The convening of the annual conference of the international alliance on December 8
The GCC was not affected by the global financial crisis
A Plan to launch an e-center to achieve the Millennium’s Development Goals
By Tariq Khattab
Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies, affiliate to the United Nations, suggested that Qatar hosts a permanent international center for sustainable development through technology, due to Qatar’s effective role both on the Arab and international levels.
During an interview with Al-Raya, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh revealed a plan to launch an e-center that will achieve the Millennium Development Goals, while noting that a preparatory meeting, to discuss the work and activities of the center, is to be held. The center aims to become a terminal umbrella under which a tremendous amount of information will be kept, as well as decision support tools that can benefit all parties concerned (the information technology sector, telecommunications, etc.) who are partners in development, particularly in developing countries.
He explained that the e-Center will enhance transparency and provide a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences between the various players, as well as help governments in the strategic integration of all policy matters relating to the use of ICT in national development strategies.
He noted that ten years ago, and more specifically in the year 2000, the goals of the Millennium were announced during the « World Summit», with the commitment to achieving specific development objectives on a global level, and that declared goals are to be implemented by the year 2015.
"Today, ten years after the announcement of the goals of the Millennium, the process is still far from being achieved,” added Dr. Abu-Ghazalah, stating that the Millennium Summit had put eight goals and demanded that the international community achieve them by 2015.
He also added that during a meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations, the matter of what could be done by the the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies to achieve these goals was discussed. "In light of my meeting with the Secretary General, I was assigned to lead an international team working specifically on the better use of information and communication technologies to accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and the establishment of an international electronic center (that includes the Millennium Development Goals as a vital source for governments in developing countries and all the participants in the development process), based at the United Nations, which includes implementation mechanisms under the name of e-MDG Center, presided by the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, while I become in charge of its executive management," added Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh.
The e-Center has all the necessary tools and guidance needed for the achievement of development, in all fields, through the use of information and communication technologies, noted Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh. The preparatory conference for the project will be held at the United Nations headquarters September 7-8, 2010, in the presence of government representatives, corporations, universities and the civil society. The conference will be followed by the launch of this Center officially during the World Summit, during its regular meeting, on September 21 at the United Nations. The Center will be functioning on its full technical, guidance and operational capacities during March 2011.
He pointed out that the e-Center, specific for achieving the development goals, is an interactive one and has virtual advisers to talk to, through the gateway, to respond to any questions or requests. He also explained that this project implements the eighth goal of the eight Millennium Goals for Development, which stated that achieving the Millennium Goals became more effective through a partnership between the government and the private sector and through the use of information technology and communications.
As for the keen interest of the Secretary General of the United Nations in the e-Center project, Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh said that the Secretary General of the United Nations has sincere interest in this project and supports it as a priority, that he agreed to be its honorary chairman, pointing out that this is the first time in the history of the United Nations, where the Secretary-General is named an honorary chairman, clearly shows his full support to this project.
He pointed out that the September meeting will set up seven international teams, each of which will be specialized in one of the development goals of the Millennium. Each organization will be headed by one of the United Nations’ organizations, whose members will include a president and a team from the public sector, a president and a team from the business sector, as well as those of the civil society, international and academic organizations .. noting that one of the said teams specializes in the development and acceleration of the development programs in education, through information and communication technologies, as well as the programs for health, economy, environment and the government sector.
Meanwhile,\ concerning competition from other organizations that have the same nature of work, he noted,“We are an international organization inter-combined by the government, the private sector and the civil society, under the umbrella of the United Nations, serving the goals of development, and therefore we do not compete with any organization.”
He pointed out that during the middle of last month, the first meeting on the project was held on a global level at the General Secretariat of the GCC in Riyadh, upon an invitation by His Excellency the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and was attended by the six member states of the GCC.. The meeting addressed, for two days, the issue of sustainable development and how to achieve it through information and communication technologies. A project, with the Millennium Development Goals as its objective, has been introduced during the first day, while the following day discussed the project’s practical applications on the territory of each state according to their needs.
He revealed that the annual conference of the Global Alliance will be held on December 8, which will present the project, on a global level, while involving representatives of governments and the private sector in the world.
He also noted that the World Economic Summit will be held on November 22, in Bahrain, in partnership with the Global Alliance, with the key topic being achieving the Millennium Development Goals through the use of technology.
International Conference
Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh added, "in view of Qatar’s important role, both on Arab and international levels, we are discussing with the Government of Qatar to hold« an international conference » which will make from Qatar a model for the implementation of a program for achieving the development goals through technology, and we look forward to this meeting which will take place soon at a date determined by the Qatari government.”
He added: Given our knowledge of the size of the capacities and aspirations of the great State of Qatar .. I proposed the idea of establishing a permanent international center in Qatar, for sustainable development through technology, noting that the Kingdom of Bahrain decided to establish a similar center for this purpose, at the level of African countries, which will host experts from Africa to be trained, under the supervision of the Alliance, on development plans and procedures and provide counseling on their application, as a developmental act in support of African countries.
Economic situation
With regard to the global economic situation, Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh said that the situation today is very painful, and especially in the Western world, and will impact us in varying degrees, particularly since the government moved the crisis from the private sector to the government sector through the injection of funds in support of faltering institutions, through the purchase of bad assets, and therefore, turning private debt into government debt, and that is the real crisis facing all developed countries, with no exceptions, even if in varying degrees, and the worst hit are America, UK, Western and Eastern Europe with the exception of Germany, Japan, Australia and Canada.
He added: that experts had advised President Obama to support incentive programs and financial support to institutions, and buy distressed assets without an emphasis on supporting the productive sectors, which was not a successful approach because it caused the bankruptcy of governments, which started in Greece, and will spread gradually to other countries, and we shall soon see protests like those that we have seen in Greece spreading to many European countries. We will also see the burden of government debts overshadow and impact their budgets and their ability to provide the necessary services to their citizens.
He also added: I believe that this goes contrary to all what is said about the recovery of the global economy.. and that what is true is that the coming period will witness a great impact on world financial market, especially since the global crisis started as a financial crisis, but starting this year, has shifted into an economic crisis, noting that one must distinguish between the financial market and the economy market, especially considering that the first is a parallel market, default, or a virtual one, while the underlying economy depends on the productive sectors.
He pointed out that the real economy is facing real crisis in Western countries as a result of accumulation of public debt, and the responsibility of its service, as well as the deficit in government budgets, corporate bankruptcies, low productivity and increased unemployment.
Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh also said, "I do not understand how a recovery can take place while all the economic indicators are negative in the Western world, expecting the consequences of the global financial crisis to endure for ten years.
He added that the picture in the Arab region is different and varied. The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council were not affected by the international economic recession, thanks to oil revenues and government policies in the Gulf, who directed their investments to concentrate on capacity-building, including education, training and rehabilitation, as well as the infrastructure, for the establishment of production structure that is suitable for growth.
He said that other Arab countries will be affected to varying degrees, with the most striking are those least negatively affected, who were not closely related the Western economy and were not dependent on it, notably Syria.
The project for the establishment of the e-Center for the achievement of the Development Goals UNGAID, E-Millennium Development Goals Center, E-MDG, which is supported by the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies, is chaired by Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh and with the honorary presidency of Professor Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations.
Mr. Ki-moon has commissioned Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh to develop a plan to accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
The Global Alliance has already begun preparations in order to hold workshops, seminars and national and regional researches, on the Gulf Cooperation Council level, so that similar seminars can be arranged to cover other areas around the world.
The Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN-GAID) was founded by a decision from the top of the knowledge society, the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), in Tunis in 2005.
The international alliance, which is currently chaired since the beginning of 2010, by Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, succeeding former president, Mr. Craig Barrett, president of Intel, concentrates on development and information technology, and its membership includes representatives of governments and the private sector, the civil society and international organizations.
It should be noted that the e-Center will be a comprehensive for Millennium Development Goals, as a vital source for governments in developing countries, as well as to all participants in the development processes. When fully operational, the e-Centre, which is currently in the first stages of development, will include the following elements:
A solution system for the information and communication technologies, to enhance the developmental goals of the Millennium, which relies on the knowledge of the tools and solutions of the information and communication technologies, for certain developmental missions, the giant portal (the mother of all portals), for a quick access to all resources, the gist of information and communication technology excellence for the development goals of the Millennium, and the strategic plan, with the help of the computer for developing countries, and the plans concerning problems, the execution tools in support of the detailed plan, simulation that helps build the required capacities, and monitoring tools to monitor the projects and quality assurance.
The e-Center aims to become a comprehensive station holding a tremendous amount of information, as well as decision support tools that can benefit all involved in development (in the information and communication technology sector, etc.), particularly in developing countries, once the e-Center is fully operational (early 2011). It is also possible that the e-Center will enhance transparency, and will provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge and experiences between the different players. It will also help governments in the strategic integration of all policy issues relating to the use of ICT in national development strategies.
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