UN ESCAP expert group to meet in Colombo

A UN Regional Expert Consultation on connecting Asia-Pacific's Digital Society for Resilient Development will be held at the Taj Samudra Hotel from September 5-6.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP and the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) has organised the Consultative meeting).

Initiated by UN ESCAP in collaboration with the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UN CITRAL) the two-day consultation will bring together an impressive line-up of participants comprising local and international speakers, panellists, and moderators. The titles of subjects due to be discussed at the sessions that will follow the inaugural plenary session are indicative of the rich exposure available at the consultation.

Themes listed under the head of session one (Wednesday) "Expanding regional broadband connectivity" include: "Broadband for risk mitigation and socio-economic progress" and "ESCAP's role in developing an intergovernmental cooperation framework for regional connectivity".

Similarly, the following titles of Session two entitled "ICT innovation and resilience building" are good pointers: "Broadband for smarter knowledge-networked societies", "Big data, open innovation and knowledge-networked systems" and "Perspectives in the near-future ICT evolutions".

Themes planned for Sessions three to six scheduled for Thursday entitled "Promoting digital inclusion", "Establishing an enabling cross-border legal environment for regional connectivity", "The United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts, 2005 - National implementation" and "Building an enabling national and internaltional legal environment for electronic single windows and paperless trade" give a preview of the vistas of knowledge and experience that the consultation is going to be enriched by.

The objective of the consultation is to devise ways and review best practices in using ICT connectivity to develop the region. The consultation will focus on several aspects of regional connectivity, both in terms of infrastructure and the enabling legal environment.

The Consultative Meeting is organised as a preparatory meeting to discuss and review the relevant strategies for adoption at the third session of the Committee on Information and Communications Technology (CICT).