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E-GOVERNMENT
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From the United States to Cape Verde,
governments around the world have embraced ICTs, and the internet in particular,
as a means of mainstreaming public policy decisions, practices and processes, while providing citizens with
greater and easier
access to government services. Increased information flows between the public and private sector and citizens have
improved transparency and
accountability and established an environment of trust
and reliability between citizens and elected
officials in many parts of the world. Moreover, many ministries responsible for ICTs and modernization initiatives have
realized the importance of a clear national strategy for becoming a part
of the global Information Society and narrowing the gap between " haves" and
"have-nots." |
ICT stories from the field
Awards Programme for Digital Cities- Latin America
Success
strategy:
The municipal areas of Latin America are often neglected in the government’s modernization efforts. This informed the award of digital cities to reward the development of E-government initiatives and stimulate the modernization of these municipalities in Latin America.
The awards are made in three categories, which are: metropolitan area, medium size city and small rural community. The basic criteria for the contest are that these areas should have incorporated ICTs in its modernization process; this can be done through culture economics or social and must demonstrate a significant progress in the transition to a digital city.
Judgment criteria include existing accomplishments and the scope and quality of future plans and projects.
Two additional prizes are granted one for E integration which emphasizes female labour contribution in the modernization process and secondly, the regional E cooperation award which recognizes technical contribution in
E government based on knowledge and technology transfer.
The award has made more visible the applicability of ICTs to government, creating model cities for other cities to emulate.
Source:
The International Development Research Center , Institute for Connectivity in the Americas.
Partners:
Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA), International Development Research Center (IDRC), Cisco systems, Microsoft.
Republic
of Korea: A National Success Story
 Success
strategy:
The
Republic of Korea’s growing internet population is an important step towards
the country’s e-government efforts. In Korea, there is a strong awareness that
an ICT literate citizenry is needed to make full use of the the Government’s
online efforts, which have been bold and far-reaching.
For
instance, by January 2000, almost all government ministries and agencies were
online and connected to a high-speed backbone network. Currently, more than 80
per cent of the central Government’s documents are computerized and 55 per
cent of the government’s documents are handled electronically. A number of
e-government projects have been implemented, including a registration system
that has computerized over 200 million real-estate properties. Information about
the properties can be examined in real time and titles issued on demand. The
system is accessible from government offices as well as kiosks. In this way,
time spent on registering properties has been reduced from over two hours to
less than five minutes.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the
Korean experience has been the Government’s proactive stance: not only does it
provide the necessary regulatory framework and supportive environment but, in an
effort to be one step ahead, it also encourages investment by companies and
usage by consumers. Not surprisingly, Korea was one of the first countries to
emphasize the importance of ICT as an economic stimulus. Six major national
projects have structured the direction of Government policies, including the
recent “Global leader, e Korea”, the slogan of the latest Ministry of
Information and Communication (MIC) initiative. Goals include getting more than
90 per cent of all Koreans online, improving e‑government and encouraging
schools to use more sophisticated ICT applications.
For more detailed information: see
the ITU case study on Korea
India - WebCITI
(Web
Based Citizen-IT Interface)
 Success strategy: An e-Governance project for building citizen-IT
interface for services offered by district administration at Fatehgarh Sahib in
Punjab and also provides complete workflow automation in the District
Commissioner’s office. WebCITI provides a web based interface to citizens
seeking services from the district administration. These include issuance of
certificates such as death/birth, caste, rural area etc; licenses such as arms
license, permission for conferences/rallies etc and benefits from socio-economic
schemes. The Project has been appropriately funded by Govt of Punjab and has
been executed through NICSI/NIC-Punjab State Unit. WebCITI has been augmented
with DialCITI (Dialup based Citizen-IT Interface) to provide status as well as
procedural information through telephone. It further extends the cause of
providing efficient, transparent & quick information to the citizens. One
can have information on any services or status of his case or application on
phone. One can also find information about various schemes and procedures,
status of one’s application etc. through web Interface available through
select intranet counters at developmental block / revenue tehsil and kiosks.
For more detailed information: see
http://informatics.nic.in/archive/inf2002apr/e_governance.htm
Broadband 100% Installation Programme of Hyogo - Japan
Success strategy:
The story of the Hyogo
prefecture broadband initiative provides some perspectives
for the developing world with its best practices of regional
development programme to promote partnership between the
local government and business for building a broadband
access network in rural areas.
Hyogo prefecture is located in the
western part of Japan, which has been known as an area of
disaster recovery from the Big Earthquake of Hanshin-Awaji
in 1995. More, even if Japan is a technologically advanced
country, there are huge underserved areas with regards to
broadband services. In those areas, the dial up through
fixed telephone line is still the only way to connecting to
internet.
Rapid
progress of broadband access technologies has recently been
made in both wired and wireless technologies in Hyogo.
Technologies such as ADSL and wireless LAN, which become
less and less expensive make easier to build broadband
access environment even in the rural areas. In 2004, in the
Hyogo prefecture ADSL service coverage rate for households
achieved 97.7%, while the overall average for Japan was
77.1%. This broadband success has been achieved thanks to
the local government special measures entitled "Broadband
100% installation programme of Hyogo" and cooperation with
business in order to bring efficient technology services to
the rural areas.
From the point of view of the local
community, this public-private partnership on the local
level resulted in an improvement of the quality of life in
the region and smooth development of local digital content,
including an expansion of administrative services on the
web. All the cities and towns administrations in Hyogo
Prefecture (There are 28 cities and 32 towns, as of 24 May
2005) developed their own website for better administrative
services, as well as for dissemination and exchange of
information among households, local industries and local
administrations.
Furthermore, in the framework of the
partnership an initiative was undertaken to connect all
elementary schools to the internet. Thanks to the Harima
Smart School Project the majority of the local schools have
been already connected through volunteers’ organisations
activity. And, the Hyogo New Media Council is a place for
discussion among all the stakeholders of ICT development in
Hyogo Prefecture for possible cooperative solutions.
This achievement could be reached with
an active participation of the people in the local
community, a working partnership among all of these
stakeholders as well as a strong leadership of the local
government authorities. While promoting the broadband
information infrastructure constructions, Hyogo Prefectural
Government endeavored to attain a wider goal of supporting
a multi-dimensional cultivation of local community as well
as an information sharing among all stakeholders, thus
further creating new style of local community based on
advanced ICTs.
Partners:
Local Government, local NGOs, local business
Source:
“Bridging the Digital Divide through Partnerships between
Local Government and Venture Business”,
New Breeze, April 2005, The ITU Association of Japan and the
Outlines of "Broadband 100% installation programme of Hyogo"
For more detailed
information: see
the Hyogo Prefectural
Government website in Japanese http://web.pref.hyogo.jp/ and
English http://web.pref.hyogo.jp/english/index.html
Background materials:
For translation of the pages in
Japanese: use
Altavista machine translation
Solomon Islands: Solar Power for People First
Success strategy: The
People First Network, or PFnet, is an e-mail system based on a robust, proven
and sustainable technology that permits remote locations on islands across
thousands of square kilometres to have access to internet e-mails using a simple
computer, short-wave radio, and solar power.
 PFnet
community e-mail stations in fact represent the only feasible link with the
outside world. For most remote locations in the Solomon Islands the only other
options are short-wave radios and satellite telephones. While the expense of
satellite telephones is prohibitively high, short-wave radios only supply the
most basic of services. The new e-mail stations offer an unprecedented way to
ensure health security, public services, education, and essential contacts with
family and professional peers.
The People First Network is a non-profit organization within
the
Rural
Development Volunteers Association (RDVA), and was established
through the Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development.
Various
initiatives have benefited from funding from the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and a number of locally-based diplomatic missions and projects.
As well as supplying e-mail services, the organization has also instigated
partnerships to utilize the network for developmental activities such as
distance education, agriculture and fisheries, and indigenous business
development.
In
recognition of its outstanding achievements, PFnet was a finalist of the IICD/InfoDev
ICT Stories 2002 and Stockholm Challenge 2002 competitions.
PFnet
has to date established seven rural community e-mail stations.
For more detailed information: see the
PFnet website
E-Government for Efficiency and Effectiveness - Philippines
Success strategy:
The E-governance for Efficiency and Effectiveness Program (E3) will contribute
to the Philippines' Strategic Program Objectives by improving the capacity of
national and local governments to become more accountable and undertake more
transparent decision making processes, promoting participation of civil society
(especially women), and improving access of rural and urban poor to government
services. ICTs will facilitate greater efficiency and effectiveness in
delivering services to the public.
Target group:
Canadian International Development Agency - CIDA
Source:
WSIS Stocktaking Database
Public Domain Information Centers
 Success
Strategy: The Public Domain Information Centers Programme (united and extended
Public Legal Information Centers Programme and Public Business
Information Centers Programme) is aimed to create the network of
community centers for free public access to the different kind of
public domain information, e.g. legal, consumer, business,
ecological, educational, etc. across the Russia and CIS countries.
The website of the programme has till now connected more than 1350
telecenters throughout the CIS region and provides useful
information about ongoing and forthcoming initiatives related to the
dissemination of legal information concerning all aspects of life.
Partners:
UNESCO IFAP National Committee of Russia, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Russia,
Ministry of Culture and Mass Media of Russia, Special Communications Service,
Garant Co., Ltd,
Kodeks Co., Ltd,
Konsultant Plus Co., Ltd
For more information: see IFAP website and the
website of the activity
The Treaty of Waitangi - New
Zealand
Success strategy: The
Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of New Zealand,
and part of the living history of the nation. This website,
launched in 2003, is not an attempt to change public
attitudes, nor to promote a particular view of the Treaty's
significance, but rather to provide information and
resources for an informed understanding and greater public
knowledge of the Treaty..
The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding
document of New Zealand, and was signed in 1840 between the
British Crown and the Māori people (the indigenous people of
New Zealand). As such the Treaty is not only New Zealand's
founding constitutional document, it is part of the living
history of the nation. Over time the Treaty of Waitangi has
had a profound impact on life, history and politics in New
Zealand, especially over the last 30 years.
 The
Treaty of Waitangi Information Programme was established by
the State Services Commission in 2004. The first project
embarked on was a website that would present an account of
the interweaving of events, groups and individuals
throughout our history. Not only an accessible & highly
readable to serve as a historical account, the website was
also to include stories and case studies, animated maps,
personal quotes and anecdotes, biographies on key people,
details of who signed, how and why, and a comprehensive
section devoted to written, recorded and electronic
resources on the Treaty of Waitangi. Responses from New
Zealanders to the website, to date, have been very positive.
Some historians are already calling it 'one of the most
comprehensive resources on the Treaty of Waitangi'. Because
New Zealand is a multi-cultural country, The Treaty has also
been translated into several other languages, and is
available on the website in; Samoan, Tongan, Niuean,
Tokelauan, Cook Island Māori, Korean and Chinese. Features
for vision-impaired users are also available providing a
truly inclusive resource for all citizens.
The website is also hosting several
related initiatives and features, in particular:
-
An E-learning initiative:
An online seminar programme that is completely automated
and customised by the visitor. The online seminar offers
choices in topics, style of information, and frequency
of information, commencement date, and a quiz at the end
to test the user's knowledge on the subject.
-
Audio features: This is a
joint project with Radio New Zealand whereby historical
audio is researched and located in the archives and made
easily accessible to the website viewer. On the website
there will be over 100 pieces of audio related to the
historical timeline and to several themes. Each piece of
audio is connected via hyperlink to the relevant part of
the timeline, allowing readers of the timeline to easily
access audio that is relevant to that event. The audio
includes interviews and feature programmes as well as
radio news excerpts.
-
Community Discussions: This
project includes the design and facilitation of
community dialogue events, under the project leadership
of the Information Unit. A contractor has been engaged
to develop and produce the resources to support the
community dialogue events.
-
Road Show: Te Papa
Tongarewa, National Library and Archives New Zealand are
combining with the Treaty of Waitangi Information
Programme to develop a Treaty touring exhibition. This
will involve a large truck and mobile display touring
the country from the end of this year. The display will
include both 2D and 3D exhibition elements. Thus,
empowering citizens and providing a new generation of
public services, the initiative is being fostering
quality and efficiency of information exchange and
communication services in governmental and public
administrative processes, and strengthening
participation of citizens in the information society
decision-making.
Partners: the Treaty of
Waitangi Information Unit at State Services Commission for
The Treaty of Waitangi
Awards: Winner of the
national contest Best Digital Content and Applications - New
Zealand 2005, Category e-Government Nominee for the WSIS-Award
2005, Category e-Government
Source:
WSIS-Award - New Zealand and the Treaty of
Waitangi website
in
English and
in
Maori
Cape Verde:
An Unlikely Visionary
Success strategy:In Cape Verde, the biggest internet user
is probably its Government. Since its first dial-up connection to the internet
in 1999, the government LAN now covers every ministry and provides access to
some 2,000 government employees. With a five per cent reduction in paper
reported due to e-mail replacing routine paper correspondence, and the
implementation of online databases which have faci litated and improved
administrative procedures, the impact on government processes and efficiency has
already made itself felt.
But how did such a radical modernization
come about? Perhaps somewhat paradoxically, it was the spin-off result of the
need to modernize public sector processes: the Government
realized that reform could not be carried through without computers and the
internet. Little did anyone realize that the World
Bank requirement to implement public sector and civil service reform in Cape
Verde through the Reforma da Administração Financeira do Estado (RAFE),
which was not originally intended to be an ICT-related project, would result in
the computerization of government. RAFE
soon became a key driving force for the country’s ICT revolution, with RAFE
services and training leading to a staff increase from three technicians to over
fifty within two years, and a user base of over 20 government agencies with some
2,000 individuals. One of RAFE’s
key objectives is to make government more transparent and “user-friendly” by
driving an e-government initiative that will afford all Cape Verdeans access to
the internet.
For more in-depth
information: see
ITU’s Cape Verde case study
Local e-Governance in India
Success strategy:Beginning in 1997 with the State-level Informatics System for Strengthening
the Decentralized Plan Implementation (SLIDE), government decision-makers
throughout India realized the important role that ICTs would play in modern
governance. Focused on creating
efficient and responsive mechanisms for governance at the local level, the SLIDE
project employed a variety of ICTs to help local institutions mitigate the
transition to a decentralized governing system that is unique to the State. The project, which has evolved into what is now known as the Information
Kerala Mission, seeks to computerize and establish a wide area network (WAN) to
connect the 1,215 local governing bodies throughout the state government.
For more in-depth information:
see
the Information
Kerala Mission case study
Democracy and SMS
 Success strategy:
SMS,
or short message service, enables mobile phone users to send short text messages
to each other. Filipino users are responsible for about 10 per cent of total
global SMS traffic or 50 million SMS messages per day, making it the largest
society of SMS users in the world. In
early 2001, SMS played a crucial role in the revolt called “People Power 2”,
whereby Filipinos used SMS to coordinate demonstrations that eventually led to
the ousting of President Estrada, thus demonstrating one of the many
democratizing uses of ICTs.
For more in-depth information:
see
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/malaysia/material/MYSCS.pdf
e-Government in Egypt
Success strategy:In 1999, the
Cabinet Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) organized the country’s
first conference on IT, at which the Government laid out a five-year plan to
bolster ICTs in Egypt. Following
the conference, the Government created a new Ministry of Communication and
Information Technology (MCIT) that was to oversee the evolution of Egypt’s
knowledge society. From developing human resources to promoting domestic
software development and international alliances, the MCIT’s plan sought to
draw on both the public and private sectors to modernize Egyptian society. USD 338 million was allocated to the programme through 2002. While the MCIT has taken the lead in promoting ICTs throughout Egypt,
government services are being coordinated through the national portal named
alhokoma
(meaning government in Arabic). The IDSC, MCIT and other ministries are constantly working on new
initiatives to digitize government content to both promote public use of the
internet, and streamline processes for administering government services.
For more
in-depth information: see
the
website of the activity
Background materials:
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/egypt/material/egypt.pdf
Regulatory
Reform and Universal Access in
Brazil
 Success strategy:
The
Brazilian telecommunication regulator, Anatel, has employed a variety of
mechanisms to equip Brazilians with access to useful information to help improve
their socio-economic status. Not
only does the regulator provide visitors to its website with a chart of the
cheapest telecom service rates, which are provided by each network operator in
the country, but it also engages the public in formulating national telecom
sector policies. Anatel has also created a Fund for the Universialization of
Telecom Services (FUST) to help connect the nations schools and hospitals to the
global information network.
For more in-depth information
on Brazil’s modernization efforts: see
http://www.itu.int/newsarchive/wtdc2002/Lighting_the_Way.html
e-WorkPermits – Zurich, Switzerland
Success strategy:
A main goal of the project is to realize this operational conversion and thus to
proof the opening of the Swiss job market and eliminate this entrance obstacle.
e-WorkPermits, the Canton of Zurich’s application for electronically processed
work permits, allows to fill out the work permit application step by step online
and manage one’s own data. High levels of data privacy and protection are
guaranteed. On this site you may only apply for permits for the Canton of Zurich
and the cities of Zurich and Winterthur. The website provides also useful
information about federal and cantonal legislation as well as about different
administrative procedures. Relevant information is available in common words for
different categories of permit demanders. The resource is supported in two
languages – German and English, and provides a search tool for detailed
information.
Target group:
Foreigner residents and Work-Permit Holders
Partners: Republic and Canton of Zurich
Awards:
Swiss Web Award in the Public Affairs category 2004
Source:
WSIS Stocktaking Database and
the website of the activity
Singapore’s
e-Citizen
 Success strategy: Launched in 1999, e-Citizen has
become one of Singapore’s most important and successful
e-government initiatives. E-Citizen was created by the
Ministry of Finance and is managed by the
Info-Communications Development Authority (IDA). The end
goal is to build a leading e-Government, which delivers more
convenience and benefits to all individuals who live, work
and play in Singapore.
E-Citizen is an internet portal
created to provide Singaporeans with a single, organized
access point to all government services. E-Citizen is
organized according to “life events” rather than by Ministry
or Department, covering such areas as family planning,
education and recreation. Beyond providing citizens with a
central window to government services, e-Citizen has also
helped facilitate improved coordination between disparate
government agencies.
The eCitizen portal enables users:
The eCitizen portal has the ambition
to herald a new era for the Singapore Public Service by
transforming the way in which the public interacts with
government agencies. Under the e-Government Action Plan, all
public services that are suitable for electronic delivery or
can tap on electronic channels to improve service delivery
will be designated for transformation. This is in line with
Singapore's vision for service excellence among all
government agencies.
For more in-depth
information:
see
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/singapore/material/Singapore.pdf
Background materials: see the
eCitizen PDF brochure
Modernizing
Malaysia’s Government
 Success
strategy: Malaysia’s e-government
initiative, similar to that of many other governments around
the world, is designed to create a paperless public sector,
while also strengthening relationships with citizens and
businesses through greater transparency and information
flows. The Malaysian Administrative Modernization and
Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) seeks to enhance the use of
ICTs and has mandated that each government agency create an
IT strategy plan to help facilitate greater communication
between agencies and the public. This includes the Smart
Partnership Application Repository (RAPP), the Government
Integrated Telecommunication Network (GITN) and a VPN that
connects all government agencies throughout project
implementation processes. The incumbent carrier, Telekom
Malaysia, and the Malaysian Civil Service Link, which
contains a listing and links to most government agencies,
are at the centre of the country’s e‑government initiative.
For more in-depth
information: see
the
MAMPU’s website
E-Government for Development Initiative
Success strategy:
The "e-Government for Development" Initiative implements concrete e-Government
projects in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
This is a multi purpose project targeting key sectors and common sources of
constraints to overall development and the deployment of ICT for all in
particular.
The Initiative support a wide range of activities aiming at the implementation
of useful e-Government applications, such as e-accounting, e-procurement, e-tax,
e-payment, e-customs, e-justice, e-statistics.
Improving the efficiency and transparency of public administrations is one of
the first steps to make in order to promote social and economic development and
strengthen good governance practices. The process involves a wide range of
reforms relating to procedures, services and regulations, which are of
fundamental importance in enabling new technologies to successfully transform
socio-economic realities. Government-to-Government cooperation transfers the
experience of Italian public offices to beneficiary countries. This ensures the
sharing of knowledge resources that are difficult to find on the market. The
initiative is therefore designed to contribute decisively to public
administration reform, while fully respecting the cultural heritage, traditions
and development choices of the local communities.
Thus contributing to the uptake of ICT by citizens and businesses, e-Government
for Development helps bridging the digital divide and enhance citizens’
empowerment.
In its first year of activity, the Technical Unit started putting the Initiative
into practice and mobilising financial resources and expertise needed for
projects in South East Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan
Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Target group:
Public administrations in developing countries, citizens of these countries as a
whole
Partners: Italian Technical Unit e-Government for Development, Presidency of Council of
Ministers, international organisations
Source:
WSIS Stocktaking Database
and the
website of the activity
@campus Mexico:
Online Learning Program for Public Servants
Success strategy:
Institute for Connectivity in the Americas
has implemented an
interactive portal for public policy makers, entrepreneurs,
community activists, and digital pioneers dedicated to using
ICTs to shrink the digital divide in the Americas.
 @Campus is an online learning program for public servants,
helping to consolidate civil service reform in Mexico. The
project provides civil servants with an Internet-based
education portal offering courses and information on
certification. ICA’s portal provides the project with
complementary
resources for knowledge creation & capacity building. These
include case studies, projects and funding criteria, news
articles, events, and virtual discussion groups on themes.
With
financial support from ICA and the expertise of the Canadian
School of Public Service, Mexico instituted a pilot phase
where 800 public servants have received training. The goal
is for up to 47,700 public employees to have access to the
e-learning platform, and for the project to be a reference
project for future rollout in the region.
Partners:
Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA),
Secretaría de la Función Pública (SFP)
Source:
WSIS Stocktaking Database
and the
website of the activity
E-commerce for Small- Scale Public
Procurement - Bulgaria
Success strategy:
The overall goal of the project is to create transparent, equitable and
accessible environment for public procurement procedures and to reduce
financial, organizational and time resources spent by the companies in public
procurement procedures. The companies receive information for small-scale
procurement procedures, send their offers and participate in the whole tendering
process via internet. The only technical requirement is to use digital signature
for registration in the system and submission of offers and related documents.
 The Bulgarian Ministry of Finance have implemented this feature together with a
whole package of useful resources such as national budget & national debt
issues, tax information, various statistics and highlights on Bulgarian and
European Union legislative basis. A merit of the website is
its fluid structure of the information and
it certified origin as well as several user-friendly facilities, such as search
& interactive tools.
An innovative feature attracting many visitors on the website is the
video-conference with the Minister of
Finance once a month for an hour and a half. The online chat with the Minister
is expected to improve the communication with the Government body and is led
under the initiative “Electronic Europe” of the European Union.
The themes of debate are not previously fixed up and are determined by the
participants. Hot issues such as corruption,
money laundry and Government investments are being focused on and
occurring embarrassing questions could not be avoided.
No previous registration is needed to attend the Minister’s chat and questions
from citizens are taken online giving the possibility to the Minister to respond
immediately or to initiate a query and post the answer by 48 hours after the
real-time chat. The only conditions for participants are not to choose as a
username the Minister’s name or similar surnames as well as to use a proper
language. These measures are intended in the sake of a polite, respectful and fruitful online
communication. Citizens are though stirred up to break the anonymity and get
implicated while wholly identified.
The chat session is subsequently transmitted on
bgweb.tv
- the first Bulgarian internet television and re-diffused on different internet
sites. The
archives of these sessions are also posted and open.
Similar tool is
implemented recently for chat with experts having held the negotiation for the
adhesion of the country in the EU. The feature is yet to be further developed
but already incites a great interest among Bulgarian youth, which is highly
involved in the national policy
life.
E-mail address and hotline for denouncing corruption of public administration
and other services employees are also available. At present, a major deficiency
of this way of submitting information is the obligation to fully reveal oneself
identity, if not, the signal is not preceded.
The overall concept of the website and the services provided has proven his
efficiency and usefulness for citizens having access to internet. Main benefits
of the online activities are their interactivity and the absence of censorship.
The value added in terms of empowerment is also notable - transparency and
democratic expression are highly stimulated and political issues in particular
are discussed freely in public. Contributions and solutions have been suggested
and given for consideration directly to the Public Authorities without
institutional intermediate.
Target group:
Bulgarian citizens
Partners: Bulgarian Ministry of Finance
Source:
WSIS Stocktaking Database and
the website of the activity
Access São Paulo -
Promoting Digital Inclusion
Success strategy: From its
introduction in the year 2000, the Program
Acessa São Paulo
(PASP)
has implemented 123 Community Access Points called
Infocentros, with the capacity to have 1,750,000
accesses a year, making this program a very effective
instrument in reducing the digital exclusion in Sao Paulo.
PASP objectives are to provide internet access to low-income
citizens through the Infocentros; and to transfer
management procedures to the beneficiary communities. By
doing so, these communities can define their own priorities;
including how the equipment donated by the provincial
government will be used.
For more detailed
information: see
http://www.icamericas.net/modules/DownloadsPlus/uploads/Awards_Application/AcessaSaoPaulo-integr-Portuguese.pdf
Establishment of Government Information
Network Infrastructure - Ethiopia
Success strategy:
A national wide-area network infrastructure is being established in the country
to connect the Federal Government with Regional Governments and District level
administration as well as to build nationwide networks that link government
departments, educational and healthcare institutions, and agricultural research
centres.
ETC has deployed an optical network infrastructure that will help transport
high-quality voice, data and multimedia services to government departments,
companies and the general population. This system provides videoconferencing,
internet connectivity, messaging and information exchange services, which are
believed to improve communications between the various tiers of Government to
facilitate and enable effective and efficient provision of services to the
public.
 The
Ethiopian economy is based at present mainly on agriculture. Nevertheless, the
Government of the country strongly believes that an innovative and technology
enhanced national strategy is needed in order to improve public services and
create new long-term opportunities both for individuals and business enterprises
all over the country. A knowledge-based economy is a target providing rich
development perspectives in education, health care and agriculture sectors.
The
Ethiopian Government, through its Ministry of Capacity Building (MoCB), enlisted
ETC to build a core multi-service network. ETC awarded the tender for this
infrastructure to Cisco Systems and its pan-African network and systems
integrator, Business Connexion. Three ICT-led projects are expected to generate
large benefit for local communities.
The first
project is 'Woredanet', a network that will link almost 600 local ('woreda') and
11 regional government offices countrywide with each other and, in turn, with
the Federal government headquarters in Addis Ababa.
The second
is 'Schoolnet', a nationwide network that will provide more than 450 secondary
education institutions with network connectivity. It will also help them to
receive broadcast TV-based educational content from media agencies. The 'Schoolnet'
project is already delivering educational content on flat-panel screens in
schools from the Ethiopian Media Agency using terrestrial and satellite
networks. More schools are coming online at a steady pace.
A third
planned project is 'Agrinet', a network that will potentially link more than 30
research and operational agricultural centres together.
A fibre-optic transmission network conceived by Cisco has been built around Addis
Ababa, and it will transport both mobile and fixed-line analogue voice traffic.
A combination of high-speed fixed and microwave links extends existing network
to other parts of the country—sometimes covering distances as far as 700
kilometres to the most remote areas of the country.
Partners:
Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation
(ETC), Ethiopian Information and Communication Development Authority, Cisco
Systems
Source:
WSIS Stocktaking Database and the
website of the Least Developed Countries Initiative
of Cisco
For more in-depth information: see
www.telecom.net.et
Saukaryam:
Model of Good Governance
Success strategy: In the port city
of Visakhapatnam, Southern India, Saukaryam has had the city
on the move, perfecting home delivery of civic services and
doing away with queues which are symptomatic of many
overstretched government services. In just two years, this
gateway has transformed the lives of the city’s residents.
The facility has attracted international acclaim, even
winning a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) award
and a nomination for the
Stockholm Challenge.
When Sanjay Jaju took over as
Visakhapatnam’s municipal commissioner in October 2000,
there were the usual complaints, long queues, an endless
wait for birth certificates, building plans complaints. The
civic service delivery system was dismal, no different from
those elsewhere in the country.
In a bid to solve the
problem, Saukaryam was born. The facility became operational
in January 2001. Today, www.saukaryam.org registers two
hundred thousand hits a year. People can settle their bills
online, check the status of building and water supply plans,
receive direct information about births and deaths, track
garbage clearance, even scan tender notices. Saukaryam
delivers a public-private venture created through broadband
leased circuits. Banks, where payments to the corporation
can be made, have also been linked to the metro area
network.
Source:
www.indev.org
For more detailed
information: see
the
website of the activity
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