Title: New technologies altering healthcare landscape, says UN report
Author: Mićo Tatalović
Source: SciDev.net
Date (published): 20/09/2011
Date (accessed): 21/09/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"New ways of doing business, often triggered by novel technologies, have up-ended public and private sector roles in development — offering a new landscape of healthcare opportunities for women and children in developing countries, according to a UN report.

The fundamental change is that it is now the private sector that is creating infrastructure, and the public sector is arriving afterwards to exploit it for health purposes, according to the co-author of the report, Tore Godal, a medical doctor and special advisor on global health to the Norwegian prime minister.

The report, 'Innovating for Every Woman, Every Child', published last week (12 September) by The Lancet, highlights business models that could harness new infrastructure to improve the health of women, children and infants in low-income countries."

Title: How the UN Foundation Plans to Meet Its Goals With the Help of Social Media
Author: Zachary Sniderman
Source: Mashable
Date (published): 16/09/2011
Date (accessed): 18/09/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"The United Nations (UN) and its philanthropic arm, the United Nations Foundation, have been on a headlong sprint to change the world by 2015. That year marks the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals, a set of far reaching and ambitious humanitarian challenges that include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and providing universal primary education.

They are lofty goals for sure, but ones that the two organizations are committed to achieving. One of their secret weapons has been social media and digital tools, from the UN Foundation’s newly launched mobile app to a history of digital communication and online advocacy.

Mashable caught up with Aaron Sherinian, vice president for communications and PR for the UN Foundation, to talk about the future of social good. "

Title: UN, Bhutan tie up in ICT capability project
Author: Pia Rufino
Source: FutureGov
Date (published): 18/07/2011
Date (accessed): 10/08/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"The UN and Bhutan government has launched an ICT capacity development programme through an academy to boost the ICT skills of the government officials in Himalayan kingdom.

The United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (UN-APCICT/ESCAP), with the support of Bhutan’s Ministry of Information and Communication (MoIC) has launched the academy called Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders.
...
The Academy is APCICT’s flagship training programme made up of a comprehensive ICT for development curriculum designed to equip government leaders with the necessary skills and knowledge to leverage ICT for socio-economic development.
...
The launch of the Academy includes a five-day workshop that covers three training modules: 1) The Linkage between ICT Applications and Meaningful Development; 2) ICT for Development Policy, Process and Governance; and 3) Options for Funding ICT for Development."

Title: UN reveals global disparity in broadband access
Author : Jonathan Fildes
Source: BBC News
Date (published): 02/09/2010
Date (accessed): 06/09/2010
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
The global disparity in fixed broadband access and cost has been revealed by UN figures.

The Central African Republic is the most expensive place to get a fixed broadband connection, costing nearly 40 times the average monthly income there.

Macao in China is the cheapest, costing 0.3% of the average monthly income.

Niger becomes the most expensive place to access communication technologies, when landlines and mobiles are also taken into account.

"Access to broadband in an affordable manner is our greatest challenge," Dr Hamadoun Toure, secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), told BBC News.

The statistics were highlighted ahead of the UN 2010 Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York on 19 September.

Title: World e-Parliament Report 2010
Pages: 264 pp.
ISBN: 978-92-1-123187-8, 978-92-9142-448-1
Source: www.ictparliament.org
Publisher: United Nations,
Date (published): 10/06/2010
Date (accessed): 13/06/2010
Type of information: report
Language: English, French
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
The United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union just released the World e-Parliament Report 2010. The Report, prepared by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, intends to help legislatures to harness the potential benefits of ICT for their work and establish key goals and priorities for exploiting this valuable resource. While providing evidence of the complexities of e-parliament, the Report suggests ways to overcome some of the obstacles to the effective use of technology in parliamentary settings.

The findings presented in the World e-Parliament Report 2010 are based on the results of the Global Survey of ICT in Parliaments conducted by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament between July and November 2009, to which 134 parliamentary assemblies responded.
The rapid growth of information and communication technologies (ICT) is changing not only the economic, social and political landscape around the world, but also the environment within which parliaments operate and it affects how they are perceived by the citizenry. In both developed and developing countries, parliaments are exploring ways to use technology to strengthen democracy and encourage political participation.
In 2008, the first edition of the World e-Parliament Report established a baseline of how parliaments were using ICT to help them fulfil their responsibilities and to connect to their constituencies. The World e-Parliament Report 2010 builds on that groundbreaking work and evaluates the progress accomplished by parliaments during the intervening two years in their efforts to use modern technologies to strengthen their institutional role. The 2010 Report further provides a methodology that can serve as a tool for parliaments to improve their performance in key areas of e-Parliament.

Foreword and Acknowledgments
Executive summary
Contents
Introduction (784 kb)
Chapter 1 - The Continuing Impact of ICT on the World of Parliaments
Chapter 2 - Communication between Parliaments and Citizens
Chapter 3 - Becoming an Open Parliament: Evolving Standards for Transparency and Accessibility
Chapter 4 - Envisioning, Planning, and Managing for e-Parliament
Chapter 5 - Systems and Standards for Parliamentary Documents
Chapter 6 - Library and Research Services
Chapter 7 - Responsive and Robust Technical Infrastructures
Chapter 8 - The State of e-Parliament in 2010
Chapter 9 - Cooperation and Collaboration
Chapter 10 - The e-Parliament Framework 2010 - 2020
Major Findings, Recommendations, and Conclusions
Bibliography
Boxes and figures
Annexes

Title: Empowering Haitian women through digital tools
Author: Abby Goldberg
Source: United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI)
Date (published): 08/05/2010
Date (accessed): 10/05/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
We at Digital Democracy received a request from the Protection Officer for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse working on behalf of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who relayed the enormous and immediate need for mechanisms to streamline protection, documentation, and service provisions around gender-based-violence. Her mandate was to create this mechanism and she asked whether we could join an “interagency working session”, meeting with thirteen local women leaders from five different organisations in Port Au Prince, to provide technical expertise at the meeting.

Title: United Nations e-Government Survey 2010: Leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis
Author Editor:
Pages: 140 pp.
ISBN: 978-92-1-123183-0
Publisher: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Date (published): 13/04/2010
Date (accessed): 06/05/2010
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML and pdf)
Abstract:
The 2010 United Nations e-Government Survey: Leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis was completed in December 2009 and launched in early 2010. The report presented various roles for e-government in addressing the ongoing world financial and economic crisis. The public trust that is gained through transparency can be further enhanced through the free sharing of government data based on open standards. The ability of e-government to handle speed and complexity can also underpin regulatory reform. While technology is no substitute for good policy, it may give citizens the power to question the actions of regulators and bring systemic issues to the fore. Similarly, e-government can add agility to public service delivery to help governments respond to an expanded set of demands even as revenues fall short. Since the last edition of the survey, in 2008, governments have made great strides in development of online services, especially in middle-income countries. The costs associated with telecommunication infrastructure and human capital continue to impede e-government development. However, effective strategies and legal frameworks can compensate significantly, even in least developed countries. Those who are able to harness the potential of expanded broadband access in developed regions and mobile cellular networks in developing countries to advance the UN development agenda have much to gain going forward.

Contents:
Foreword, acknowledgements and contents
Introduction
Part 1: Leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis
Chapter 1: Stimulus funds, transparency and public trust
Chapter 2: Roles for e-government in financial regulation and monitoring
Chapter 3: E-service delivery and the MDGs
Part 2: The state of e-government around the world
Chapter 4: World e-government rankings
Chapter 5: Citizen empowerment and inclusion
Chapter 6: Measuring e-government
Notes and references
Statistical annex

Title: Manual for the Production of Statistics on the Information Economy 2009, Revised Edition
Pages: 188 pp.
Publisher: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Date (published): February 2009
Date (accessed): 26/10/2009
Type of information: statistical handbook
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML and pdf)
Abstract:
UNCTAD has released its 2009 revised edition of the Manual for the Production of Statistics on the Information Economy to serve as a reference for national statistical offices and other producers of official statistics on business use of information and communications technology (ICT). The Manual provides a guide to data collection and analysis, international standards, and definitions. It also offers model questions for surveys on ICT use, and it reviews important institutional issues related to compiling ICT statistics.

The Manual focuses on statistical issues particular to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and provides useful advice on how to tackle statistical challenges. It will form the basis of future UNCTAD training courses and other technical assistance on ICT statistics. It also contributes to the wider international work of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development.

The revised edition of the Manual was the result of a global consultation with National Statistical Offices during 2007-2008, carried out in collaboration with the UN Statistical Division. The revised edition of the Manual was presented at the 40th session of the UN Statistical Commission in February 2009.

Title: Consultation on financing ICT for development
Publisher: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Date (published): 12/10/2009
Date (accessed): 26/10/2009
Type of information: press release
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
The United Nations Group on the Information Society held the first-ever Open Consultations on Meeting the Challenges of Financing ICT for Development. Financing ICT is important in order to bridge the digital divide and for developing countries to connect to the global economy.

See also:
Open Consultations on Financial Mechanisms: Meeting the Challenges of ICT for Development (8-9 October, Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland)

Title: Developing countries must boost broadband: UN
Author: Jonathan Lynn
Source: Reuters
Publisher: Thomson Reuters
Date (published): 23/10/2009
Date (accessed): 25/10/2009
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Developing countries risk missing out on the benefits of information technology because of their lack of broadband infrastructure, a U.N. agency said.

Lack of broadband Internet access deprives countries of the possibility of building up offshoring industries, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report..."