Building Capacities of Policy Makers in Internet Governance in Asia and the Pacific
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The Geneva Declaration of Principles the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) state that the Internet has evolved into a global facility available to the public and its governance should constitute a core issue in the information society agenda. The international management of the Internet should be multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of the governments, private sector, civil society and international organizations. It should ensure an equitable distribution of resources, facilitate access for all and ensure a stable and secure functioning of the Internet. The Internet encompasses both technical and public policy issues and involves all stakeholders and relevant inter-governmental and international organizations. The Geneva phase of WSIS, thus, recognized that the Internet is a central element of the emerging information society and has an important role to play in attaining the targets set forth in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), set up by the United Nations Secretary General at the request of the Geneva phase of WSIS pointed out in its final report that Internet governance extends beyond the technical domain (such as Internet Domain Names and IP addresses) to other significant public policy issues, including critical Internet resources, security and safety, and other development aspects and issues pertaining to the use of the Internet. The public policy issues relevant to legal and legislative framework include the prevention of cybercrime, virus attack and spam, maintenance and preservation of information security, and promotion of e-commerce, e-health and the like.
Unfortunately, most developing countries in Asia and the Pacific have limited understanding and awareness of the intricacies of Internet governance issues and do not have sufficient capacity to effectively participate in global Internet governance. This was evidenced by the outcomes of the Open Regional Dialogue on Internet Governance (ORDIG), an intiative of APDIP in cooperation with UNESCAP.
The Tehran Declaration of the High Level Asia-Pacific Preparatory Conference on WSIS focussed, inter alia, on the need to strengthen national capacities for formulating and implementing public policies in global Internet governance and effective participation therein.
Together with UNESCAP, APDIP will identify the capacity building needs in public policy and other relevant issues in Internet governance for policy makers and implementers of developing countries in Asia and the Pacific, with particular emphasis on least developed countries (LDCs), land-locked developing countries (LLDCs), and small island developing countries (SIDS).
APDIP and UNESCAP will also conduct training of trainers at the regional and national levels. The regional training will take place in Bangkok in the last quarter of 2006 and involve countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The national training sessions will follow the regional training. The countries will be identified shortly after the regional training.
The trainees will come primarily from agencies expected to be involved in the formulation and/or implementation of the relevant public and other policies in Internet governance. Representatives of business associations, professional organizations and other civil society groups will also be invited to participate in the national training workshops.
To summarize, the present initiative’s objectives, outcomes and activities are as follows:
Objective
The Capacity Building in Internet Governance project aims to identify the capacity building needs of policy makers and implementers in Asia and the Pacific in the area of public policy on Internet Use for Business Development and develop appropriate training modules in order to help meet these needs.
Outcome
Government policy makers/implementers utilize their capacity for formulation and/or implementation of essential public and other policies relevant to Internet governance for sustainable socio-economic development, and to enhance effective participation in the global and regional Internet governance.
Scope, Output and Main Activities
Scope
The overarching theme will be Internet Use for Business Development, with a focus on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), e-commerce and security. Broadly speaking, the training will cover issues related to the necessary enabling environment, including legal frameworks, and incentives for local SMEs to take advantage of the Internet to create business opportunities, as well as issues of privacy, security and cross-border harmonization of e-commerce/e-business legislations.
Output
Government policy makers participating in the regional workshop will have requisite capacity to provide training to other Government policy makers, in their countries, in the formulation and implementation of the relevant public policies in Internet governance and to build partnerships and participate in global and regional Internet governance.
Activities
- Identify the capacity building needs of developing countries in Asia and the Pacific, particularly least developed countries (LDCs), land-locked developing countries (LLDCs), and small island developing countries (SIDS) countries, on public policy and other relevant issues in Internet governance.
- Develop training of trainers’ modules and other relevant background documents, including appropriate guidelines for use by policy makers.
- Develop relevant background documents on the importance of developing and strengthening public-private partnerships and the role of different stakeholders in the governance of the Internet.
- Organize training of trainers’ workshops on public policies and other relevant issues in Internet governance.
- Develop online distribution of the training modules and any other relevant resources.
Related Links
Internet Governance: Asia-Pacific Perspectives
Asia-Pacific Internet Governance Portal
Country Reports on Internet Governance (China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand)
ORDIG Input Paper and Policy Brief to WGIG and WSIS
APDIP e-Note 1 - Voices from the Asia-Pacific: Internet governance for sustainable human development
APDIP e-Note 4 - Why Should Countries Embed ICTs into SME Policy
e-Primer on e-Commerce and e-Business [PDF, 326kB]
Governing Internet Use: Spam, Cybercrime and e-Commerce, in Internet Governance: Asia-Pacific Perspectives, pp. 89-104 [PDF, 383kB]
Legal, Regulatory and Policy Issues of e-Commerce in Asia, in ICT Policies and e-Strategies in the Asia-Pacific: A critical assessment of the way forward, pp. 171-186 [PDF, 885kB]
UNESCAP's e-Business Pilot Projects for SMEs in the Greater Mekong Subregion
UNESCAP Information, Communication and Space Technology Division
eCommerce for Small Enterprise Development: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries
Last modified 2007-01-23 03:35 PM
