| |
 |
 |
| First Global Meeting of Country Gateways Takes Place in Bonn, Germany |
|
Country Gateways from 52 countries met in Bonn, Germany, for their first global meeting on June 24-28, 2004. The Bulgaria Country Gateway, which is operated by ARC Fund since 2001, was represented by Ms. Dinka Dinkova, ARC Fund’s Program Director and BgCG manager.
The primary objectives of the global meeting were the formal launching of the Country Gateways Network and strengthening of collaboration among individual Country Gateways (CGs) through regional meetings and working sessions. During the meeting CG teams from Europe and Central Asia (ECA), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Middle East and North Africa (MENA), South-East Asia and the Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa shared experiences, learnt from best practices, and discussed their successes and challenges.
 The meeting also formally launched the Country Gateways Network (CGN) which was created to formalize long-term association among and between the Development Gateway and the Country Gateways. The network is conceived as a mechanism for a multilateral exchange of information, tools, content, and experience between and among its members, strengthening knowledge sharing and the effectiveness of development activities. For more information on the Country Gateways Network, click here.
Country Gateways are the country-level components of the Development Gateway initiative. They form a network of more than 50 locally-owned and managed public-private partnerships. Their mission is to facilitate innovative and effective use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) in the country to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. Bulgaria is one of 15 countries in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region where such gateways are currently operational. The Bulgarian Country Gateway is a technological and social integration platform which combines the efforts of multiple stakeholders in the civil society, government, academia and business in supporting economic and social development in Bulgaria through a more effective and innovative use of ICTs and greater access to development-related knowledge. The Bulgarian Country Gateway can be accessed through its portal site: www.bgrazvitie.net
The initiative is supported by the Development Gateway Foundation, an independent not-for-profit organization launched by the World Bank, which helps improve people’s lives in developing countries by building partnerships and information systems that provide access to knowledge for development. More information is available at www.developmentgateway.org
So far the Bulgarian Country Gateway has received a planning grant from infoDev Program of the World Bank (in the period March-August 2001), a first-year implementation grant (completed in September 2002-October 2003), and was recently approved a second-year implementation grant to start in July 2004.
Development Gateway Forum
The first Global Meeting of Country Gateways was held as a related event to this year's Development Gateway Forum which took place in Petersburg, near Bonn, on June 28, 2004. The second annual edition of the DG Forum was devoted to “Local Solutions for Effective Development”. The Forum is a high-level roundtable discussion among development innovators from government, business, academia, and civil society. This year it brought together prominent leaders from developing countries to describe their use of ICT to save precious resources in the procurement of public goods and services, manage development for greater impact, and build their own country’s capacity to advance development.
One of the keynote speakers at the Forum was Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Ms. Lydia Shouleva, who was invited to present Bulgaria’s experience in effectively managing the process of donor coordination and applying ICT to enhance aid effectiveness. To access the speech, click here.
Other high-profile attendees at the Forum included the President of Rwanda H.E. Mr. Paul Kagame; Dr. Lidia Brito, Minister of Higher Education, Science ad Technology of Mozambique; H.E. Mr. Jorge Quiroga, former President of the Republic of Bolivia; Mr. James Wolfensson, President of The World Bank Group; Ms. Mamphela Ramphele, President of the Development Gateway Foundation and Managing Director of the World Bank Group, and Mr. Peer Steinbrűck, Minister-President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia among others.
The Forum was co-hosted by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Deutsche Telekom AG.
The Petersberg Prize 2004
The Petersberg Prize is a 100,000 Euro prize awarded by the Development Gateway Foundation in recognition for outstanding achievement in the use of ICTs for development.
The prize was awarded for the first time at the Development Gateway Forum 2004, drawing over 200 nominations from all over the world. Individuals and organizations were nominated for using ICT in education, health, agriculture, environment, enterprise, and several other areas.
The Petersberg Prize, which is sponsored by Deutsche Telekom AG and Microsoft, aims at expanding the understanding of how these new technologies can increase the scale and impact of development.
The 2004 Petersberg Prize was awarded to the Grameen Bank/Village Phone initiative of Bangladesh for creating a class of local women entrepreneurs using Village Phones to connect isolated communities to the rest of the country and the world. Grameen Bank, which provides microcredit to poor people, established a program called Village Phones, though which women entrepreneurs can start up a business providing wireless payphone services in rural areas. More than 55,000 phones are currently in operation, with more than 80 million people benefiting from access to market information, news from relatives, and more.
Additional information about the 2004 Petersberg Prize finalists and the winner are available at www.developmentgateway.org/prize
|
|
|
|
Search 
