Two more conference calls this week on WSIS and UNGIS. The latter is getting a bit more interesting as UNGIS has secured a side event of ICTs and LDCs in the upcoming UN Conference on the LDCs on May 10. And UNDP is having a DG session on 11 May. We need to sync up the two events. At the call, I strongly argue that we need to position ICTs as an enabler for LDCs to help them achieve the Brussels Programme of Action which has established 30 targets, 3 related to ICTs. (see earlier entry posted last Monday)
Most of the week we spent at the DGG retreat which took place in New Brunswick, NJ. The usual question of what happens once the retreat is over was asked from the very beginning. But I am not sure it was properly addressed in spite of the efforts of the external retreat facilitator who did a great job. I missed the last session as I had to come back home early and take care of some family business. Apparently, this session dealt with the cluster issue which now seem to be more entrenched into the practice.
I chatted with the Suriname CO. They got DG TTF approval for an e-governance proposal they submitted which is centered on service delivery for marginalized communities. I agreed to share with them all the information and experience we have on this and to doing a mission sometime in early March to support project development and implementation. The BDP DG advisor outposted in Trinidad &Tobago has provided excellent support for this.
I can still see through one of the windows of my home that the piles of almost 1 meter of snow are stubbornly resisting their own demise, in spite of slightly warmer weather wondering around…
