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Panels/Workshops:
12
December
Emerging
People Plenary New Jobs and Employment Opportunities
ICT
and the advent of the knowledge economy have led to knowledge-intensive
activities in production and services based on technical and
scientific advances. The distinguishing feature is that the
key component of a knowledge economy is greater reliance on
intellectual capabilities compared to physical inputs or natural
resources. Do countries have the necessary education and skilled
people who can use knowledge to innovate and create economic
value? Are dynamic information infrastructures prevailing
to facilitate effective communication, dissemination and processing
of information? Are incentives in place to encourage efficient
use of existing and new knowledge, and to enable entrepreneurship
to flourish? To what extent is employment created by ICT and
knowledge? This panel will provide evidence and explore ways
in which new ICT industries, skills and competencies generate
entrepreneurial capacities, employment opportunities, as well
as new social and economic issues and challenges. This session
addressed the following key questions:· How are new
employment opportunities being created in different parts
of the world? What future trends can be deduced from existing
data? · What is the nature of these new emerging jobs:
in what specific sectors, and what are the requisite skills
for these new jobs?· What strategies are governments
and the private sector using to harness these opportunities
for citizens?· How does this affect national economic
growth issues and tackle migration challenges from the South
to the North?
Panellists:Nadia
H. Hegazy, Minister Advisor, Ministry of Communication and
IT, Egypt; Jyrki Pulkkinen, Senior Advisor, Information Society
for Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland; Paulo
Tigre, Professor of Industrial Economics, Federal University
of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil; Pamela Passman, Corporate
Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Corporation;
Duncan Campbell, Director, ILO Economic and Labour Market
Analysis Department, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Moderator:Walter
Fust, Chair of the Global Knowledge Partnership Executive
Committee and Director-General, Swiss Agency for Development
and Cooperation
Emerging
People WorkshopBuilding Knowledge Societies, What Makes the
Difference? People or Policies in Africa?
The
ICT sector is currently witnessing unprecedented growth and
impacting every layer of society. The emergence of the knowledge
society is also underpinned by strong science and technology
base. This session focuses on the key characteristics of the
information and knowledge society in Africa, examining how
people can be empowered in this kind of society. Policies,
although relevant, are to a large extent, dependent on people.
Panellists will show the need for a holistic approach and
new strategies for empowering people, particularly rural communities
in Africa, by examining key trends, as well as the mainstreaming
of ICT in poverty reduction and in people?s livelihoods. This
workshop addressed the following key questions:· What
are the key features of the knowledge and information Society
in Africa?· Can knowledge and information transform
African societies? If so how?· What will make the difference?
People or Policies?· How can people be empowered in
the Information and Knowledge societies?
Panellists:Declan
Kirrane, Founder and Managing Director, Intelligence in Science;
Yam Nyarko, Professor, New York University; Hyeun-Suk Rhee,
Director, United Nations ESCAP - Asian and Pacific Training
Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development
(UN-APCICT)
Moderator:
Aida Opoku-Mensah, Director, ICTs and Science and Technology
Division (ISTD), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(ECA)
Cross-Cutting
Plenary Visions of the Future
This
session revealed key trends in the interplay of people, markets
and technologies. A panel of futurists, analysts and decision
makers shared their visions of the future and the impact on
the world. How will Web 2.0, networked innovation, social
networking as well as new ways of learning and creativity
shape globalisation in the next decade?
Panellists:Aida
Opoku-Mensah, Director, ICTs and Science and Technology Division
(ISTD), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA);
Abdul Waheed Khan, Assistant Director-General for Communication
and Information, UNESCO; Ged Davis, Co-President of Global
Energy Assessment, Futurist, Former Managing Director, World
Economic Forum
13
December
Emerging
Markets SessionRural Societies, Technologies and Languages
in Africa
One
formidable obstacle to ICT diffusion is language. In 2005,
only 20% of all Web sites in the world were in languages other
than English, and most of these were in Japanese, German,
French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese. Less than ten percent
of people in larger regions of Africa are English-literate
while the rest, more than two billion, speak languages that
are sparsely represented on the Web. As a result, the many
people in these regions have little use for computers, and
in turn, have little means to drive market demands for computer
applications in their language. This session tackled the difficulties
associated with access to ICT as a result of limitation of
language. Panellists demonstrated how African research universities
are working on various techniques to promote greater access
to and usage of ICT, including developing prototypes, and
explore potential technologies that can be adapted for rural
communities in Africa such as mobile commerce (m-commerce).
Panellists:
John Dada, Director Fantsuam Foundation, Nigeria; Nafissatou
Mbodj, Executie Director, Schoolnet Africa, Senegal; Adama
Samassekou, Executie Secretary, ACALAN, Mali and President
of MAAYA - the World Network for Linguistic Diversity; Mouhamet
Diop, CEO, NEXT/ Khewal, Senegal; Adel Elzah , IDRC- Cairo-Egypt
Moderator:
Aida Opoku-Mensah, Director, ICT and Science & Technology
Division (ISTD), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Emerging
People Session e-Agriculture - Continuing Dialogue to Action
This
session combines a moderated panel discussion, with key presentations
to provide background on previous work in e-Agriculture. Key
issues to be raised for consideration are the unique factors
related to enhancing sustainable agricultural development
and food security by improving the use of information, communication,
and associated technologies in the sector. This session will
address the following key questions:· What is the policy
dimension of e-Agriculture today, and how might this change
in the future? · Where are the limitations in the use
of ICT in rural development? · What are the biggest
constraints to the expansion of e-Agriculture? · How
can organisations join forces in an economically smart way
to increase working capacities and efficiency?
Panellists:M.S.
Swaminathan, Founder and Chairman, MS Swaminathan Research
Foundation Aida Opoku-Mensah, Director, ICT and Science &
Technology Division (ISTD), United Nations Economic Commission
for AfricaAnton Mangstl, Director, Knowledge Exchange and
Capacity Building Division (KCE), Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations Manish Pandey, Deputy General Manager,
KATALYSTMatt Keller, Director for Europe, Middle East and
Africa, One Laptop Per Child
Moderator:Anriette
Esterhuysen, Executive Director, Association for Progressive
Communications
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2007
AISI-GKP Media Awards:
16
December 2007 
