Seems this process has been going on for a while now (see previous blogs on the subject), but this time around I am told the policy will be approved by the national government early next year. The original text is now in Arabic so I will not be able to comment directly but our friends…

We pitched this proposal to the social innovation of Colombia’s Ministry of ICTs. Seems however their approach to the issues is more supply driven and technology focused. We will see… Innovación Social para el Desarrollo Humano Introducción La última década ha sido testigo de la rápida difusión de las TICs a nivel global, en particular…

This was my third ICEGOV meeting and I can tell you I felt lots of deja vu. In the interim, UNU’s e-government unit has moved from Macao to the beautiful city of Guimaraes, Portugal, which the Portuguese call “the city where Portuguese culture was born”. Indeed, they have secured solid institutional support from the Government…

I was invited to speak at this meeting thanks to the elections team in New York who furnished my name to the Country Office in Pakistan. I had attended a similar meeting in Guadalajara, México, in April 2013. With the support of our office in Mexico City,  a book (actually two books, one in English…

I gave the following interview to a local business newspaper during my mission to Pakistan. The interview is expected to be published in December. “E-governance needs Champions from within Ministries” Raul Zambrano, Senior ICT & Governance Policy Advisor, Democratic Governance Group, UNDP HQ BR Research: You have previously worked in Pakistan. How was the e-governance…

Briefing Note on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Background At its 17-18 October 2013 meeting, the CEB endorsed the paper “Towards a UN-wide framework on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime.” The CEB agreed to form a Steering Group on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime consisting of the Executive Heads of UNDP, UNESCO, UNODC, UNEP, ITU and the Chairs of HLCP and…

I attended the above mentioned meeting hosted by the EU Institute for Security Studies, based in Paris. This was the 2nd meeting on the topic organized by EUISS. The initial meeting took place back in March this year. The main takeaways of this session are here. EUSIS prepared a concept note for the meeting, building on…

OGP has asked UNDP to put in writing the commitments it can make to support the initiative in developing countries. Here is what we submitted. One sentence summary (140 characters) Supporting multi-stakeholder participation in open government processes that foster inclusive governance in developing countries. Detail of Pledge Please be as specific as possible in terms…

The Administrator has been invited to speak at the upcoming OGP meeting at the UN GA next week. Here are the draft remarks which also serve as an update on OGP.

Why Gender Matters: from access to empowerment Unequal access to ICTs mirror actual socio-economic and political inequalities in society. The gender digital divide is thus a reflection of complex issues permeating the world in which we live. Not surprisingly, the gender digital divide is vast in low-income countries where ICT penetration levels are also low.…

The Administrator has been asked to chair the first session of the upcoming Broadband Commission meeting which will take place in New York on 21 September. The session will focus on ICTs in the post215 development agenda. It seems some of the Commissioners are unhappy about the recent OWG report in which ICTs are essentially…

Knowledge to master innovation, innovation to augment our stock of development knowledge 1. Earlier this year UNDP approved a new KM strategy which has 6 pillars: Organizational Learning and Knowledge Capture; Knowledge networking; Openness and public engagement; South-South Cooperation and External Client-Services; Measurement and incentives; and Talent management. Note the last three items which seem…

How can the new technologies empower women in politics and political situations and help them be active participants in policy and decision-making processes that directly affect their lives? Latest ITU data inform us that while global Internet penetration is close to 40% of the world’s population, mobile subscriptions are already reaching 100%. In turn, mobile…

Got an unexpected request from BDP to quickly provide one sentence on the role of UNDP on the above. Here is what I drafted in a rush. Forgot to ask though what was this for… As big data continues its grow path, UNDP should be fully aware of it implications, especially when it comes to…

We  received an unexpected and urgent email from UNDP Panamá requesting advice and help on Open Government. Apparently, the Ministry of Government of the newly elected government was asking UNDP to help in setting up ICT platforms that foster transparency and accountability, as well as lead to a possible crowdsourcing of a planned constitutional reform…