Workshop on e-government development opens in Addis Ababa Tuesday

ECA Press Release No. 7/2009

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 16 February 2009 – A capacity development workshop for senior policy makers, practitioners and experts on e/m government initiatives opens in Addis Ababa Ethiopia on Tuesday 17 February 2009.

The workshop, which will last until Thursday 19 February 2009 is on the theme: “Electronic/mobile (e/m)-Government in Africa, Progress Made and Challenges Ahead”.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ICT Science and Technology Division - UNECA/ISTD) is organizing it in partnership with the Division of Public Administration and Knowledge Management (DPADM) of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

The Africa-United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and Finance (UNPAN), member institutions, academia, private sector as well as representatives of regional and international organizations involved in e-government development in Africa will also attend the workshop.

For ECA, the event is proof of major strides made in its current work in the area of e-Government through the implementation of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), where m-Government is seen as a subset of e-government.

“The whole area of m-Government is particularly important for the African continent, where Internet access rates are low but mobile phone penetration is growing rapidly, as witnessed by the mobile revolution in Africa”, says Ms Aida Opoku-Mensah, ECA Director of ICT, Science and Technology Division.

In a press release issued in Addis Ababa today, Ms Opoku-Mensah explains that the goal of the workshop is therefore to “explore regional knowledge into the issues and challenges of e/m government development in Africa, further the thinking of the United Nations on the development of the UN Global Knowledge Repository, develop partnerships for capacity building in the region and identify capacity building needs for e/m government in the region.”

Consequently the workshop will review and analyze approaches and best practices in understanding e/m government development in Africa, assess issues and challenges facing countries as they advance in developing their programmes as a contribution towards achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The workshop will also focus on the transfer and exchange of experiences among multi-stakeholders on effective e/m government development.

Issued by the ECA Information and Communication Service
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