TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION CAN HELP EXPAND EDUCATION FOR ALL – UN OFFICIAL

Making use of the latest information and communication technology (ICT) and innovation can help countries expand educational opportunities for all in a way that also advances development, a senior United Nations official said today.

"Technology and innovation are keys to accelerating progress towards the ;MDGs, particularly in countries that are falling behind," Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs told the Global Forum on ICT and innovation for Education, referring to the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

The latest update on the MDGs shows that progress has so far been mixed, he noted at the event in the Mexican city of Monterrey.

With some six years remaining before 2015, some goals are on target. For example, enrolment in primary education has risen from 83 per cent in 2000 to 88 per cent in 2007, and child mortality is steadily decreasing.

At the same time, the current global downturn risks reversing some of the positive trends, he added, noting that an estimated 55 to 90 million more people will fall below the poverty line.

"Education is the foundation of a modern and thriving economy," Mr. Sha stated. "It empowers poor and marginalized communities and enables them to contribute to economic and social development.

"ICT and innovation can open up new opportunities for both expanding the reach and improving the quality of education in developing regions, by providing practical and enabling solutions to current problems."

He said the advent of universally accessible information, the rapid development of next generation networks and multi-lingual software, low-cost hardware, new mobile platforms and other innovations "all present a real opportunity to developing countries to employ ICT to lift the quality of education and make it universally accessible."

The key to putting ICT to use in schools and colleges – where the main obstacles are the high cost of connectivity and computers and the lack of qualified teachers – is affordable connectivity, low-cost computing devices and applications that can be used for education and other services, he said, adding that training of instructors should go hand in hand with advances in access and connectivity.
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NEW UN PARTNERSHIP SEEKS TO BOOST INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ARAB REGION

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has teamed up with a Jordanian-based business services company to promote information and communication technology (ICT) to support education, science and culture in the Arab region.

The agreement signed today in Paris between UNESCO and the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org) seeks to increase access to and measure the use of ICT in different sectors of society, enhance teacher training, and promote multilingualism and internationalized Internet Domain Names.

"UNESCO relies upon and welcomes partners such as TAG-Org to realize the vision of knowledge societies," stated Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO.

The agency and TAG-Org are planning to create a knowledge society portal on which data in Arabic and English on the state of Arab countries on ICT in education, science, culture, communication and commerce – collected through digital surveys, digital reporting, and digital resources – will be made available.

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Founder and Chairman of TAG-Org, said availability of such data will assist local governments, institutions, and international organizations to understand gaps in ICT and to take a leading role in developing ICT infrastructure and building ICT capacity.

Under the new agreement, UNESCO and TAG-Org will develop an immediate action plan for that project, prepare a strategy to enhance multilingualism and Internet Domain Names in the Arabic script, and work together to increase the availability of Arabic content on the Internet, among other things.
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SENIOR IRAQI JUDGES COMPLETE UN-BACKED STUDY PROGRAMME TO SINGAPORE

High-ranking members of Iraq's judicial system today wrapped up a United Nations-organized visit to Singapore aimed at studying the country's use of technology for the administration of justice.

A 17-member delegation of senior judges learned about the benefits of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) installed in the Singapore Judiciary and its possible applications to Iraq through the study visit arranged by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Participants in the 11-day study programme, led by the Chief Justice for Iraq's Federal Supreme Court, visited Singapore's Supreme and Subordinate Courts, the Singapore Academy of Law, the Law Society of Singapore as well as CrimsonLogic, the company which developed Singapore Courts' Electronic Filing System (EFS), widely considered one of the most advanced of its kind.

The study visit is part of the UNDP--Iraq project to support rule of law and justice development in the war-torn country. The European Commission funded project aims to modernize two pilot courts in Erbil and Basra using computerized case management systems.
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BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS CRITICAL CATALYST TO ASIA-PACIFIC DEVELOPMENT – UN FORUM

The importance of speedy Internet access to stimulate economic growth across Asia and the Pacific was underlined by participants of a regional United Nations information and communications technology (ICT) gathering that wrapped up in Indonesia today.

Policy-makers, regulators, academics and the private sector representatives attending the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU) forum stressed the importance of broadband internet access in leveling the economic playing field for the region, as well as the necessity of global collaboration to ensure the widest possible availability of future services to all users.

"This Asia-Pacific Regional Development Forum underlines the role of broadband as a catalyst for bridging the digital divide and for turning the challenges of today's economic crisis into new opportunities," said Sami Al-Basheer, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT).

"Broadband access, through both fixed and wireless infrastructures, will clearly be one of the key focus areas for ICT development in this fast-moving region," Mr. Al-Basheer told the three-day meeting in Yogyakarta.

ITU Regional Development Forum (RDF) heard that although Japan and the Republic of Korea have broadband penetration rates of 32 per cent and 23 per cent respectively, less developed nations within the region are still struggling to provide basic telephone and Internet access, with less than 1 per cent of the population in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar using the Internet.

ITU organized the Asia-Pacific RDF, which attracted 105 participants from 17 countries, in close collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and the Special Province Area of Yogyakarta.
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