DISD Annual Report of Activities, 1 July 1996 - 30 June 1997

Development Information Services Division

The subprogramme on harnessing information for development is being implemented by the new Development Information Services Division which has responsibilities over the subprogramme elements on:

(i) harnessing information technology for development: implementing African Information Society Initiative;

(ii) quality enhancement and dissemination of statistical data bases;

(iii) improving information access through enhanced library and documentation services and outputs; and

(iv) strengthening geo-information systems for sustainable development.

(a) Policy and research reports

During this period the sub-programme on harnessing information technology for development published two monographs of results of information management workshops held earlier and four research reports (case studies) on progress in using information technology in four African countries.

The first of the monographs on information management `Reader on Information Management Strategies for Africa's Development', deals with the lack of relevant data and information in African countries. Information to support Africa's public sector development planning, execution, and evaluation offers great competitive advantages in bilateral and international negotiations. The monograph is a compilation of experiences that have taken place in Africa. The second monograph, `Strategies for Human Resources Development for Information Management in Africa' discusses training manpower, continued education, and terminology and standardisation issues; it is also a compilation of practical experiences that have taken place throughout Africa.

The four case studies illustrate the impact of information technology on four separate African nations.

The first, entitled `Building Africa's information Highway: The Case of Mozambique' was prepared by the Telecommunications Foundation of Africa (TFA) for ECA (Economic Commission for Africa). The report highlights the difficulties in developing the `infostructure' (using electronic information for development) in a country that only recently emerged out of a protracted civil war, leaving it in a damaged state in all sectors of society.

`The Impact of Information Technology on Economic and Social Development in Senegal' focuses on the importance of a liberalised and modernised telecommunications structure with a lowering of operating tariffs. Also part of the Senegalese agenda is to provide controlled opportunities for operators, Senegalese or foreign, wishing to exploit the range of new technologies in Senegal.

`The Impact of Information Technology on Ethiopia' examines the problems Ethiopia faces on the road to developing an information technology infrastructure. The communication infrastructure is inadequate to cope with even the basic needs of the rural population - 85% of the country.

The fourth case study, with the title of `Empowering Socio-Economic Development in Africa, concerns Nigeria. Rapid urban growth there led telecommunications facilities to increase at a tremendous rate, but there is still inflexibility with manpower and spare parts due to the lack of standardisation of network equipment in Nigeria.

Several papers and background documents were prepared and submitted to the Ninth United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Africa (Nov. 1996) by the secretariat. The expected impact is to raise awareness of national institutions in member States and improve the information base for integrated decision-making. The papers addressed: follow up of actions referred to it by the Eighth Conference and on ECA's activities of interest to the region in the field of cartography, remote sensing and GIS; the roles of the private sector in geoinformation; the status of mapping coverage and programmes in Africa, the changing roles and mandates of African national institutions vis-a-vis the advent of new geo-information technologies; and basic conditions and guidelines for the establishment of national geographic information infrastructures.

Recurrent publications and technical materials prepared or under preparation include:

(i) Statistical Newsletter, 1996 and 1997

This output for 1997 has been merged with the Development Information Newsletter which will combine contributions from the different areas of DISD. Contributions from Statistics area and the Country Support Teams are being collected and will be ready by the last week of May.

(ii) African Statistical Yearbook, 1996 and 1997

This output is delivered in two (2) volumes and four (4) parts, presenting socio-economic indicators for each of the 53 African countries. The updating of data related to various sectors and each of the member States in currently under process.

(iii) Compendium of Intra-African and related Foreign Trade Statistics

The objective of this output is to present comprehensive foreign trade statistics for African countries. The target group/beneficiaries are planners, decision makers and research centres involved in trade analysis, and the promotion of subregional and regional cooperation and integration. Data collection and table compilation are under process and will continue till end of September.

(iv) Statistical Annex to the Survey of Economic and Social conditions in Africa

The English and French versions of the Statistical Annex to the Survey of Economic and Social Conditions in Africa, 1995-1996 were completed during the period. They will be reproduced and sent to the Economic and Social Policy Division as soon as possible.

(v) Directory of Statistical Data Processing Capacities and Databases in Africa

In compliance with CASD Data Processing Sub-Committee, this output provides a biennial inventory of the statistical data processing centres and databases in Africa. The objective is to facilitate the networking between the national data users and producers and to enable data exchange, sharing and integration. The updating of the existing database is under process. An updated questionnaire is being prepared to be sent to member States and African research centres and universities.

(vi) ECA-in-Print (Bibliography of ECA's publications)--both electronically and as a paper product

No action has been taken as yet, owing to lack of staff to undertake the task of data entry, etc....

(vii) Africa in figures

The objective of this output is to satisfy statistical data needs of users of African economic, demographic, social and environment statistics, as well as important basic facts which happened during the period under review. The next issue of this publication is due to be delivered in July 1997, with figures and estimates for 1996.

DISD also prepared ECA's first CD ROM of development information, consisting of ECA bibliographic development information databases, and databases from ECA-sponsored institutions and institutions which are members of the ECA-sponsored Standing Committee on the Harmonization and Standardization of Information Systems in Africa. This CD-ROM, which also includes full text documents, is believed to be the first CD-ROM of development information published in Africa.

Two issues of the PADIS newsletter were published, focusing on the World Wide Web at ECA and the African Information Society Initiative.

(b) Meetings, conferences, workshops, seminars

1. Regional workshop on Statistics on Services in the Informal Sector, 17-21 June 1996, at ECA headquarters

The meeting was organized jointly by ECA and the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA) to assist experts from ECA member States to identify the different components of the services sector, and improve the collection, processing and dissemination of data on services in the Informal Sector and dealing with associated problems.

2. Workshop on the implementation of the 1993 System of National Accounts (SNA) in African Countries, 14-18 October 1996, at ECA headquarters

The workshop was organized by ECA to assist African countries in developing a strategy for implementing the SNA.

3. Workshop on the implementation of the 1993 System of National Accounts (SNA) in North African countries

The workshop which had been requested by the 12th session of the Subregional Development Centre Committee of Experts (ICE) was organized by ECA (Tangier Sub-regional Development Centre for North Africa) from 10-14 June 1996 in Tangier. Its purpose was dual: to enhance the national capacity in respect of the SNA; and to formulate a common strategy and priorities for implementation of the SNA in the north African subregion.

4. Workshop on International Trade Statistics

The Workshop was organized jointly by ECA and the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA)for intergovernmental experts from ECA member States from 23-27 September 1997 at ECA headquarters. It addressed the following topics: international trade statistics: concepts and definitions; the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS); index numbers of international trade etc..

5. Coordinating Committee on African Statistical Development (CASD)

The seventh meeting of the CASD was held from 21-22 May 1997 at ECA headquarters,

The meeting was attended by representatives from ECA member States, regional training Centres participating in the Statistical Training Programme for Africa (STPA) and African and non-African bilateral and multilateral agencies and donors.

The purpose of the meeting was to identify specific themes on which particular and convergent efforts could be made and propose lines of action.

Meetings planned for the second half of the year include: Workshop on public sector accounts within the framework of the 1993 System of National Accounts, 27-31 October 1997, ECA headquarters; Workshop on database development for the creation of minimum national social data sets, 3-8 November 1997, ECA headquarters (in collaboration with DESIPA); and a working group on environment statistics, indicators and accounting, 17-21 November 1997, ECA headquarters (in collaboration with DESIPA).

6. 9th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Africa:

The commission convened and serviced the above conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 11 to 15 November 1996, with the theme: "Providing the foundations for accelerated growth and sustainable development through cartography and other forms of land resource and environmental information technologies." The Conference was attended by representatives from twenty seven African countries and eight non-African countries from Europe and the Americas. It also counted with observers from 7 regional organizations and 18 national and international organizations, encompassing NGOs, IGOs, the industry and the private sector.

During the five days of the Conference, reports on national, subregional, regional and international activities were presented. The reports highlighted the progress made by the respective countries and organizations in the fields of cartography, remote sensing and geographic information systems.

The technical papers covered data acquisition, data manipulation and utilization, regional mapping issues, and policies and management of geoinformation.

Impact expected is better information, understanding and practical use, by member States, on new technologies and procedures to address their current and future needs in resource and environmental data and information.

7. 8th Meeting of the Administrative Council of the African Organization for Cartography and Remote Sensing (AOCRS)

From 16 to 18 November 1996, ECA hosted, serviced and participated in the above session of the Council of AOCRS. Target beneficiaries are the member of AOCRS, in particular, and the whole Africa region at large. Expected impact of this particular meeting is the revitalization of the Organization.

8. Tourism information management workshop, Bamako, 1-7 August 1996

ECA trained 21 persons in Bamako involved in the tourist sector in the use of its databases on migration and tourism in Mali in a workshop held from 1-7 August. ECA introduced the database that it developed at the request of the Minister of Industry, Handicrafts and Tourism in Mali.

The aim of the database is to capture information related to the entry of tourists and their use of tourist facilities in Mali. Participants at the workshop were trained in data entry and made recommendations for the improvement and extension of the database. They requested ECA to undertake further work on the database so that it could operate as a uniform hotel reservation system. They also expressed the hope that the database could be extended throughout West Africa and to the entire African region. Once extended, they felt, it would help Mali have a better knowledge of the tourists it was attracting and would help the world to know the tourist facilities Mali offers.

9. African Information Society Initiative Regional Co-ordinating Meeting, Addis Ababa, 21-23 October 1996

More than 29 organisations involved in the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) attended the AISI coordination meeting organised by ECA at Addis Ababa from 21-23 October 1996. The coordination meeting drew up concrete implementation plans to set the ball rolling to utilise information and communication technologies to stimulate overall economic and social growth in Africa. In May 1996 the ECA Conference of Ministers responsible for economic and social development and planning approved the AISI, which is complementary to the United Nations System-Wide Special Initiative on Africa programme on `Harnessing Information Technology for Development'(HITD). The HITD was created to help build the necessary infrastructure for the construction of the African Information society.

The crux of the AISI implementation plan lies at the country level with the development of National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) plans. NICI planning will raise awareness about the potential of the information society for political, economic and social development. Countries can choose from sector applications which will help overcome stubborn development constraints and assist in the elaboration of country plans.

10. ECOWAS Computer Centre Training in databases and e-mail, 31 October-7 November 1996

ECA provided technical assistance to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in establishing e-mail connectivity during preparatory to the training workshop. A FIDO-node was installed at the ECOWAS Community Computer Centre (CCC) that exchanges e-mail at regular intervals with GreenNet (UK), allowing ECOWAS to provide for an unlimited number of users, both at ECOWAS and at other institutions, with e-mail. Recommendations were made on how to upgrade the e-mail system to be integrated in a LAN and be combined with other Internet services in the future.

The regional training workshop was held in Lome, Togo, from 31 October to 7 November 1996. The objective of the training workshop, attended by 18 participants from 8 West-African countries and 2 regional organisations, was to introduce new tools for standardised database development developed by ECA.

The workshop consisted of 6 days of intensive training during which the participants were continuously given practical exercises while subjects were discussed. At the end of the workshop all participants received a copy of the software (PADOR/ODIN/AUTO) to be installed at their organisations. Other training given at the request of the participants included a general overview of CDS/ISIS: setting up a database, data entry, indexing and sorting. E-mail applications and an introduction to HTML was given to ECOWAS staff.

11. Seventh meeting of the Standing Committee on Harmonization and Standardization of Information Systems in Africa, Addis Ababe, 16-18 November 1996

The 7th meeting of the Standing Committee on Standardisation and Harmonisation of Information Systems in Africa reviewed progress made so far by the Standing committee, particularly in the area of new information technologies, for example CD-ROM development and the Internet.

The advantages of standardisation highlighted in the meeting include: worksharing, increased skills, better work practices, and the removal of conflicting assignments. Various subcommittees deal with issues including document analysis, database formats and structures, computer networking and on-line access, authority file (ODIN programme) and CD-ROM development.

It was recommended that PADIS play a leading role in the education and training of staff at national, regional and subregional institutions in Africa, and run a special training of trainers course to create a core body of experts that can impart specific skills at sub-regional levels.

12. Workshop on database management systems, 2-13 December 1996. Niamey, Niger

At the request of the `Centre d'Information et de Documentation Economique et Sociale' of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Planning (Niger),ECA organised a training workshop on PADIS methodologies from 9-13 December 1996. These centred around CDS/ISIS software and its new interfaces (ODIN, PADOR and AUTO) which are respectively dealing with data entry and the management of an authority file. Twenty five participants, representing 11 ministerial departments attended the workshop.

ECA took the opportunity of the workshop to disseminate and promote the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) to several governmental and international organisations.

13. Workshop on Internet for African planners and decision makers, Institut pour le developpement economique et la planification (IDEP), Dakar, 6-10 January 1997

ECA delivered a course on "The new information technologies and the Internet" for Master's degree students at IDEP in Dakar in order to expose them to the advantages of national information policies, the acquisition and the use of information technologies and their impact on research and development. This was the second time ECA delivered this course at IDEP. The course has also been prepared as a module entitled, "African and the Internet: a manual for policymakers, planners and researchers" which is being distributed free of charge to African development institutions and to public sector users in ECA member States. The manual was inspired by the African Information Society Initiative.

14. Co-sponsor with UNDP of subregional workshop on national potential of Internet, Libreville, 18-20 March 1997

15. Co-sponsor with UNDP of subregional workshop on national potential of Internet, Abuja, 21-25 April 1997

ECA co-organized with UNDP two subregional seminars bringing together the following countries: in the first, Gabon, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Zaire. At the Nigeria workshop the countries participating were Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The objectives of the seminar were to allow Internet users in the subregion to share their experiences and evaluate progress realized to date; expose the participants to the various forms of services available through the Internet; and determine future actions to better support African countries in their efforts to develop Internet. Special emphasis was placed on sensitization and information for potential investors both at national and international levels.

16. Symposium on building African Information Infrastructure, with Global Information Infrastructure Commission, at ECA Conference of Ministers, Addis Ababa, 7 May 1997

In collaboration with the Global Information Infrastructure Commission, ECA organized a full-day symposium on 7 May on the topic "Meeting the challenges of national information and communications infrastructure planning with public and private sector co-operation" for the Twenty-third meeting of the Conference of Ministers responsible for economic and social development and planning. The morning session which focused on "national experiences in building national information infrastructure" brought prominent personalities from throughout Africa to share their experiences in national infrastructure building. The afternoon session which looked at public-private sector co-operation in infrastructure building; it features significant African personalities from the private sector.

The Symposium proceedings were transmitted live throughout Africa on digital satellite television.

17. National workshop on building awareness on the African Information Society Initiative and development national information and communication infrastructure plans, Dar es Salaam, 12-16 May 1997

Under a grant from the International Development Research Centre ECA organized a workshop for senior planners and decision makers in Tanzania to sensitise them to the importance of the African Information Society, demonstrate the potential to accelerate development of new information technologies and secure their commitment to development a national information infrastructure strategy. This was the first in a series of wholly-ECA organized national information and communication infrastructure building national workshops, as the kickoff activity at national level under the African Information Society Initiative.

18. Co-sponsorship of AFCOM '97, Mbabane and Johannesburg, 19-30 May 1997

ECA was a co-sponsor of the AFCOM '97 conference held May 19-23 in Mbabane, Swaziland, and the one-week Internet/telematics workshop the following week (May 26-30) in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The prime organizer of the conference was the Africa Communications magazine; it was hosted by the Swaziland Ministry of Transport and Communications. The theme of AFCOM 97 was investing in the African Communications and Informatics Infrastructure. Three ECA staff members served as resource persons at the two events.

19. Associate sponsorship with World Bank and Government of Canada of Global Knowledge 97, Toronto, 22-25 June 1997

UNECA is an Associate Sponsor of the `Global Knowledge `97, Knowledge for Development in the Information Age' conference, being held from 22-25 June, 1997 in Toronto, Canada. The conference will be hosted by the World Bank and the government of Canada in partnership with a large group of public and private organisations. The focus will be on the challenges facing developing countries and the international community at the end of the 20th century and the dawn of the information age.

The conference will bring together 2000 participants: senior government officials, local knowledge builders, the NGO community, industry and business leaders and other leaders and experts from around the globe. ECA staff will participate in the Conference as panel organizers and panelists; they will also organize a concomitant training workshop for journalists and a conference exhibit on the African Information Society Initiative.

20. Working-Group on "geometry" of FAO's AFRICOVER Project

In September 1996, the ECA co-organized, hosted and serviced the first meeting of FAO's AFRICOVER Working-Group on "Geometry and Cartography", whose objective is to provide the specifications and methodology leading to the establishment of a unified geodetic referential for the continent, enabling the integration and harmonization of spatial data spanning different countries. The meeting counted with 16 African experts from the same number of countries, evenly geographically distributed, and with 10 international non-African experts. Main standards were agreed upon concerning datum and geodetic network, and detailed technical specifications were developed for their implementation. Target beneficiaries are all national, sub-regional and regional institutions, and individuals engaged in the formulation and implementation of development projects requiring maps and other forms of spatially georeferenced data covering large regions. The results of the working group were unanimously endorsed by participant member States at the Ninth United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Africa. The overall objective of the AFRICOVER Project to strengthen the capacities of African countries to manage their natural resources sustainability with particular emphasis on food security and environmental protection.

(c) Advisory services

Among the advisory services in information systems development provided to member States, regional and subregional organizations and NGOs were:

- Resource person at Workshop on Communities and the Information Society (ACACIA) organized by the Government of Senegal and IDRC, Saly (Senegal), 9-10 Jaunary 1997;

- Advisory services mission to Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 4-8 November 1996, on the participation of Tanzania in the ECA network of development information centres;

- Advisory services mission to Zambia on the continuation of the agreement to host and fund the East and Southern African Development Information System, Lusaka, 2-6 December 1996;

- Advisory services to Mozambique, with the World Bank, on the Africa Live Database, and to participate in the national seminar "Towards an Information Society, "Maputo, 3-7 February 1997;

- Advisory services to the Chamber of Commerce, Addis Ababa, on the development of a trade database and its dissemination on the World Wide Web, March and April 1997;

- Advisory services to the Association of African Universities on their participation in the second edition of the ECA/DISD CD-ROM of African Development Information;

- Resource person at a Regional Symposium on the Arab World and the Information Society, Tunis (Tunisia) 4-8 May 1997.

Advisory services in the area of statistics, database management and census cartography were delivered to the following ECA member States during the period under review: Algeria Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.

Services in the area of demography, database management and census cartography were delivered mainly by the ECA regional advisers in the ECA/UNFPA country Support Teams situated in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Dakar (Senegal) and Harare (Zimbabwe). Areas covered by the advisory service missions were: Population and housing censuses, census methodology and questionnaire design, processing and production of enumeration maps, installation of Geographic Information System (GIS) and GIS training, database management, gender disaggregated statistics, implementation of the 1993 system of national accounts, programme review and strategy development and management of national statistical offices.

Further, technical assistance was given to the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) in the Eastern and Southern African region.

The secretariat provided, on a continued basis, advisory services and support to the Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS, the Regional Center for Services in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (RCSSMRS) and to the African Organization for Cartography and Remote Sensing (AOCRS). by virtue of the mandate of the constitutions of the Centres which ECA is expected to advise, when necessary, on several matters regarding policies, technical and administrative issues. It hosted and serviced the Administrative Board of AOCRS (Nov. 1996) and chaired the Governing Council of RCSSMRS (Feb. 1997). It took action to convene an ad-hoc Committee set-up by the Council to review and develop RCSSMRS' 2020 vision in order to ensure its relevance and sustainibility. The end beneficiaries are the members States of these regional organizations. Expected impact is better performing institutions focussing on tangible needs.

(d) Projects under implementation

1. Government of Netherlands funded project to increase electronic connectivity

Under this project, electronic communication nodes are being established or strengthened in eight African countries. This is an area of particular ECA advantage, as ECA was one of the pioneers in this area, undertaking work towards building electronic connectivity in Africa since 1989.

2. Studies of the impact of electronic connectivity on development

In a grant provided by the International Development Research Centre, ECA is undertaking four country case studies on the impact of information transmitted electronically on development. In the course of the case studies each of the countries under study (Ethiopia, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia) made the transition from store-and-forward e-mail systems to full electronic connectivity. Thus, the impact of rapid technology advance is also being analysed. The studies will conclude during the third quarter of 1997.

3. IDRC AISI policy awareness project

The International Development Research Centre awarded a grant to ECA for a policy awareness campaign on the African Information Society Initiative (AISI). The objective of the activities are to raise awareness for issues related to information and communication for Africa's development and to get support for its implementation. Included in the target groups are: senior government officials, international and regional organisations with an interest in information technology, media organizations, and the private sector. A special effort will be made to get the message out to non-governmental organizations.

The principal features of the campaign are: wide distribution in the Africa region and the rest of the world of the AISI brochure; re-packaging of the AISI text for distribution to different audiences in Africa and to partner organisations worldwide, including translation of repackaged material into Arabic and Portuguese; posting of the AISI action framework and re-packaging materials for posting on Internet World Wide Web sites worldwide; ECA participation in 3-5 major regional events to publicize AISI; organisation of a national policy and sector workshop in one African country to heighten policy awareness on the development advantages of information technology, and to disseminate best practices from the region.

4. Carnegie Corporation of New York grant standardization and harmonization

The Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded ECA a series of grants to promote information exchange and compatibility in the Africa region. Under the latest grant, support has been given to the standardization activities of the Standing Committee on the Harmonization and Standardization of Information Systems in Africa and to the production of a CD-ROM of African development information databases and full text documents, the first of its kind to be published in the Africa region.

5. Korean project on meta-information

In its first grant to the development of information systems at ECA, the Government of Korea provided funds for the gathering and dissemination of African development information. Through this grant, ECA has established two Internet World Wide Web sites to disseminate African development information, - the first site which focuses on the whole of the activities of the Economic Commission for Africa, including a large assortment of its documents available in full text format (http://www.un.org/depts/eca) and the second which highlights the African Information Society Initiative, including a distributed entry database of projects and programmes (presently totalling some 150) of the multi-lateral, bi-lateral, non-governmental and private sector partners in AISI (http://www.bellanet.org/partners/aisi).

6. USAID Electronic Communication and Networking project for IGAD countries

The United States Agency for International Development has funded a project entitled the Greater Horn of Africa Electronic Communication Network Project to provide connectivity and information content for key public sector ministries (including ministries of foreign affairs, agriculture and food security) for the countries covered by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in northeastern Africa. Under this project, ECA has installed electronic communication nodes where they did not exist previously, strengthened others already existing, installed user systems and helped IGAD in content creation for information sharing among the concerned member States.

7. Netherlands Project NET/94/002

This project in the area of environment statistics in Africa is being funded by a grant from the Netherlands Government. Its primary objectives are:

- identification of the most pressing national environmental concerns;

- assessment of the sources and availability of data and;

- identification of problems in the field of environment statistics in a selection of African member States.

Activities undertaken include the preparation in collaboration with member States of country profiles on environment statistics, which will be discussed at a Workshop on environmental statistics, indicators and accounting, planned for November 1997. Also planned during 1997 are missions to selected African countries.