Knowledge economy key to job creation – high-level meeting to discuss

ECA Press Release No. 08/2007

Addis Ababa, 30 April 2007 - The Economic Commission for Africa is to host a weeklong meeting aimed at using advances in information and communications technology to boost employment on the continent.

Discussions at the fifth meeting of the Committee on Development Information (CODI-V), which takes place in Addis Ababa from 1-4 May, will focus on the theme “Employment and the Knowledge Economy in Africa”.

The challenge of job creation in Africa has received a high profile of late, and it is becoming widely accepted that an economy based on knowledge is a major factor of growth.

ICTs allow researchers in different locations to work together, enhancing productivity and often resulting in rapid advances in research and development. This generates new knowledge and technologies, fuelling development further and, consequently, employment.

But there is also a downside and caution is needed. The knowledge economy, with its rising skills and technological intensity, is widening the divide between the “knowledge haves” and the “knowledge have-nots”. This potentially means limited opportunities in the labour market and in society.

So increasing employment linked to the knowledge economy is of the utmost importance. CODI-V will analyse the contribution of information, knowledge and technology to job creation, and come up with options to close the gap.

Alongside the main CODI event, ECA – in conjunction with the Canadian government – will be presenting awards for government and institutional innovation in the use of ICTs aimed at reaching the Millennium Development Goals. The Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) awards are the first of their kind, sponsored by the Finnish and Italian governments, Ethiopian Airlines, Microsoft and Nokia Siemens Network.

There will also be the formal launch of a book co-published by ECA and International Books highlighting the importance of information for economic progress. The book “African E-Markets - Information and Economic Development” explores the theme of electronic transactions and information as drivers of economic growth.

The opening session of CODI-V will take place at 10am on Tuesday 1 May in Conference Room One, UNCC, Addis Ababa.

For further information on CODI-related events and themes, go to the CODI website: http://www.uneca.org/codi/

Issued by the ECA Information and Communication Service
P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

Tel: 251 11 5445098
Fax: +251 11 5510365
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