Introduction

For many of the successful economies of Asia, the recent advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have transformed and opened up new avenues for accelerating economic growth, eradicating poverty, promoting sustainable human development, and facilitating their integration into the global economy.

However, for many African countries attempting to create a self-sustainable path of growth, the digital divide is emerging as another barrier that is magnifying their comparative disadvantage, reducing their competitiveness and undermining their economic and social development.

To bridge this emerging digital divide, and as part of a UNDP Programme initiative focused on promoting Africa-Asia technical co-operation in ICT development, an “Africa-Asia Workshop” will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the
context of TICAD, and supported by the Government of Japan.

Workshop Objectives

To sensitize high-level African policy advisors/policy-makers and private sector representatives on the use of information and communication technologies for the development and transformation of their economies. Specifically, the workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss issues relating to ICT capacity building and infrastructure development, Internet connectivity, e-governance, e-commerce, e-learning, networking, and knowledge management, public-private sector partnerships, gender perspectives, and many more. The workshop will also act as a platform for Asian participants to share their knowledge and experience in ICT with their African counterparts.

Areas to be covered by the Workshop

• African policy-makers will be made aware of critical policy issues that affect the formulation and implementation of ICT policies and strategies.
• The workshop will examine policy options and share lessons learned that can be adapted and applied to situations in participating countries.
• African countries will make presentations on their experience to-date, as appropriate.
• Successful Asian practices in ICT will be shared and reviewed to determine their applicability for Africa.

Workshop Participants

High-level policy advisors/policy makers who are involved in and can influence the design of ICT policies and strategies in their respective countries and appropriate private sector representatives.

The workshop will host 16 participants from eight African countries. There will be two participants per country, one at the policy-level representing government and the other representing the private sector.

African countries in attendance will be: Benin, Cameroon, Gambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Several resource persons and speakers from Africa and Asia will also be in attendance.

Workshop Themes

• ICT Policy and Governance
• e-governance and e-government
• ICT regulations- e-networking
• gender gap in the digital divide
• Infrastructure Development and Internet Connectivity
• content development and knowledge management
• Capacity Building
• ICT capacity building
• gender and capacity building
• e-learning
• Partnership building with the private sector
• e-commerce (what works and how to implement it)
• increased private sector participation in ICT, and investment opportunities in Africa

Expected outcomes

• Knowledge and experience shared between and among the African and Asian participants, and participants made fully aware of the issues involved in promoting ICT for development;
• The problems and constraints identified by the African participants in their respective countries reviewed and solutions considered;
• Formal network created and nurtured through the use of the TICAD Web Site and the Regional Server;
• Synergies and partnerships developed among participants;
• Potential foreign investment opportunities explored;
• A web-site hosting workshop material.

The Malaysian Experience

Malaysia is gaining recognition not only in the region, but also across regions as a ‘centre-of-excellence’ on ICT policy-making, capacity development initiatives, and state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure, exemplified by the hosting of the Second Global Knowledge Conference, and the provision of technical advisory services to countries such as Iran and Brunei in developing their ICT policies and strategies. This, combined with an existing rich trade and bi-lateral relationship with a number of African countries in the field of education, highlights Malaysia as the key venue for an event focused on building South-South technical co-operation on ICT development. The participants at the workshop will not only be able to see the developments in ICT, but will also be able to learn first-hand the lessons learned in developing such initiatives as the ‘Multimedia Super Corridor’ and the IT Park in Penang.

Workshop Sponsors

Malaysia and Japan governments and The Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD) are the sponsors of the workshop, and The National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) will be hosting the workshop.

The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC) and The Malaysian Institute of Micro-electronic Systems (MIMOS) Berhad will host the study visit to the Multimedia Super Corridor. The Penang Development Corporation (PDC) will be the host for the one-day study tour to Penang. UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP) will provide technical support and UNDP/Malaysia will provide administrative and logistical support.

The full participation of the Government of Malaysia will establish a basis for future co-operation with their African counterparts, with a focus on developing strategic partnerships with the interested African partners.