Bangkok--13 May--UNISBKK Malaysia's Prime Minister Badawi to open annual meeting of GAID Strategy Council on 18 May The Global Forum on Access and Connectivity: Innovative funding for ICT for Development, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on 19 and 20 May, will bring together participants from different sectors to seek ways to expand affordable connectivity, applications and services throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Participants include Craig Barrett, Chairman of the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development and Chairman of Intel Corporation; Amirzai Sangin, Minister for Communications and IT of Afghanistan; Ali Abbasov, Minister of Communications and IT of Azerbaijan; Benjamin Aggrey Ntim, Minister of Communications of Ghana; Basem Fawaz Rousan, Minister of ICT of Jordan; Maximus Ongkili, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia; Haj Klai, Minister of Communication Technologies of Tunisia; Hessa Al Jaber, Secretary-General of the ICT Supreme Council of Qatar; Hamadoun Tour?, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); Sha Zukang, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; Ulf Pehrsson, Vice President for Government and Industry Relations, Ericsson; and Ahmed Mahjoub, President and CEO, Tunisia Telecom. Forum sessions will focus on closing gaps in high-speed broadband infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific; innovative funding mechanisms for IT infrastructure; applications and services for multilingualcommunities; extending IT connectivity to island States; and enhancing IT workforce training, especially for young people. “As a region,” said Global Alliance Executive Coordinator Sarbuland Khan, “Asia and the Pacific was amongst the early adopters of high-speed broadband networks, and has invested in IT as the core infrastructure for modernizing its economy and spurring innovation. While the region has some of the most advanced broadband and IT-related technologies and policies, major gaps in broadband infrastructure in the least developed countries continue to limit investment, economic growth, employment and development”. Panellists will give their views on business opportunities and on ways to boost investment in the region’s IT infrastructure, including through policy and regulatory measures, innovative financing and public-private partnerships. One meeting will focus on the initiative “New and Refurbished PCs for Schools”, which aims at providing 500,000 new and refurbished computers for 10,000 schools, catering for 35 million students, by 2012. The initiative has the support of the Virginia-based Consumer Electronics Association, which has offered to work with the Global Alliance to expand the supply of new and refurbished computers and ensure that the end users are reached. Intel, Cisco and other private companies are ready to take part in the initiative. On 18 May, the Global Alliance’s Strategy Council and Steering Committee, chaired by Craig Barrett, will meet to chart the Alliance’s next steps. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi will open the morning Strategy Council meeting, and Malaysia’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Maximus Ongkili will open the afternoon Steering Committee meeting. Participants will discuss the progress ofthe Alliance’s flagship initiatives and regional networks, and will be briefed on new initiatives. The Global Forum coincides with the 2008 World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT), which will bring to Kuala Lumpur from 18 to 22 May more than 70 IT industry associations representing more than 90% of the world’s IT market, together with civil society, academia and other experts. The Global Forum, to be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, is organized by the Global Alliance for ICT and Development. The Global Alliance seeks to mobilize the human, financial and technical resources required to develop ICT infrastructure, services and applications across the world. Contact: Enrica Murmura at the Global Alliance, Tel.: (1-212) 963-5913, e-mail: [email protected], or Edoardo Bellando, Tel.: (1-212) 963 8275, e-mail [email protected]. Website: http://www.un-gaid.org.