MDG e-Center Regional Seminar Hailed A Success

Special to TAG-IT News Agency

RIYADH - The regional seminar entitled Millennium Development Goals Electronic Center (MDG e-Center)" hosted by the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh June 14th - 15th 2010 successfully concluded with a call for developing guidelines for country-specific applications.

Based on the discussions and suggestions during the course of the event, the following key conclusions and recommendations were adopted by consensus:

Participants welcomed the establishment of the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN-GAID) MDG e-Center and expressed strong support for this unique initiative led by the Chairman of UN-GAID Talal Abu-Ghazaleh under the honorary chairmanship of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

The participants recognized the value and relevance of the project for the implementation of their national development plans and programs. Therefore, they expressed appreciation, in particular for the Matrix as a new and comprehensive source of eSolutions and the advanced character of the ICT tools with their wide-ranging capabilities and applications.

Specific recommendations were made to enhance and strengthen the Center:

1- To develop and make available an Arabic version of the Center as one of the six official languages of the UN.

2-   Ask UN-GAID to produce a short note for all interested users describing the Center as a new invention, highlighting its unique features and its value added for economic development.

3- To develop as proposed by the UN-GAID Chairman, an executive MBA program on MDG eSolutions and the Center and provide it online through high education institutions in order to facilitate reach to users in remote areas.

4- To call on UN-GAID to organize, after the official launch of the Center, in cooperation with the League of Arab States a forum for all Arab countries to build on the positive outcomes of the present GCC seminar.

5- Call on governments, after the launch of the Center, to designate a focal point in every ministry concerned with development, as well as a country node for coordination and interacting with the GCC Secretariat and the MDG e-Center, to be authorized to make changes in the country page.

6- To post all seminar documents and presentations on the GCC website: www.GCCSG.org

7- The participants stressed the need to assure that information and data are authorized, comprehensive and useful for users to facilitate effective decision making, including by encouraging the project undertaken by UNESCO and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org) to develop information society indicators portal as a dynamic continuously updated repository relying on official data available or to be developed.

8- The Participants suggested that the Center provides regional applications and coordination programs with the national development programs.

9- To adopt the statements made by UN-GAID Chairman, the Minister of Economy and Planning of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and GCC Secretary-General as the official documentation of the seminar to be published and posted on UN-GAID website in Arabic and English languages.

10-   To publish the statements and all the very useful contributions made by the participants as part of the outcome of the seminar.

11- The Federation of GCC Chambers values the efforts exerted by the UN-GAID team and the work done to establish the MDG e-Center, and expressed  the willingness to cooperate with the UN-GAID for the purpose of the projects success, and to liaise with the UN-GAID on matters related with the GCC private sector.

12- To request the UN-GAID Chairman to report to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his capacity as the Honorary Chair of UN-GAID and the MDG e-Center the positive outcome of the seminar.

13- To provide advisory and capacity building support services by the Center.

14- UN-GAID experts confirmed that the Center is compatible and in compliance with internationally recognized quality standards, and will continue to do so.

15- After completion of the due process and the MDG e-Center is officially launched, a trilateral coordination committee shall be launched at the GCC Secretariat General, including the Federation of GCC Chambers, UN-GAID and GCC SG. It will undertake on the ground implementation and coordination between GCC governments and business community, and will organize seminars and workshops for awareness and implementation of the MDG e-Center.

The Seminar was inaugurated by three opening speeches, by Saudi Economy and Planning Minister, Secretary General of the GCC and the Chairman of UN- GAID.

The first session of the seminar was co-chaired by H.E GCC Assistant Secretary General for Economic affairs Mohammad Obaid Al Mazrooei on behalf of H.E the Secretary General and by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, the chairman of GAID.

Some eighty experts from key ministries, departments and institutions concerned with ICT and development fields from all countries of the GCC participated in the seminar.
UN-GAID Task Force members, Sergei Kambalov, Sarbuland Khan and Prof. Amjad Umar, introduced and made detailed presentations on the UN-GAID MDG e-Center.

The project will be presented to the heads of states and governments at a special event to be held during the High-level Plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly September 20-22, 2010. A PrepCom meeting will be held in New York at the United Nations headquarters on July 26th, 2010, to prepare for the September Summit.

The Center will be launched and become operational in March 2011 in 1.0 version and an advanced 2.0 version will be released in early 2012.