ECA PRESS RELEASE No. 1/2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AFRICA PREPARES FOR SECOND PHASE OF WORLD SUMMIT ON INFORMATION SOCIETY

Addis Ababa, 12 January 2004 (ECA) - Approximately 1,000 people from the
private sector, civil society, media, government and international
institutions will meet in Ghana, next month to discuss an "Action Plan on
Africa and the Knowledge Economy" (APAKE), for expanding access to - and
use of - information and communications technologies in Africa.

The theme of the African Regional Preparatory Conference for the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), is "Access - Africa's key to an
inclusive Information Society." The meeting is scheduled for February 2-4
in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

The three-day meeting will be opened by the President of the Republic of
Ghana, H.E. John.A. Kufuor, and addressed by the Executive Secretary of the
UN Economic Commission for Africa, K.Y. Amoako, among others.

According to a statement by President Kufuor, "the conference mirrors the
continent’s resolve to totally embrace a common vision and strategy for an
information-based society that not only recognizes ICT as a tool for
economic innovation, but also as a platform for socio-economic
development."

The conference is intended to prepare African countries for the second
stage of WSIS, to be held in Tunisia later in the year. The first phase of
the Summit took place in Geneva in December 2003.

"We are aiming for very concrete results, based on critical questions, such
as the need for a common GSM card for Africa, removal of regulatory
obstacles to facilitate content provision using different technological
platforms and media, including the Internet, digital radio and television
services." says Aida Opoku-Mensah, Officer-in-charge of ECA's Development
Information Services Division (DISD), which is spearheading preparations.

The Action Plan for Africa and the Knowledge Economy will include concrete
proposals for facilitating investment in ICTs and recommendations on
e-strategies and applications across various sectors, such as education,
agriculture and commerce, as well as human resource development.

Government ministers charged with advancing ICTs in Africa will use the
forum to take stock of the achievements made since the establishment, in
April 2004, of an African Ministerial Committee to act on proposals coming
out of the WSIS in Geneva. The Committee has 13 member countries, with the
African Union and ECA providing institutional and logistical support.

"We are expecting heated and in-depth discussions and proposals on the
global partnerships Africa requires to finance access, particularly in
light of the Digital Solidarity Fund proposed at the Geneva Summit by
Senegalese President, Abdoulaye Wade and adopted by the AU Summit of Heads
of States in July 2004," said Makane Faye, ECA's Senior ICT Policy Advisor.

The outcomes from Accra will constitute Africa's contribution to various
WSIS meetings scheduled for Geneva in February 2005, namely the Thematic
Meeting on Indicators, the Working Group on Internet Governance and
Prepcom2 and later, Tunis 2005.

Online discussions are in full swing to solicit inputs from a wide range of
stakeholders on issues to be addressed by the Conference.

For more information contact:
Aida Opoku-Mensah
Officer-in-charge
Development Information Services Division (DISD)
Email: aopoku-mensah@...

Or visit the Ghana-WSIS website at http://www.uneca.org/aisi/accra2005/

From: Mercy Wambui, ECA
--
'Gbenga Sesan
Program Manager | Lagos Digital Village | www.lagosdigitalvillage.org.ng
Team Leader | Paradigm Initiative Nigeria | www.pin.org.ng
"Why? Why not?" | www.gbengasesan.org.ng | www.gbengasesan.com


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