1. (Prepared for the UNCTAD Workshop on E-Commerce and Development in CA&C, Curaçao, 25-27 June 2002) Tadao Takahashi Information Society Program MCT/Brazil E-Commerce and Development in LA&C: some out-of-the-box thoughts for discussion SOCINFO/PAL/0128

2.  ICT for Development  Views from UNCTAD & GBDe  The UN ICT Task Force  Some Personal Thoughts Contents

3. ICT for Development ICT: Internet, Wireless, Digital TV, etc.

4.  More people connected (in Classes C, D)  More companies connected (SMEs)  B2B Commerce Applications  E-Government Services  Consumer Confidence  Innovation and Creativity Challenges for LA&C Countries  ICT for Development (cont.)

5. Views from UNCTAD & GBDe Elements of National Strategies (UNCTAD, 2002)  Awareness Building, Training and Education  Access and Infrastructure  Legal and Regulatory Issues  Support for Enterprise Sector  Sector-specific Policies  E-Government  Banking and Online Payment

6.  E-Commerce can increase prosperity, create employment and improve lives  E-Commerce policy challenges require Global Response  Business have to play leadership role  Solutions should be market-driven, global, flexible, and based on industry self-regulation wherever possible E-Commerce and Development GBDe’s View  Views from UNCTAD & GBDe (cont.)

7.  Consumer Confidence  Convergence  Cultural Diversity  Cyber Ethics  Security  E-Government  Intellectual Property Rights  Internet Payments  Taxation GBDe’s Recommendations (2001)

8. The UN ICT Task Force Multilateral Organizations and ICT for Development UNITED NATIONS (ECLAC/ECOSOC, ICT Task Force) G8 (DOT Force) EUROPEAN UNION (ALCUE, Program IST, Program @ALIS, Program ALL-INVEST Info Society Dialogue) WORLD BANK (Program InfoDev, Development Gateway) IDB ITU (Telecommunications, World Summit or Information Society) OECD (GBIF, GSDI) OMC (E-Commerce) OMPI (Intellectual Property) UNDP (HIV Portal Initiative) UNCTAD (Commerce and Development) UNESCO (Education & Culture) ICANN (Internet Governance)

9. UN ICT Task Force  ICT Task Force was proposed to UN Secretary General by Working Group in 2000, at end of consultation process started in 1999  Plan of Action extends Nine Action Points of G-8 DOT Force Report  Launching Meeting took place in NY on 19-20 November 2001  The UN ICT Task Force (cont.)

10. Action Points (From “Digital Opportunities for All”/G-8 DOT Force) 1.Help establish and support National eStrategies 2.Improve Conectivity, Increase Access and Lower Costs 3.Enhance Human Capacity Development, Knowledge Creation and Sharing 4.Foster Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Economic Development

11. 5.Support Universal Participation in Addressing New International Policy and Technical Issues raised by Internet and ICT 6.Establish and Support Dedicated Initiatives for ICT Inclusion of Least Developed Countries 7.Promote ICT for Health Care and against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases 8.Promote National and International Efforts to Support Local Contents and Applications Creation 9.Prioritize ICT in G-8 and other Development Assistance Policies and Programmes and Enhance Coordination of Multilateral Initiatives  The UN ICT Task Force (cont.)

12. Working Groups WGTHEMECOORDINATOR 1ICT Policy and GovernanceZoe Baird 2 National and Regional e- Strategies Mark Malloch Brown 3 Human Resources Development and Capacity Building Talal Abu-Ghazaleh 4Resource MobilizationJose Maria Figueres 5Low Cost Connectivity and AccessLyndall Shope-Mafole 6 Business Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Debra Dunn  The UN ICT Task Force (cont.)

13. Regional Networks REGIONCONVENOR AfricaSouth Africa Arabic CountriesJordan AsiaChina Latin AmericaBrazil  The UN ICT Task Force (cont.)

14.  Outreach mechanism of the UN ICT TF for the region  Fundamental studies and conceptual models  Sponsorship of regionwide projects LACNET - The UN ICT Task Force in Latin American & Caribbean  The UN ICT Task Force (cont.)

15. Some Personal Thoughts on...  When things will happen  International Cooperation  The Vision of the Private Sector  The Role of the National Governments  Power Ideas

16.  Some Personal Thoughts on... (cont.) When things will actually happen...  There is plenty of time for LA&C to devise and implement Policies and Actions in E-Commerce

17.  Some Personal Thoughts on... (cont.) When we will be talking about...

18.  Some Personal Thoughts on... (cont.) The Expected Growth of B2B e-Commerce

19.  Some Personal Thoughts on... (cont.) International Cooperation  There will be no Marshall Plan to finance a Digital Revolution in developing countries  ODA will be the main instrument to support national plans in developing countries

20.  Some Personal Thoughts on... (cont.) The Vision of the Private Sector  Current ideas for concrete projects are too conservative!  New models of business are needed for: -Software Licensing, -Cheap Computers, -etc. for Digital Inclusion

21.  Some Personal Thoughts on... (cont.) The Role of National Governments  In LA&C, they are the key players and leaders, but may be waiting for Godot.

22.  Some Personal Thoughts on... (cont.) Power Ideas Power ideas are still missing. Wholesale solutions should consider, for example:  Reservation of Frequency Bands for Education  “Copy this Book” schemes for Digital contents  Speech-based software for literacy courses  Use of idle communications capacity under favored terms  etc.

23. tadao@socinfo.org.br Thank you