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The Forum is organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) and held under the sponsorship of the General Secretariat for the Executive Council. Additional panelists speaking throughout the forum include: Janis Karklins, Assistant Director General of Communication and Information of UNESCO; Elham Ibrahim Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, African Union; Mohamed Al-Qaed CEO, eGovernment Authority of Bahrain; John Davies, Vice President of the Intel World Ahead Program for Intel Corporation; Stephen Dukker Chairman and CEO, NComputing and Ali AlMashat, Chairman of SRCSAT. The two-day Forum will address the issues, challenges and opportunities for promoting the use of ICT to achieve internationally agreed development goals, including the UNs Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The forum provides an opportunity to assess the role played by education and innovation in sustainable development through the theme ICT for MDGs: Moving from Advocacy to Actions. The series of plenary sessions and solutions salons will enable delegates to work towards setting the Global ICT for Development agenda priorities for the next two years. On the first morning of the Forum, His Excellency Ivo Ivanovski, Minister of Information Society from Macedonia formally presented the MDG eNabler to gathered delegates. This was followed by a number of interesting plenary discussions entitled: Reality Check Information and Communication Technologies for Development: what is holding us back? and MDG eNabler: A Call for Action Share and Collaborate to Reach the MDGs. The 2010 Forum will mark the first in a series of forums Abu Dhabi will host on behalf of UN GAID over the next five years, establishing Abu Dhabi as the Middle Easts regional hub for excellence in ICT for development. The establishment of a knowledge and innovation-based economy is at the heart of Abu Dhabis Vision 2030, the strategic route map enabling Abu Dhabi to diversify its economy away from traditional hydrocarbons. The ICT for development framework is an important component in raising the quality of Abu Dhabis e-government strategic framework to international standards that will assist in driving development towards a knowledge and innovation-based economy in the future. The Forum will continue over the 5th and 6th December, attracting more than 200 delegates to participate in the full program. Alongside the Forum, Abu Dhabi will also host the World Summit Awards for Mobile Content Development. Awards will be presented in a gala dinner on the evening of the 6th December. An exhibition of winners and nominees will be open to members of the public from 5th December to 8th December at the Yas Marina Circuit Paddock Club.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2010.
