[WSIS CS-Plenary] UNDP-APDIP selects Advisory Panel

[Phet Sayo]

>>Excellence, vision, creative diversity: supporting the quest for open,
>>inclusive and development-oriented Internet policies<<

Synopsis:
UNDP-APDIP selects Advisory Panel for its 'Open R	egional Dialogue on
Internet Governance'. Distinguished information and communication technology
and development policy experts from government, research, industry and civil
society from 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific to advise on Internet
governance policy priorities in the Asia-Pacific region

In more detail:
Kuala Lumpur, December  6, 2004


Making Internet governance work for human development

In October 2004 UNDP's Asia-Pacific Information Programme (APDIP) launched a
new initiative to strengthen the voice of stakeholders from the Asia-Pacific
in Internet governance and make ICT policy-making responsive to development
priorities. Upcoming activities of this Open Regional Dialogue on Internet
Governance (ORDIG) include a community-managed portal (www.igov.apdip.net)
for ICT policy-issues, surveys in more than 15 countries in the region to
identify priority concerns for further research and direct information
sharing with the UN Working Group on Internet Governance in the run-up to
the second part of the UN World Summit on the Information Society to be held
in Tunis in November 2005.


All these and many more activities are envisaged to be developed and
executed in close consultation with a multi-stakeholder Advisory Panel.

A tough choice

An open call for nominations to the Panel had attracted nearly one hundred
high quality expressions of interest. From this pool APDIP and its partners
have carefully selected a group of high-level experts that come from all
parts of the Asia-Pacific region and bring to the task the widest range of
experience and interest in ICT policy issues possible. "The choice was a
very difficult one", admits Shahid Akhtar, Regional Co-ordinator of APDIP,
"but the outcome is a unique mix of expertise, experience and backgrounds
that is as inclusive and creative as one would want the overall system of
Internet governance to be."

Panel members include senior public officials responsible for ICT
policy-making, eminent scholars and researchers from the Internet
development community, key representatives of civil society organizations
working on Internet governance issues and high-level Internet entrepreneurs
from the private sector. The Panel will be tasked to advise UNDP-APDIP on
all activities related to ORDIG and will carry out its work in online
consultations and face-to-face meetings. The individual members are:

- Izumi Aizu, Secretary, Internet Governance Task Force of Japan, Japan;
- Al Alegre, Coordinator, Foundation for Media Alternative, Philippines;
- Dr. R.K. Arora, Group Coordinator & Senior Director, Department of IT,
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, India;
- Sanjib Raj Bhandari, CEO, Mercantile Communications, Nepal;
- Valerie de Costa, Director, International Division, Infocomm Development
Authority of Singapore, Singapore;
- Dr. Gihan V Dias, Programme Director, Technology, Standards and
Compliance, ICT Agency, Computer Science and Eng. Dept. University of
Moratuwa, Sri Lanka;
- Thinley Dorji, Director, Bhutan Communications Authority, Bhutan;
- Dr. Thaweesak Koanantakool, Director, National Electronics and Computer
Technology Center, Thailand;
- Fuatai Purcell, Secretary, ICT advisor, Samoa National ICT Committee,
Samoa;
- Dr. Budi Rahardjo, Director of R&D, Center on Industry and Information
Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia;
- Dr. Masoud Shafiee, , Deputy Minister for ICT/Education and Research,
Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, Iran;
- Karaitiana Taiuru, Managing Director, Net Home Internet Solutions, New
Zealand;
- Yan Hongqiang, Deputy Director, Telecommunication Administration Bureau,
Minstry of Information Industry, People's Republic of China.

For further information on ORDIG, which receives support from the
International Development Research Centre and is a collaboration effort
between APDIP, UN-ESCAP, the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, Diplo
Foundation and the Open Regional Dialogue on Internet Governance, please
visit www.igov.apdip.net , or write to Dieter Zinnbauer at: dieter at apdip.net