GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR ICT, DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCES MEMBERS OF STEERING COMMITTEE, STRATEGY COUNCIL

GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR ICT, DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCES MEMBERS

OF STEERING COMMITTEE, STRATEGY COUNCIL

The Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development, a new initiative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to promote effective use of ICT for development, today announced the members of its Steering Committee and Strategic Council for the first year, in view of its inaugural meeting on 19 and 20 June in Kuala Lumpur.

The Steering Committee, which provides the Alliance with executive oversight and guidance, is composed of a chair and several co-chairs representing major constituencies.

The Steering Committee will be chaired by Craig Barrett, Chairman of the Board of Intel Corporation, and will comprise Walter Fust, Director General, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (government); Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis, Malaysia’s Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation (government); Guy Sebban, Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce (business); Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. (business); Titi Akinsanmi, Global Teenager Project, SchoolNet Africa (civil society); Renate Bloem, President, Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (civil society); Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (international organizations); John Bernander, Director General, Norwegian Broadcasting (media); and Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank (international organizations).

Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs José Antonio Ocampo and Sarbuland Khan, Executive Coordinator of the Secretariat of the Global Alliance and Director of the Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, are ex-officio members.

The Strategy Council provides overall guidance and priority setting.  It is composed of Governments, the private and non-profit sectors, civil society and international organizations.  Its members are top-level policy makers, practitioners, experts and thinkers, with balanced representation from all groups.  The Council ensures engagement of high-level expertise and leadership, and facilitates outreach.  The basic requirement for the members of this policy-setting group is commitment, experience and vision in ICT for development and traditional development fields.

The members of the Strategy Council from the private and non-profit sectors are John Chambers, Chairman, CISCO (alternate:  Art Reilly); Guy-Olivier Segond, President, Digital Solidarity Fund; Michael Nelson, Programme Director, Internet Technology, IBM; Asadullah Shah, Chairman, International Commission on Workforce Development, Pakistan; Khalid Juffali, Vice Chairman, E.A. Juffali and Brothers Co., Saudi Arabia; Pamela Passman, Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs, Microsoft; Eisa al-Eisa, Managing Director/CEO, SAMBA Financial Group; Thomas Ganswindt, President/CEO, Siemens (alternate: Peter Hellmonds); Carlo Ottaviani, President, STMicroelectronics Foundation (alternate:  Elena Pistorio); and Anne Cobb, President, Visa International CEMEA.

The Council members from civil society are Kamel Ayadi, President, World Federation of Engineering Associations, Tunisia; Rodrigo Baggio, Executive Director, Committee for Democracy in Information Technology, Brazil; Peter Bruck, President, World Summit Award, Austria; Astrid Dufborg, Executive Director, Global E-schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI); Hiroshi Kawamura, Daisy Consortium, Japan; Janet Langmore, President, Digital Opportunity Trust, Canada; Tracey Naughton, Chair, WSIS Civil Society Media Caucus; Bazlur Rahman, CEO, NGOs Network for Radio and Communication, Bangladesh; Lynn St. Amour, President/CEO, Internet Society; and Lynn M. Wanyeki, Executive Director, African Women's Development and Communications Network (FEMNET), Kenya.

The Council also comprises 30 Governments and 10 international organizations -- see www.un-gaid.org.

For policy and expert advice, the Steering Committee and the Strategy Council will draw upon a group of high-level advisers.

A Champions Network is being built with a group of activists, experts and practitioners promoting development through the use of ICT.  They echo and amplify at local, national and regional levels the lessons learned and best practices identified through the work of the Alliance.

The Global Alliance functions as a partnership and network supported by the United Nations, under the authority of the Secretary-General and the auspices of the Economic and Social Council.

For further information, visit www.un-gaid.org or contact Enrica Murmura at the Global Alliance secretariat, tel.: (212) 963-5913, e-mail: murmura@un.org; or Edoardo Bellando at the Department of Public Information, tel.: (212) 963-8275, e-mail: bellando@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record