Resolutions of Dhaka WSIS Consultations

After extensive discussion on ICT policy by participants from the
government, civil society, private sector, academia and the media
from the South Asian region, the WSIS Consultation meeting held in
Dhaka, Bangladesh from 5-7 January 2005 under the auspices of the
Bangladesh Friendship Education Society (BFES) and the Bangladesh
Working Group on WSIS (in collaboration with APC and One World South
Asia) resolves as follows:

The following issues should be drawn to the attention of the South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) at their next
meeting:

(1) That SAARC undertake a study on the establishment of a regional
Internet exchange to connect the national Internet exchanges to
contain regional traffic within South Asia in order to promote
equitable regional trade in services and save on the cost of
international connectivity and thereby enhance regional cooperation;

(2) That SAARC consider the establishment of a regional registry for
IP address allocations (SANIC) to ensure that IP addresses are
fairly distributed in South Asia;

(3) That SAARC recommend that South Asian member states develop a
common approach to the issue of Internet Governance and Financial
Mechanisms for ICTD during the second phase of the World Summit on
the Information Society which culminates in Tunis in November 2005;

(4) That as part of this common approach to WSIS, consideration be
given to the transformation of ICANN into a multi-stakeholder body
accountable to the global community;

(5) That expanding access to ICTs in South Asia in terms of the WSIS
Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action is a global public good
that enhances the value of global information networks and hence
benefits everyone including developed countries. A Global Fund for
ICTD should, therefore, be established to support the goal of
increasing access to ICTs by 2015 and this should be recommended by
South Asian member states at the WSIS Prepcom 2 in February 2005;

(6) That SAARC should take inputs from South Asian member states,
the private sector and civil society to formulate a regional e-
strategy to implement the WSIS Plan of Action in South Asia as a
whole;

(7) That the regional e-strategy should adopt a regional public
goods approach to financing ICTD which would explore the
relationship between creating a development-oriented policy
environment and the exploitation of existing and prospective
financial mechanisms to enable ICTs for the achievement of the MDGs
and poverty reduction targets in the region;

(8) That SAARC should encourage multi-stakeholder participation by
member states, the private sector and civil society in the
UNDP/APDIP WSIS consultation process on Internet Governance as a way
of raising awareness of the importance of Internet policy and
governance in South Asia;

(9) That SAARC should undertake specific programmes for
mainstreaming ICTs in poverty alleviation strategies and achieving
the MDGs through the integration of efforts undertaken by
governments, the private sector and civil society in the region;

(10) That SAARC should support initiatives to promote local content
and languages on ICTs in South Asia;

(11) That SAARC should seriously consider ways of integrating gender
equality into ICT policy issues at the regional level;

(12) That serious consideration should be given to the licensing of
community radio stations by member states as a key component of an
early warning system in response to the Tsunami tragedy in the
region as well as community radio's role in enabling development.
Consideration should be given to best practices in community radio
in the region such as those in Nepal;

(13) That the regional e-strategy should consider the problems of
implementation of ICT policy in the region and develop an approach
to ensuring successful implementation of ICT policy at country
level;

(14) That SAARC should establish and fund a Regional ICT Forum to
undertake these above-mentioned tasks and involve stakeholders from
the private sector and civil society in the process.

BRAC Center, Dhaka,
Dhaka, Bangladesh 7 January 2005

January 7, 2005 4:28PM

Microsoft has made a trial version of its free anti-spyware tool available on its Web site in a bid to increase the security of its dominant Windows operating system. The program was developed by Giant Company Software, which Microsoft acquired last month.



Microsoft Corp. on Friday released a test version of its own anti-spyware software, signaling its move into the computer security market now dominated by companies like Symantec Corp.
The biggest software company in the world made a trial version of its free anti-spyware tool available on its website in a bid to increase the security of its dominant Windows operating system. Next week, it was expected to release a virus-removal program to round out the security package.

The anti-spyware software eliminates programs that generate unwanted pop-up ads and secretly record a computer user's activities, often crippling computer performance. The program was developed by Giant Company Software Inc., which Microsoft acquired last month.

Shares of the two largest computer-security-software vendors, Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc., fell sharply after Microsoft released details of its plans.


© 2005 Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© 2005 NewsFactor Network.

The country's first ICT Incubator, built by the government two years
ago, has been a huge success as the facilities it provides are
considered manna from heaven for ICT firms.

A total of 40 private ICT firms, including software developers,
hardware assemblers and service providers, have so far invested Tk 250
million at the eye catching state-of-art institution at Karwan Bazar
in Dhaka.

The incubator provides the ICT firms uninterrupted power supply,
necessary telephone lines, required bandwidth and security.
Cooperation is faster as the ICT Incubator is managed by private sector.
The incubator was established by the government in November 2002 with
an investment of Tk 20 million. But recently the responsibility of its
management was vested on Bangladesh Software and Information Services
(BASIS).
The annual turnover of the incubator is around Tk 150 million.
"The success of the project has been possible due to non-intervention
into the management by the government bureaucracy," an ICT
entrepreneur told FE preferring anonymity.

BASIS sources said some of the foreign ICT firms have shown interest
to invest at the venue lately but most of the spaces have already been
rented out to local firms.

The demand for more such incubators is rising in absence of a
Hi-Tech-Park, which the government promised to build at a cost Tk 2.5
billion at Kaliakoir, near Dhaka, three years ago.

Some ICT entrepreneurs have urged the government to establish a
similar incubator in the city to meet the growing demand from IT firms.

They said any new incubator should offer training facilities for
computer engineers and programmers.

"An incubator is a place where a fresher should get opportunity to
enhance knowledge and skills. But the existing one is entirely used by
the full-time businessmen, Ehsanul Haque an entrepreneur said.

Thanks : Nasima

Global Call For Nominations of Innovators Using Technology to Benefit Humanity

Nomination Deadline: April 4, 2005
www.techawards.org

The Tech Museum Awards is a unique and prestigious program that honors and awards innovators from around the world who use technology to benefit humanity in the categories of:

Education
Equality
Economic Development
Environment
Health

Reward those making a difference and nominate today. A simple nomination form can be found at www.techawards.org. Self-nominations are accepted and encouraged. Individuals, nonprofit organizations, and companies are all eligible. Program details, including judging criteria, can be found at The Tech Museum Awards website listed above.

Each year, 25 Laureates are honored at a gala dinner, invited to participate in press and media coverage, and introduced to a network of influential advisors. An inspirational and unforgettable event, the black-tie celebration will be held at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, on November 9, 2005. One Laureate in each category will be granted a $50,000 cash prize.

Gillian Caldwell of WITNESS, 2003 Laureate in the Knight Ridder Equality award category and cash prize recipient, called The Tech Museum Awards "...a truly remarkable program that has given WITNESS acclaim for using technology to document human rights abuses. I was deeply honored to be recognized along with 24 other innovators from around the world who are working to improve human life through technology. The exposure generated from receiving this award and the $50,000 cash prize will surely lead to expanded services, awareness, and improved solutions for ending violations of human rights."

We encourage you to forward this email to any contacts you have that may be interested in nominating a candidate for this award.

UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura and Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates will give a press conference at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France on today November 17 (Room II, at 11.30 a.m.) following the signing of a Cooperation Agreement.

Mr Matsuura has qualified the agreement as “an opportunity for UNESCO to put into practice the international strategic partnership advocated by the United Nations to bridge the digital divide.”

The agreement defines eight areas in which UNESCO and Microsoft will work together, exchanging experience, know-how and developing projects:


Education and learning;

Community access and development;

Cultural and linguistic diversity and preservation;

Digital inclusion and capacity;

Exchange and promotion of best practices on the use of ICT for socio-economic development;

Fostering web-based communities of practice including content development, knowledge sharing and empowerment through participation;

Facilitating exchange of information and of software applications;

Sharing expertise and strategies.

The agreement with Microsoft is part of UNESCO’s cooperation with a growing coalition of private sector stakeholders, such as Intel, l’Oréal, DaimlerChrysler and Hewlett Packard.

Comments:
After stepping up its own patent push, Microsoft is now trying to get its hands on other companies' intellectual property. Doing so will give the company more freedom to develop software in new areas and help the company as it seeks to indemnify its customers against any claims of patent infringement. "If we are able to strike cross-licensing deals with the top 30 technology companies, that alone would provide us access to a vast majority of the patents in areas we care about," David Kaefer, Microsoft's director of intellectual property licensing, told CNET News.com.