Global Alliance for ICT and Development
Encyclopedia
The Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (also known as Global Alliance for ICT and Development or GAID) is a subgroup or continuation of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force. GAID was launched by the United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan
in 2006, at the end of his tenure.
, Malaysia.
It is led by an 11-person steering committee, with Intel Corporation
's Craig Barrett as its initial chairperson, followed by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, a prominent businessman in the Arab world. A 60-person Strategy Council is composed of 30 governments, plus 30 representatives from the private sector, civil society and international
organizations.
Education, Entrepreneurship, Governance, Health
Cross cutting themes include gender, rural development and connectivity.
In October 2006, under the CoE of Governance, the ICT4Peace Foundation was invited to a partnership with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and GAID as the focal point for overseeing and promoting the spirit of Paragraph 36 of the WSIS Tunis Declaration. Paragraph 36 flags the potential for the use of ICTs to promote peace and to prevent conflict which, inter alia, negatively affects achieving development goals. On 13 January 2010 the ICT4Peace Foundation created the ICT4Peace Foundation wiki on Haiti Earthquake.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Secretary General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
in 2006, at the end of his tenure.
Mission
According to the United Nations press release, the organization's mission is to facilitate and promote integration by providing a platform for an open, inclusive, multi-stakeholder cross-sectoral policy dialogue on the role of information and communication technology in development. The Alliance organizes events which address core issues related to the role of information and communication technology in economic development, especially of impoverished or disadvantaged segments of society.Structure
The Alliance makes extensive use of web-based collaborative technologies, thus minimizing the need for physical meetings. Members include both governments and members of the private and commercial sectors. Its inaugural meeting was held on June 19, 2006 in Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia.
It is led by an 11-person steering committee, with Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
's Craig Barrett as its initial chairperson, followed by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, a prominent businessman in the Arab world. A 60-person Strategy Council is composed of 30 governments, plus 30 representatives from the private sector, civil society and international
organizations.
Communities of Expertise
Communities of Expertise (CoEs) are networks convened by GAID to bring together motivated and capable actors to address specific, well-defined ICTD problems in a results-oriented manner and to identify and disseminate good practices. These CoEs include:Education, Entrepreneurship, Governance, Health
Cross cutting themes include gender, rural development and connectivity.
In October 2006, under the CoE of Governance, the ICT4Peace Foundation was invited to a partnership with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and GAID as the focal point for overseeing and promoting the spirit of Paragraph 36 of the WSIS Tunis Declaration. Paragraph 36 flags the potential for the use of ICTs to promote peace and to prevent conflict which, inter alia, negatively affects achieving development goals. On 13 January 2010 the ICT4Peace Foundation created the ICT4Peace Foundation wiki on Haiti Earthquake.