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MEETINGS
Expert Group Meeting on
Information and Communications Technology Indicators
Adoption and Data Collection
ICT Indicators in Education & E-Government
The Cabinet -- Information and Decision Support Center, Cairo 13-15 February 2007ý
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Background
The lack of a comprehensive comparable set of information and
communications technology ýý(ICT) indicators poses a major obstacle
to strategic decision-making, for instance in identifying ýpriority
areas of policy action, assessing and revising ICT strategies,
allocating resources, monitoring ýprogress, evaluating impacts, and
benchmarking national/regional/global development of the
ýinformation society. In recognition of that, the “Partnership on
Measuring ICT for Development” ýdeveloped a list of core ICT
indicators through an intensive global stocktaking process.ý ý The
ýPartnership list is comprised of forty-two core ICT indicators
under four categories: (a) ICT ýinfrastructure and access, (b)
access to, and use of, ICT by households and individuals, (c) use of
ICT ýby businesses, and (d) ICT sector and trade in ICT goods.ý ý
The agreed-upon list was recognized at the ýý36th session of the
United Nations Statistical Commission, held in New York, during 1-4
March 2005. ýHowever, the list was not intended to be a final list,
as it does not cover all vital sectors of the ýinformation society;ý
ý hence, the focus of the EGM on core indicators for use of ICT in
education and ýliteracy and e-government readiness, as well as
fostering the adoption and collection of data for these ýindicators
in Western Asia and the Arab region.ý
This expert group meeting (EGM) follows-up on the outcomes of the
Geneva and Tunis ýphases of the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS),ý ý and on previous efforts by the ýUnited Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA), the
UNESCO ýInstitute for Statistics (UIS), and other members of the
Partnership on Measuring ICT for ýDevelopment in the area of
capacity building for measuring the information society.ý
In particular, the “Capacity-building Workshop on Information
Society ýýMeasurement: Core ýIndicators, Statistics, and Data
ýýCollection,” held in Beirut, during 7-10 June 2005, called for UIS
to ýdevelop indicators on the use of ICT in education and literacy.ý
ý Furthermore, UIS and UNESCWA ýorganized a session on core ICT
indicators in education and e-government during the Partnership
ýworkshop on “Measuring the Information Society” at the WSIS in
Tunis. The EGM builds on the ýoutcomes of these two workshops.ý
Use of ICT in Education
This track is devoted to the measurement of use and impact of ICT in
education. UIS will be ýpresenting a proposal for a core list of
indicators for measuring the use of ICT in education. The ýproposal
of UIS is based on a number of international projects with
well-elaborated methodologies, ýapproaches, and definitions. In this
sense, there are readily available data on the use of ICT in
ýeducation, although some areas could still benefit from further
discussion. These areas include the ýmethodologies appropriate to
different circumstances in different countries and/or regions, and
the ýintermediate definitions so that school assessments and
administrative data may be better targeted ýtowards measuring the
usage of ICT in education. Specifically, the EGM will address the
availability ýof data on the use of ICT in education, and country
experience in collecting ICT and education data ýwith specific focus
on issues such as sampling, design, etc, as well as the
implementation of UNESCO ýhousehold-based literacy assessment survey
LAMP, including its ICT module NOW, in particular with ýregards to
the data it provides on household use of ICT, and the importance of
its relationship to ýliteracy as a whole, e.g., computer literacy
As the proposal aims at determining a core set of international
indicators, all countries may ýstill require a nationally, or
regionally, determined broader set of indicators. The EGM will
consider ýthe proposal of UIS for possible endorsement and adoption
into the Partnership list of core ICT ýindicators. The proposed list
will also be considered for harmonization with other national lists
to ýestablish a preliminary regional list on the use of ICT in
education. ý
True assessment of the impact of use of ICT in education is still
unavailable. Lack of ýeducation has been recognized as one of the
ten largest challenges facing the world.ý ý As the objective ýof
education is to “equip people with the range of competencies – which
includes both cognitive and ýnon-cognitive skills, knowledge, and
attitudes -- necessary to lead productive, fulfilling lives fully
ýintegrated into their societies and communities,” the scope of the
challenge of the lack of basic ýeducation may then be conceived as
the failure of children to achieve mastery of the basic
ýcompetencies necessary to strive in a modern knowledge-based
economy. It is within this framework ýthat perhaps the impact of the
use of ICT in education should be assessed and measured. Of
particular ýinterest is the interplay between the proposed set of
ICT indicators and those recommended by UIS for ýassessing the
education characteristics for individuals in population censuses,ý ý
and how they can be ýutilized to provide evidence needed for
evaluating the feasibility and impact of education policies.ý
E-Government Readiness
This track will consider two interlinking activities aimed at the
development of e-government ýin the region. On the one hand, the
meeting will present a forum for disseminating case studies and
ýpresenting proposals for indicators on the use of ICT in
e-government and its readiness in the region, ýthus paving the way
for establishing a preliminary regional list to start collecting
data for these ýindicators. On the other hand, the meeting will
provide a venue to involve interested stakeholders in a ýpreparatory
meeting to debate the challenges and opportunities for progress of
e-government in the ýregion, and discuss the compatibility of the
concept of the e-government’s global model – connectivity ýto
readiness to inclusion – in the region. The ideas and suggestions
considered in this brainstorming ýsession could be considered as an
input to the conceptual framework of a regional report on
e-ýgovernment readiness in the Arab States.
Organization
The EGM is organized by UNESCWA, UIS, Knowledge Management Branch,
Division for ýPublic Administration and Development Management,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs of ýthe United Nations
(KMB/DPADM/UNDESA), and the Cabinet – Information and Decision
Support ýCenter (IDSC), and will be held in Cairo from 13 to15
February 2007.ý
Participants
The EGM will be attended by decision makers, ICT experts,
statisticians, and researchers in ýthe field of measurement of
indicators in education and e-government, from UNESCWA and other
ýArab countries, regional and international organizations, including
members of the Partnership, and ýacademic and research institutions.
Language
The working languages for the EGM are English and Arabic.
Simultaneous translation from ýEnglish to Arabic and vice-versa will
be provided.
Additional
Information
Any inquiries or requests for ýadditional information regarding
participation and substantive matters should be addressed to:
UNESCWA:ý Mr.
Hesham A. Auda
ICT
Applications Team Leader
ICT Division
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
PO Box 11-8575, Beirut, Lebanon
Email: auda@un.org
Tel: +961-1-978554ý
Fax: +961-1-981510
UIS:ý Mr. Simon
Ellis
Head of
Special Projects
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
CP6128 Succursale centreville
Montreal H3C 3J7ý
Email: s.ellis@uis.unesco.org
Tel: +1-514-343-7757ý
Fax: +1-514-343-6872ý
UNDPADM:ý Ms. Elida Reci
Economic Affairs Officer
Knowledge Management Branch
Division for Public Administration and Development Management
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations
Two UN Plaza, Room DC2-1734ý
New York, NY 10017ý
Email: reci@un.org
Tel: +1-917-367-4082ý
Fax: +1-212-962-0522ý
Inquiries regarding
logistics, including travel and accommodation, should be directed
to:ý
UNESCWA: Ms. Sukaina
Al-Nasrawi
Research
Assistant
ICT Division
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
PO Box 11-8575, Beirut, Lebanon
Email: al-nasrawi@un.org
Tel: +961-1-978546ý
Fax: +961-1-981510ý
IDSC: Ms.
Naayem Saad Zhaghloul
Public
Relations Department Manager
The Cabinet – Information and Decision Support Centerý
1, Magless El Shaab St., Cairo, Egypt
Email: nsaad@idsc.net.eg
Tel: +20-2-792-9292ý
Fax: +20-2-792-9222ý
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