Industry Canada Industrie Canada The DOT Force Agenda - A G8 Focus on Africa - Building e-governance capacity in African countries Richard Bourassa Director, International Policy Electronic Commerce Branch Industry Canada October 28, 2002 Johannesburg
G8 Summit - Kananaskis, Canada June 26-27, 2002 Key Summit Priorities Economic Development Security Africa Response to NEPAD the G8 Africa Action Plan 2
ICTs as a priority African African leaders leaders have have made made ICTs ICTs aa top top priority priority in in the the NEPAD NEPAD my country has recently adopted its national ICT policy, because we clearly see that ICTs have become an indispensable lever for a country s development. In today s world, it is the ability to efficiently and effectively use ICTs that plays an increasingly important role for a country s relevance and competitiveness in the global economy. Prime Minister of Mozambique - His Excellency Dr. Pascoal Mocumbi Italy, April, 11, 2002 G8 focus on ICTs: Okinawa Charter 2000 DOT Force 2001 2002 33
Background on DOT Force Initiative to bridge the digital divide seen as a key element of global efforts to reduce poverty. Dynamic and productive partnership among industrialized and developing countries, public and private sectors, civil society and international organizations. Report endorsed at Genoa Summit (2001) including a nine point Plan of Action; G8 Leaders encouraged development of concrete initiatives. Report Card presented to Leaders at Kananaskis Summit (June 2002) 4
Digital Opportunities for All The DOT Force Report Card Endorsement of the DOT Force Report Card Digital Opportunities for All by G8 Leaders Key initiatives included International e-development Resource Network (IeDRN) E-Government for Development initiative Global Digital Opportunity Initiative (GDOI) DOT Force Entrepreneurial Network (DFEN) Open Knowledge Network (OKN) Telecentre Infomediary/HelpDesk Project Community Access Centres Network Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA) Health InterNetwork... a response to NEPAD
Key Ingredients for Success A) Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Governments: provide supportive policy and regulatory environment; strategic investment Private Sector: innovation, risk taking, investment Civil Society: maximize social, civic and community potential B) Integrate Users in the Solution: demand-driven 6
Canadian Contributions G8 Africa Action Plan PM announced a contribution of $35 Million over three years to provide ICT expertise and help bridge the digital divide in Africa. The announcement includes three initiatives in support of the G8 Africa Action Plan and in the context of Canada s commitment to the DOT Force. 1. Canadian e-policy Resource Centre 2. Centre for Connectivity in Africa 3. Contribution to the Dot Force Entrepreneurship initiatives - ENABLIS 7
Future of the DOT Force Implementation of DOT Force agenda will continue through strategic linkages with UN ICT Task Force and other international organizations. Implementation teams will continue their work as autonomous teams and will share information through the formation of a DOT Force Implementation Network DOT Force initiatives will be rolled out 8
IeDRN project: Background DOT Force report, endorsed at Genoa Summit, identified need to help establish and support developing country and emerging economy national e-strategies. Final report to G8 Leaders in June 2002 (Kananaskis) lay foundation for establishing the International e-development Resource Network (IeDRN). IeDRN will provide regulatory, policy and strategy expertise, with participation from governments, international organizations, private and not-for-profit sectors. IeDRN partners and regional nodes will provide personal and institutional support; web communications; learning materials... 9
IeDRN goals, principles and priorities Provide developing countries with quality and affordable expertise in e-strategies. Products and services do not duplicate, but build upon those offered by stakeholders. IeDRN portfolio will focus on products and services oriented towards capacity building in developing countries. Overall goal: global network of nodes in each of the developing regions, that will offer learning solutions based on well-established publications and other knowledge products. Design, governance and operation of IeDRN will be based on partnerships among governments, international organizations, private sector and civil society. Three main categories of participants: donors and sponsors; direct partners; clients. 10
IeDRN Partnership Model Partners National governments (Canada; Ireland; Italy; Japan ) International Organizations (UNDP, ITU, OEC ) Private sector Civil society (Markle Foundation ) African Node -UN ECA ITU Dakar DEC ITU Nairobi Asian Node DCE Other Regional Nodes DCE DCE: Domestic Centres of Expertise Recipients National Governments and Agencies 11
Roles and commitments of core initial partners Japan: web site will offer information products on ICT policies and development assistance services; web site to become Asian node for IeDRN Italy: E-Government for Development initiative Canada: E-Policy Resource Centre for Africa UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA): setting up regional African node Markle Foundation/UNDP: Global Digital Opportunity Initiative (GDOI) Other countries and organizations: Ireland; UK/DFID; OECD; CTO; Francophonie 12
Action Plan: a four-phase integrated approach Phase 1 - Nov. 2002-Feb 2003: Commitments from a core group of donors and sponsors Phase 2 - Nov. 2002-April 2003: Design and development: key deliverables will be establishment of governance structure and communications/marketing plan; initial pilot in place Phase 3 - April-September 2003: Launch of IeDRN 1.0 - public announcement at high-profile event, e.g. WSIS, Geneva, Dec. 2003 Phase 4 - Oct. 2003-Oct. 2005: Incubation through progressive transfer of capacity to manage and operate IeDRN to developing country stakeholders; continuing enrichment of IeDRN. Hand-off to developing countries at second phase of WSIS, Tunisia in 2005. 13
Thank you.