The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and the International Telecommunication Union have agreed today to collaborate in developing a new executive training programme in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation...
Singapore, 10 November 2006 | For Immediate Release
ITU and IDA to Collaborate to Share Singapore's Experience
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and the International Telecommunication Union have agreed today to collaborate in developing a new executive training programme in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation. A Letter of Intent was inked today, following a call for such a collaboration in a speech made earlier this week by Dr Lee Boon Yang, Singapore's Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya (Turkey), currently in session 6-24 November 2006. It is intended to provide this executive programme through Singapore's e-Government Leadership Centre.
"This programme is expected to enable Singapore to share our experience in deploying ICT for the public, private and people sectors," said Dr Lee. "We are very happy to collaborate with ITU to help developing countries catalyse their ICT developments to bridge the Digital Divide". He added that Singapore, with 25 years of experience in developing ICT, is fully aware of the benefits it can bring to social and economic development. "The e-Government Leadership Centre provides a collaborative learning experience. Participants would have the opportunity to study and analyse the Singapore model and to derive relevant strategies for their own country's ICT development," Dr Lee said.
The "Enabling Frameworks for ICT Development,The Singapore Experience", will be conducted by practitioners from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and its partners at the e-Government Leadership Centre, namely, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Institute of Systems Science in Singapore. Experts from ITU and industry would also be invited as guest speakers. It is the aim of the programme to reach out to developing countries which, like Singapore, are keen to use ICT to further their social and economic growth. The programme is targeting the training of at least thirty to forty participants over the next three years.
"The idea is to provide a programme suited for senior ICT policy-makers and telecoms regulators who are keen to develop their own ICT framework to enable fair, effective and sustainable competition in a multi-operator, multi-network environment," said Dr Kim Eun-Ju, Head of the Asia-Pacific Regional Office. "The programme would cover areas like ICT development policies, regulating a competitive ICT sector, licensing frameworks, dispute resolution procedures, and interconnection."
Singapore is spearheading this initiative as it realises that ICT development in this fast-changing digital age can pose a formidable challenge for developing states. While the proposed learning model will be based on Singapore's own Infocomm experience - the issues, the challenges and the successes, the intention is not to promote a single model of ICT development. Rather, the purpose would be to help participants better appreciate the complexities and challenges all countries face in drawing up their own ICT masterplan.
This initiative goes hand-in-hand with the Asia-Pacific Regional Initiative on Telecommunication/ICT Policy and Regulatory Cooperation, which was proposed by the ITU members of the Asia-Pacific region and adopted at the World Telecommunication Development Conference at Doha in 2006, aiming to
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promote regulatory cooperation at the sub-regional and regional levels
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assist members to develop various policy and regulatory skills and frameworks on common current telecommunication/ICT issues
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establish and implement mechanisms for sharing and exchanging information, experiences and best practices
Singapore is one of ITU's Member States in the Asia-Pacific region to heed the call for collaboration through this proposed joint Singapore-ITU training programme in ICT policy and regulation.
ISSUED SIMULTANEOUSLY BY THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION AND THE INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
About ITU
ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues, and the global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services. For more than 140 years, ITU has coordinated the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoted international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, worked to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, and established the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems.
ITU also organizes worldwide and regional exhibitions and forums bringing together the most influential representatives of government and the telecommunications industry to exchange ideas, knowledge and technology for the benefit of the global community, and in particular the developing world.
From broadband internet to latest-generation wireless technologies, from aeronautical and maritime navigation to radio astronomy and satellite-based meteorology, from phone and fax services to TV broadcasting and next-generation networks, ITU continues to play a central role in helping the world communicate. www.itu.int.
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is committed to growing Singapore into a dynamic global infocomm hub. IDA uses an integrated approach to developing infocommunications in Singapore. This involves nurturing a competitive telecoms market as well as a conducive business environment with programmes and schemes for both local and international companies. For more news and information, visit https://www.imda.gov.sg/.
About Singapore e-Government Leadership Centre
The e-Government Leadership Centre was set up in August 2006 as a partnership of three key institutions in Singapore: IDA, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and the Institute of Systems Science. It is an educational centre set up to provide executive development programmes to train leaders responsible for driving e-Government initiatives in their respective countries. Url: www.egl.sg
For media clarification, please contact:
For ITU
Dr KIM Eun-Ju
ITU Regional Office (Bangkok)
Tel: +662 574 85 65/85 72/93 26
Fax : +662 574 93 28
Email: aspregion@itu.int
For IDA Singapore
Mr Ho Ka Wei
Manager, Corporate & Marketing Communication
Fax : 6211 2227
Email: info@imda.gov.sg
Ms Ho Hwei Ling
Assistant Director, Corporate & Marketing Communication
Tel: 6211 1996
Fax : 6211 2227
Email: ho_hwei_ling@imda.gov.sg
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