United Nations appoints new members to GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR information

 

and communication technologies AND DEVELOPMENT

 

The United Nations today announced a new chairmanship and new members of the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies for Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (GAID), in a partial renewal of both its Steering Committee and Strategy Council.

Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, CEO of the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization, has been appointed the new Chairman.  He will take over from Craig Barrett, Chairman of the Board of Intel Corporation.  The new Chairman will be assisted by Ramón Garza (CEO, Índigo Media) and Kamran Elahian (CEO, Global Catalyst Partners) as Co-Chairs in an arrangement aimed at ensuring a powerful leadership team to solidify GAID’s successful functioning in the coming year and beyond.

Replacing one third of the membership of both the Committee and the Council, the new members are expected to follow up on strategic work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals through information and communications technology, initiated in the past years.

This will constitute a “powerful, innovative team that will open strategic opportunities to meet key global challenges such as poverty eradication, the economic recession and climate change”, says Sarbuland Khan, Executive Coordinator of GAID while announcing the new membership of the Alliance.  He added that GAID would focus on those global issues, as well as governance and gender, and mainstream them into the context of the broader United Nations development agenda, in the coming year.

Members of GAID are representatives from Governments, the private sector, civil society and international organizations selected through worldwide consultations with all stakeholder groups to ensure gender, geographical and institutional balances.  The new members were appointed from a list of more than 90 nominations received from all stakeholders.  Applications for membership, about three times the number of positions to be renewed, is a sign of the growing awareness of the contribution information and communications technology can make towards eradicating poverty and advancing development.  It also symbolizes recognition of GAID’s ability to bring together and partner with many competent and committed organizations, a diverse and innovative group of stakeholders representing all regions and issues.

As a result of that progress and success, GAID decided to expand the membership of the Steering Committee from 15 to 20, and of the Strategy Council from 65 to 76.

The Steering Committee is tasked with providing overall guidance for GAID and helping to define the medium- and long-term priorities of the organization in conjunction with the Strategy Council. The Steering Committee also serves the Under-Secretary-General in an advisory capacity while the Strategy Council plays an advisory role in defining priorities and policy directions, and promoting further partnerships under the umbrella of the Global Alliance.

For more information on the GAID membership, please visit http://www.un‑gaid.org or contact Enrica Murmura of GAID, tel.:  1 212 963 5913, e-mail:  murmura@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record