International support for e-commerce strategies

1. Industry Industrie Canada Canada International support for e-commerce strategies Presentation to UNCTAD Expert Meeting on e-commerce strategies Richard Bourassa Director, International Policy Industry Canada Geneva, July 12 2002

2. The Global Agendafor Digital Opportunity • OECD • APEC • G8 DOT Force • Commonwealth • Summit of the Americas • UN System (ICT Task Force, ITU, etc.) • World Bank • GBDe (Digital Bridges Task Force) • WEF(Global Digital Divide Task Force) 2

3. Mandate set out in the Okinawa Charter on the Global Information Society in July 2000. • Initiative to bridge the digital divide seen as a key element of global efforts to reduce poverty. • Dynamic and productive partnership among industrialized and developing countries, public and private sectors, civil society and international organizations. • Report endorsed at Genoa Summit (2001) including a nine point Plan of Action; G8 Leaders encouraged development of concrete initiatives. 3

4. 3. Human Capacity Development 4. Entrepreneurship 2. Connectivity, Access, low-cost 1. National eStrategies 5. Global ICT Governance Genoa Plan of Action 9. Priority to ICT for development in ODA programs 6. Support for LDCs 8. Local Content and Applications 7. ICT for Health Care The DOT Force 9-Point Plan of Action 4

5. Release of the DOT Force Report Card: “Digital Opportunities for All”June 25, 2002 - report to G8 Leaders • Key initiatives include… • International e-Development Resource Network (IeDRN) • E-Government for Development initiative • Global Digital Opportunity Initiative (GDOI) • DOT Force Entrepreneurial Network (DFEN) • Open Knowledge Network (OKN) • Telecentre Help Desk • Community Access Centres Network • Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA) • Health InterNetwork 5

6. IeDRN Partnership Model Recipients Partners African Node Asian Node Other Regional Nodes National governments (Canada; Ireland; Italy; Japan…) National Governments and Agencies ITU Dakar ITU Nairobi International Organizations (UNDP, ITU, OECD…) S u p p l i e r N e t w o r k Domestic Centres of Expertise Private sector Civil society (Markle Foundation…) IeDRN partners and regional nodes will provide personal and institutional support; web communications; learning materials... 6

7. Canada’s DOT Force Agenda 1. Canadian e-Policy Resource Centre - a node to the DOT Force IeDRN - to assist developing countries with policy, regulatory and e-strategy expertise (e.g. e-government, e-commerce and Internet, telecomnmunications, e-learning, e-health, etc.) 2. Centre for Connectivity in Africa -to promote network connectivity, increase community access and support the creation of local content and applications in Africa 3. Contribution to DOT Force Entrepreneurial Network (DFEN)- a new not-for-profit organization led by private sector, to support entrepreneurship in ICT through mentoring, incubating and networking assistance to entrepreneurs in African countries, as well as seed funding 7

8. Future of the DOT Force • DOT Force concludes its work at the Kananaskis Summit, but implementation of agenda will continue through strategic linkages with UN ICT Task Force and other international organizations. • Implementation Teams will continue their initiatives as autonomous teams and through the formation of a DOT Force Implementation Network; roll-out of the IeDRN is of particular interest to this group. • UN ICT Task Force provides a focal point for strategic direction, policy coherence and coordination, and through its regional networks provides an effective means for broader outreach and stronger involvement of developing countries 8

9. For More Information www.dotforce.org www.g8.gc.ca 9