ESCWA workshop on Standardizing Information Society Measurement Models in the ESCWA Region, Beirut, Lebanon, 14-15 December 2011

ITU 9th World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Meeting (WTIM), Port Louis, Mauritius, 5-9 December 2011

Seminar on ICTs for Small Enterprise Development, Washington, 28-29 November 2011
This event was jointly organized by UNCTAD and the Aspen Network Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) and the mHealth working group.

Regional meeting of the East African Community (EAC) Task Force on Cyberlaws, Tanzania, 25-27 October 2011

UNCTAD at the WSIS Forum 2011 - Dialogue on mobile money solutions for small enterprises, Geneva, 16-20 May 2011

UNCTAD, FAO and ITC organised a joint session on the opportunities that mobile technology offers. The first part was devoted to e-business and focused on how mobile money can support small enterprises

The interactive dialogue noted that a wide range of mobile money services are increasingly being offered which offer potential solutions to small enterprises. These include mobile transfers and payments as well as more elaborated financial services such as micro-insurance and micro-finance.

Developing countries are leading the exponential growth of mobile money deployments. Currently, there are 51 mobile money deployments in Africa and 37 in LDCs. However, not all countries have been equally successful in the deployment of such services. Participants identified key factors as explanations to variations in the uptake and coverage of mobile money services.

A summary of the ensuing discussion is available here.

More details on the WSIS Forum 2011 are available at http://www.wsis.org/forum

UNGIS Special Event at the LDC IV Conference: ICTs in LDCs - opportunities and challenges, Istanbul, 12 May 2011
UNCTAD, jointly with UNESCO, ITU and UNECA, organized an UNGIS special event during the LDC IV Conference. It took place at the Lutfi Kirdar Convention and Exhibition Centre

WSIS Forum 2011, Geneva, 16-20 May 2011

Regional meeting of the East African Community (EAC) Task Force on Cyberlaws followed by a briefing of Members of Parliament of Kenya on Cyberlaws , Mombasa, Kenya
The EAC Task Force on Cyberlaw discussed the next phase of cyberlaw implementation in EAC partner States. This regional meeting was followed on 31 March to 1 April by a briefing of Members of Parliament of Kenya on selected legal and regulatory issues relating to e-commerce, m-commerce and the EAC Cyberlaw framework.

• Remarks by Mr. Charles J. K. Njoroge, Director General, Communications Commision of Kenya

• Remarks by Hon. Samuel L. Poghisio, Minister for Information and Communications

• Briefing of the Members of Parliament - Speaking points, Torbjörn Fredriksson, UNCTAD, Mombassa, Kenya, 31 March 2011

Delivery of a distance learning course on the Legal Aspects of E-Commerce for the Latin American Economic System (SELA) countries, 1-26 November 2010

Workshop on “Measuring ICT indicators to Achieve the WSIS Objectives in Africa”, parallel event at the Forum ICT4all Tunis+5, Hammamet, 10 November 2010
This high-level workshop for decision makers in charge of designing ICT policies highlighted the importance of measuring ICT in shaping and monitoring ICT policies.

Information Economy Report 2010,14 October 2010
The Information Economy Report 2010: ICT, Enterprises and Poverty Alleviation monitors global trends related to ICTs from a development perspective. The 2010 edition gives special attention to the potential impact of ICTs in enterprises for reducing poverty and improving livelihoods.

Cours de formation sur la mesure de l'accès des ménages et des entreprises aux TIC et de l'utilisation de ces technologies, Addis Abeba, 11-22 October 2010
Le cours a été organisé par UNCTAD, ITU et la CEA-ONU pour l'Afrique francophone. Il vise à améliorer les moyens dont disposent les instances officielles des pays fournissant des données pour produire des statistiques comparables d'un pays à l'autre sur l'accès des ménages et des particuliers aux TIC et de l'utilisation de ces technologies, ainsi que sur l'utilisation des TIC par les entreprises, sur le secteur des TIC et sur le commerce international de biens TIC.

First meeting of the East African Community Taskforce on Cyberlaws, Phase II, Kigali, 15-17 June 2010
On 7 May 2010, the Sectoral Council of Ministers on Transport, Communications and Meteorology of the East African Community (EAC) adopted a Framework for Cyberlaws which had been prepared with the active assistance of UNCTAD. At the meeting, UNCTAD and the EAC Task Force on Cyber Laws discussed the next phase in the cyberlaw implementation in Partner States (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda). Special attention was given to intellectual property rights, competition, e-taxation and information security.

WSIS Forum 2010,Geneva, 10-14 May 2010
A special session was organized by FAO, UNCTAD and ITC on "ICT and Rural Enterprises" on Monday, 10 May. Field experiences and new practices were shared to showcase how ICT can enable rural enterprises to become means of poverty reduction and sustainable rural development.This interactive debate also addressed how governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society can contribute to these ends.