Government Leaders Forum, Singapore, 17-19 November 2004

"How should governance adapt to the new capabilities and interaction patterns of the Information Age?" This was one of the central questions posed by a panel discussion at this high-level meeting of government and industry representatives convened by Microsoft Corporation. As one of the panelists Shahid Akthar, regional co-ordinator of APDIP, stressed the joint responsibility of both regulators and Internet developers to make sure that technological innovations translate into useful tools for sustainable human development.  He also stressed the importance of an ongoing dialogue between all stakeholders as a prerequisite for spreading the benefits of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) wide and far.  Mr. Akthar pointed out that APDIP  has designed its new initiative, the  Open Regional Dialogue on Internet Governance (ORDIG),  as a direct response to the very  challenges to instiuting such an open and inclusive deliberation process on ICT  policy priorities.  He invited participants to take advantage of the various options for involvement and information sharing that  ORDIG provides and work together towards Internet policies that are both inclusive and reponsive to priorities for equitable human development.