The first-ever Commonwealth ICT Ministers Forum
is taking place in London at which an agreement is expected on a strategy
for advancing broadband across the 53-country membership.
Ministers will also review recommendations for a pan-Commonwealth
cyber-governance model and consider ways to improve access to technology
for users with disabilities. Cyber-security and cyber-crime will also be
discussed.
The two-day meeting, which ends tomorrow, is jointly organised by the
Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation and the Commonwealth
Secretariat.
Ministers from 30 Commonwealth countries are attending, with representation
from large Commonwealth countries such as India, to small island nations
such as Nauru.
The meeting follows endorsement by Heads of Government last year of a
multi-stakeholder partnership between the Commonwealth Secretariat, the
Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, and the International
Telecommunication Union to develop national broadband policies and strategies
and help bridge the digital divide.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said: “The explosive
growth of the internet has revolutionised global access to knowledge,
networks, business opportunities and expanding markets, transcending national
boundaries. Widespread access to social media brings new immediacy to
politics and governance, with elevated expectations of transparency and
accountability.
By exchanging experience and insights on a vast variety of subjects,
whether an opportunity or a threat, and many other ICT-related issues, we
continue a rich Commonwealth tradition.”
Ahead of the meeting, Omobola Johnson, Nigerian Minister of Communications
Technology and Chair of the Commonwealth ICT Ministers Forum said: "I
very much look forward to the inaugural Commonwealth ICT Ministers Forum
and am certain that this event will strengthen pan-Commonwealth
co-operation while helping to build consensus on ICT matters at a global
scale."
Professor Tim Unwin, Secretary General of the Commonwealth
Telecommunications Organisation said: “The Commonwealth
Telecommunications Organisation is delighted to work closely with the
Commonwealth Secretariat to organise this pivotal meeting which fills a gap
in Commonwealth policy forums. In view of the great strides made by the
Commonwealth family in ICTs, this forum is set to become a key influencer
of the Global ICT debate.”
For more information, please contact Srini
Srinivasan at s.srinivasan@cto.int or call +44 20 8600
3812.
Commonwealth
Telecommunication Organisation
With a history dating back to 1901, the Commonwealth Telecommunications
Organisation is the oldest and largest Commonwealth organisation in the
field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and uses its
experience and expertise to support members in using ICTs to deliver
effective development interventions that emancipate, enrich, equalise and
empower all peoples within the Commonwealth and beyond.
For more information about the CTO, please visit www.cto.int
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