The trip back was even longer than the one going there. I have done this before but somehow keep forgetting about it…
The public meeting for the presentation of the UNDESA/Italy e-gov mission, held at the luxurious Polana Hotel, was well attended. I would guess about 40 to 50 people were there. The session was formally open by the Minister of Higher Education, Lydia Brito who gave a big picutre intro by linking all efforts to the existing ICTD strategy and the upcoming policy on Science and Technology (I need to get hold of this doc). UNDP RR also had a slot here and make an excellent presentation on producing results and managing expectations at the country level.
As expected, the mission findings brought not surprises. Some of the presentations (on e-land registry for example) were a bit to technical and longish for the type of audience in attendance. The Q&A session was good and issues about collaboration with ongoing initiatives and the human side of e-gov emerged (ie., the problem is not technology but rather change management within the ministries, etc.; this is a key point).
At noon the meeting closed down. Time for a quick lunch with UNDP and then to the airport to get the flight back home. Always rushing…
Ra�l
