Maieiks, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the United Nations, and H.E. Mrs. Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of United Arab Emirates to the United Nations as co-facilitators to lead an intergovernmental negotiation process, which will include preparatory meetings, resulting in an outcome document for adoption at the high-level meeting of the General Assembly for WSIS+10 Review.  By the General Assembly modalities resolution (68/302), the report of the recent 18th session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) is to provide a basis, along with submissions of Member States and other relevant inputs, for the intergovernmental negotiations on the outcome document.  The co-facilitators decided to undertake the first stock taking event on 10 and 11 June, as initially scheduled by the OPGA. During that first stocktaking event, the overall process focused on the negotiation process leading up to the high-level meeting that is planned to be convened at the highest possible level in December 2015. At that meeting, an overview of the WSIS process to-date was presented, and delegations had the opportunity to provide their views on the proposed road map of the overall review. Reports by UN agencies - ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD - were presented on various WSIS+10 reviews that took place. The hosts of the 2003 and 2005 WSIS summits, Switzerland and Tunisia respectively provided an overview of the previous summits. DPADM also assisted the co-facilitators and the OPGA in organizing two meetings:  the First Preparatory Meeting on 1 July 2015 by the co-facilitators, as well as the Informal Interactive Consultation Meeting with registered relevant WSIS stakeholders on 2 July 2015, organized by the OPGA.  The meeting on 1 July, organized by the Co-facilitators, provided a timely opportunity for Member and Observer States to express their views on and inputs for the review process, including issues that need to be addressed. Representatives of UNCTAD, ITU and UNESCO served as resource persons. On 2 July, the President of the 69th session of the General Assembly convened an informal interactive WSIS consultation with all relevant stakeholders. This hearing served as an opportunity for the different stakeholder groups to exchange views on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the WSIS. For more information, please visit: http://unpan3.un.org/wsis10/.
Throughout July and August, the Division will provide support in setting up a system for the co-facilitators to receive, publish and analyze submissions for the creation of the Non-Paper and Zero Draft of the Outcome document.   The WSIS process and its outcome documents are considered cornerstones of international deliberations on the role of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) for development. The two-stage WSIS took place in 2003 (the Geneva phase) and 2005 (the Tunis phase). The meeting was convened due to “an urgent need to harness the potential of knowledge and technology for promoting the goals of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.” As WSIS marks its 10th anniversary this year, the UN General Assembly started an evaluation process to review its overall progress of implementation of outcomes. For more information on the WSIS overall review process and on the relevant events please visit the official WSIS+10 site: http://unpan3.un.org/wsis10/.

3. DPADM Organizes Expert Group Meeting Entitled “Advancing a Sustainable Information Society for All”

From 8 to 9 June, DPADM in cooperation with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) organized an expert group meeting entitled “Advancing a Sustainable Information Society for All” in New York. The meeting brought together international experts to discuss ICT-related issues in the context of two important intergovernmental negotiations: the emerging post-2015 sustainable development agenda and the General Assembly’s Overall Review of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), commonly known as WSIS+10, to take place in December 2015. Mr. Lenni Montiel, ASG for Economic Development opened and moderated the opening session. Two co-facilitators of the WSIS+10 overall review process, H.E. Mr. Jānis Mažeiks, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the UN and  H.E. Mr. Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, Permanent Representatives of the United Arab Emirates to the UN, delivered remarks particularly on the overall review process. Also present at the meeting were UN agencies, civil society representatives, private sector and UN Member States totaling more than 60 participants. All documents about the meeting including the report will be made available at: http://unpan3.un.org/wsis10/egm.

4.  Meeting with Eastern European Leaders in Government and Civil Society

On 16 June, DPADM met with ten Eastern European leaders in government and civil society from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania and Slovakia, who were invited under the auspices of the US Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).  At the request of the U.S. Department of State, DPADM discussed with the participants the role of International Organizations (IO) in promoting open government data and the involvement of citizens in the decision-making process to address development policy issues. Brief presentations were delivered on DPADM's work in advancing open government data for sustainable development and promoting e-participation for citizen engagement.  

5. 2015 United Nations Public Service Forum Awards Day Ceremony and Workshops on Capacity Development and “E-Government as a Driving Force for Institutional Integration for Sustainable Development”  

On 26 June, 22 institutions from 18 countries received awards from the United Nations for providing innovative public services during the occasion of the UN Public Service Forum Award Ceremony held in Medellin, Colombia under the theme “Innovating service delivery to implement the post-2015 development agenda”. The Forum was opened on 23 June to mark UN Public Service Day and concluded on 26 June, culminating in the official ceremony awarding the winners. The Forum aims to promote international and regional cooperation by providing government officials and other stakeholders an opportunity to exchange good practices, experiences and lessons learned through networking.  It also helps to build the capacity of governments, particularly in developing and Least Developed Countries (LCDs), to anticipate and respond in innovative ways to the challenges posed by the implementation of the new development agenda. An estimated 600 participants from 64 countries including 17 ministers attended the Forum this year. There were plenary sessions, parallel capacity development workshops, other events that include an Expert Group Meeting, exhibitions and study visits. The Forum and Awards was hosted by the Government Colombia and organized by the UNDESA, in collaboration with UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Concomitantly, DPADM organized a capacity development workshop titled “Internet Governance for Innovation and Sustainable Development from 24 to 25 June.  It was attended by Internet governance stakeholders from Latin America, Asia and Africa and aimed to strengthen the capacities of government officials and other relevant stakeholders in understanding, participating and utilizing the global internet governance ecosystem in pursuit of the post-2015 development agenda. Another Workshop on e-Government was also in progress from 23 to 26 June on institutional integration, a key pre-condition to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.  That Workshop was opened by the Vice-Minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) of Colombia and focused on a conceptual framework of e-Government for Sustainable Development: with emphasis on e-Strategies, institutional frameworks, legal and regulatory frameworks, interoperability, partnerships, as well as regional and international cooperation.  It concluded with a set of recommendations on e-Government implementation, which were presented in the plenary session of the last day of the Forum.  

6. DPADM Hosts a Delegation from the National Information Society Agency (NIA)

On 29 June, DPADM hosted an NIA delegation of the Republic of Korea, represented byMr. Seok-Hyun SONG, Director and Mr. Yong-Suk LEE, Executive Principal at the Open Data Planning Department, Open Data Center. During the meeting, a number of topics related to potential use of open (government) data (OGD) for the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the post-2015 agenda were discussed. At the request of the  Korean delegation, DPADM briefed about the discussions on open data in the context of "data revolution" during an expert group meeting preceding the GA's WSIS review process, as well as an overview of OGD assessment methodology of the UN E-Government survey.