1. Openingspeech ICT4DinnovationtoachievetheMDGs NajatRochdi,DeputyDirector UNDPLO,GenevaSwitzerland Excellencies,DistinguishedGuests,LadiesandGentlemen, Itisagreatpleasuretobehereatthismostsignificantevent.OnbehalfofUNDP,Iwouldliketocongratulate theorganizersfortheirleadershipinturningthispromisingideaintoareality.Ialsothankthemforinviting UNDPtoaddressthoseopeningremarks.I'vehadtheopportunitytotakealookatyourpastproceedings.Itisfilledwithoutstandingpoliciesand prescriptionsformuchoftheroleInformationandCommunicationTechnologies(ICT)canplay.SoI'dliketo congratulateyouallonthethoughtfulpresentationsyou'vegivensofar.Today,Iwouldliketocallforurgent,collectiveandinnovativeactionstoaddressTheachievementofthe MDGsandsetthestageforrenewedsustainabledevelopment.Today,Iwouldliketotalkaboutthe connectionbetweentheuseofICTandPovertyalleviationandsharewithyousomethoughtsabouthow ICT4DanditsrelatedinnovationscanfostertheachievementoftheMDGsandthusputfireunderthefeetof decisionmakers,developmentorganizations,civilsocietyandprivatesectorleadershiptoaccelerateand committotheGlobaldevelopmentagenda.Throughoutthepasttwentyyears,therehavebeensomeyearsthatsimplyrolledintothenextwithoutmuch notice.Thentherearetheyearsthatcomealongonceinagenerationthekindthatmarkabreakfromthe past,andsetanewcourseforourworld.2009isoneofthoseyears.Westarted2009withcriticalglobalchallengessuchaspoverty,inequity,democracycrises,globalizationand environmental degradation. This is deepening political, social, economic and cultural divisions within and betweencountriesthusincreasingtheriskofviolentconflictandthreateningsocialandpoliticalstability. Thisisparticularlyworrisome,whenoneknowsthattheaccumulationofsocioeconomicproblemsandthe invasionofthenewvaluesofglobalizationhaveaggravatedanidentitycrisisamongthenewgenerations.The resultingvacuumhasbecomeafertilegroundforanumberofformsofextremism.Westarted2009inthemidstofacrisisunlikeanywehaveseeninourlifetime.Millionsofjobshavebeen lost,andothermillionswhowantandneedfulltimework,hadtosettleforparttimejobs.Manybusinesses cannotborrowormakepayroll.Manyfamiliescannotpaytheirbills.Manyworkersarewatchingtheirlife savingsdisappear.Andmany,manycitizensacrosstheworldarebothanxiousanduncertainofwhatthe futurewillhold.But,wealsostarted2009withanAfroAmericanasPresidentoftheUSA.Yet,onlyoneyearago,nobodywouldhavepredictedwhathappenedandwehaveverylittleideaofwhatthe worldwilllooklike50yearsfromnow. 1|U N D P G e n e v a

2. LadiesandGentlemen,ICTswhenusedtoaddressDevelopmentareoneofthosetoolsthataretransformingthetraditionalmapof development,expandingpeople'shorizons,dramaticallyshrinkinglearningcurves,andcreatingthepotential torealize,inadecade,progressthatrequiredatimespanofgenerationsinthepast.AllofusherehavewitnessedhowaccesstoarangeofICTsindevelopingcountriescangivepeopleknowledge thatempowersthem.ICTssuchasradio,television,telephones,computers,andtheInternetcanprovide accesstoknowledgeinsectorssuchasagriculture,microenterprise,education,andhumanrights,offeringa newrealmofchoicesthatenablethepoortoimprovetheirqualityoflife.Unfortunately,noteveryoneenjoys equalaccesstothesetechnologies.Asthedividegrowswider,itaggravatestheexistingdivisionsofpowerand inequitiesinaccesstoresourcesbetweenmenandwomen,theliterateandnonliterate,andurbanandrural populations.Therefore,weneedtoinnovate.InWikipedia,theterminnovationmeansanewwayofdoingsomething.Itmayrefertoincremental,radical, andrevolutionarychangesinthinking,products,processes,ororganizations.Adistinctionistypicallymade betweenInvention,anideamademanifest,andinnovation,ideasappliedsuccessfully.Inventionsare potentialchange,innovationsarechangesrealized.TheprivatesectorhasclearlydriventheexperimentationandexpansionofinnovativeITmodels.eBayisa verygoodexample.Theyhaveappliedopenanduserdrivenprocessestotheirproductdevelopmentand theresultshavebeenrevolutionary.Wewantthismomentumofopenanduserdriveninnovationtoreach thedevelopmentsector.Therefore,whenwerefertoInnovationindevelopmentprocess,itdoesn'tjustmean comingupwithnewideas;itiscomingupwithapplicationsofthosenewideas,orevennewapplicationsof oldideas.We need to significantly increase the application of these innovative models to the needs of the poor and vulnerable people. We need to effectively leverage the skills and knowledge of creative local citizens as designers of and contributors to products and services and not only as consumers. We need to invest in peopleasthegreatestresourceandthemostpreciousassetifwearetoshape,andnotjustbeshapedby,the challengesweface.Thisisofmuchimportanceinanetworkedworldwhereefficiency,speedofdeliveryandoptimizationarethe keyingredientsofcompetitiveness.Inthiscontext,InformationandCommunicationTechnologies(ITC)are withoutanydoubtaleverformodernization.Fromsocialnetworkstomobiletechnology,innovationinICTisonthemoveandanewdigitalageisstarting. YearsagotherewasalreadyameaningfulmovefromthetraditionalandstaticWeb1.0(thereadonlyweb), tothemorecurrentWeb2.0,wherethenotionofthereadwritewebhasbeencreatedtoallowforallthis datatobesharedbytheonlinecommunitywhichvibrantlystartedtointeractandprovidedtheimpetusfor socialnetworking.NowwiththedawnofWeb3.0,thewebistobetailoredbythepeoplethemselvesfortheir ownneeds:somedayvirtuallyanycitizenshouldbeabletomodifythewebsiteorresources.Itispeople centered,empoweringcitizenstoinnovateandfindsolutionsinhyperspaceusingWebhostedinfrastructure. 2|U N D P G e n e v a 3. Telecomcompaniesbecomemediahouses.Foodretailersbecomebanks.Computersbecomephonesand videostores.WehaveaNanopodforpersonalmusic,plusatinymobilephone(uselessforseriouscamera use),apocketPDAwithcolourscreenandvideo,anultrasmallportablePCwith5.5hoursbatterylifesuitable forlongflights,andagiantscreenedlaptopforhighpoweredapplications,suitableforcarjourneyswhere screensizepreventsnauseaandeyestrain.Wealsohaveadataprojectorfora3metrewidehomecinema withadedicatedDVD/digitalTVsystem,andsoon.YouTubeinjust15monthsbecamea200milliondownloadsadayblockbustermediacompanyandPresident ObamausedFacebooktomobilizeyoungvoters.By the endof 2008, close to 4 billion people had access to a cell phone, a number that dwarfs the existing numberofInternetusers(1.5billion),particularlyindevelopingcountries.NewICTssuchasMTechnologies andSocialnetworkshavereducedtheentrybarriers(language,cost,interface,etc.),andmadeinnovationin developmentpossible. MTechnologiesprovidefertilegroundtoexploretheprovisionofbasicgovernmentservices(documentation suchasbirthcertificates,education,health,etc),ofprivateservicessuchasbanking,microcredit,etc,andthe involvementoflocalcommunitiesindecisionmakingprocesses. MTechnology (MT)helps finding innovative solutions to meet pressing humanitarian challenges: to connect families separated by disaster, helps emergency relief workers respond more quickly and empower health workersoperatinginruralareas.MGovernmentorTheGonGoconcept(GovernanceontheGo),ischanging the way grassroots organizations monitor elections in developing countries where weak capacity, infrastructure,freedomofspeechandpoliticalwillprevail.GonGoisenablingopen,fluidandinteractiveways forpeopletorelatewitheachotherandwithinstitutions,includingcivilsocietyandNGOs,theprivatesector, media,parliaments,andalsopublicinstitutions.CombinedwithSMS,MMS,blogging,etcitisopeninganew era of democratization, participation and freedom of expression. Beyond the implicit benefit of instant and moreextensivecoverage,thecostsofusingSMStechnologyareaccessible.Concreteexamplesincludetheuse of textmessaging during the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the citizens protests in the Philippines and LebanonortheroleoftextmessagingduringthecrackdownonthemonksofBurma(Myanmar). ThisinturnwillnotonlygetcountriesclosertotheachievementoftheMDGsbutalsodevelopnewmarkets andnewdemand.ButMTalsofacesitsownchallenges.Onthesupplyside,manycellphoneprovidersarestartingtohitmarket limitationsparticularlyinareaswhereverypoorpopulationsinhabitandmarketsareeitherverysmallor inexistent.Thismightputastoptotherapidgrowthofmobilecelphoneusersintheshortrun.Onthedemand side,MTusersdonothaveaccesstotherequiredapplicationsthatwillallowthemtogetpublicandprivate servicesfromtheirphones.Bymatchingsupplyanddemandnewopportunitieswillemergeforbothsuppliers ofMTsandendusersand,inconcertwithnationalandlocalgovernmentgeneratewinwinwinsituationsthat willfosterhumandevelopmentinthemediumandlongterms 3|U N D P G e n e v a 4. LadiesandGentlemen, Thesearesomeoftheissueswecanaddresstopavethewayandpreparethegroundforactions.Butone shouldrememberthat,forinnovationinICT4Dtohelpadvancingdemocraticgovernanceanddevelopment, themostimportantthingtounderstandisthatthefutureisnotabouttechnology,itisaboutpeoplewithall thechallengesitentails. Overcoming those challenges requires practical groundwork, starting small with innovations, learning from experience, sharing good practices and finding scalable solutions. We need better benchmarks to keep checkingthepulseofprogressandpreparesolidagendasforthefuture.Weneedsolidandpracticalresearch onICTtools,instruments,methodologies,applications,policiestoaddressdevelopmentissuesandonhowto adaptthem,adjustthem,andembedthemintosocialandeconomicdevelopmentstrategies.Thechallenges aregreat,butsotooaretheopportunities. Myhopeisthattodaysmeetingisastartingpoint. Thus,therapidpaceofchangemakesitallthemorenecessarytobeproactive.Weneedtoevolverapidlyand continuallyinresponsetotomorrowschallenges.Weneedtotakeurgentaction,collectively,tochangethe course, otherwise the situation will become dramatically worse. We need to preserve the dreams and the hopesofagenerationsotheycanstillinvestandbelieveintheirfuture.Weneedtocomeupwithnewways ofdoingdevelopmentbusiness,innovativetoolsandapplications.Weneedeachandeveryonetocommit. TheworldisnotontracktomeettheMDGs,andyetitcouldbe:wehavetheresources,thetechnologyand the creativity that are required; we just need to bring them where they are most needed. We need a new multilateralismwhereeverystakeholderbringshisshareofcommitment,support,policy,programs,funding, etc. where Governments, at both central and local levels, where Development Partners and Organizations, where Civil Society, where Private Sector and where Communities all come together around a strong and commoninterestinfosteringasolidsustainabledevelopmentbasethatisintegratedintotheglobaleconomy. OnbehalfofUNDPIwouldliketoreiterateourstrongcommitmenttocontinuetosupportGovernmentsand partners in their strategies to capitalize on ICT as a lever for economic and social transformation and expansiontopropelourmodestendeavorsoftodayintotheworldreferencecasesoftomorrowsothatthe nextgenerationswillcarryforwardtheflameofequity,justice,prosperityandpeace.Toconclude,Iwouldliketoleaveyouwiththisproverbquot;Takeholdofthefutureorthefuturewilltakeholdof you.quot;Thankyouverymuch.10February2009,Gigun,AsturiasSpain 4|U N D P G e n e v a