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A
3-day training workshop on Information Society issues and
hands-on ICT skills development is underway for SADC ambassadors
at ECA’s Southern Africa Regional Office in Lusaka.
The programme aims to introduce the ambassadors to the overall
African Information Society Initiative (AISI) framework and
the activities underway in the southern Africa region with
respect to ICT for accelerated socio-economic development.
One concrete aspect of the training is that the diplomats
will also gain important skills to utilize ICT in their day-to-day
activities as well as participate in global ICT discussions.
The programme is jointly organized by SRO-SA and ISTD under
the auspices of the Global ePolicy-Resource Network (ePol-NET),
led by Canada.
In her welcoming message, the director of ECA’s Southern
Africa Regional Office, Ms. Jennifer Kargbo, stressed the
great value ECA places on the critical role ambassadors play
in promoting Africa’s development as an integral part
of their diplomatic functions. She also indicated that engaging
ambassadors in this setting is in line with the current reforms
ECA has embarked on so as to be more effective in its service
delivery to the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and member
States.
H.E. George Mwanjabala, High Commissioner of Tanzania, appreciated
the efforts made by ECA through its sub-regional office in
Lusaka and said that “this will certainly increase our
awareness on the importance of the Information Society and
exploit the opportunities offered by ICTs to assist development
efforts in our respective countries.”
The Canadian High Commissioner to Zambia, H.E. John Deyell
recalled the creation of the Canada Fund for Africa in June
2002 during the Kananaskis G-8 Summit. He said that ePol-Net
was one of the components supported by the Fund as technical
assistance to policy-makers, including advice on ICT policies,
strategies, and regulations in areas such as e-commerce, e-government,
telecommunications, and Internet governance. He added that
he was happy to see how ePol-Net activities were being realized
on the ground, such as building the capacity of SADC ambassadors
on ICT issues.
Most of the ambassadors underscored the importance of this
training. H.E. Dr. Chrissie Chawanje Mughogho, Malawi's High Commissioner,
described it as "a very important initiative and an eye
opener for us". "I will also suggest that ECA should
expand this initiative and find a way to address our parliaments
in our respective countries from time to time on this issue
for greater impact,” She said.
For More Information contact: Ms Jennifer Kargbo, Director,
SRO-SA
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