The United Nation Secretary-General presented a set of recommendations to optimize the benefits of digital technologies while mitigating the risks through a Roadmap for Digital Cooperation. The roadmap emphasizes global cooperation among governments, with the involvement of businesses, including emerging innovative and technology enterprises, as well as civil society and stakeholders, to help governments advance in deploying and operating services such as global connectivity, digital public goods, digital inclusion, digital capacity building, digital human rights, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital trust and security. ESCAP has cooperated with member States to develop the Action Plan for Implementation of the AP-IS (2022-2026), which was adopted at the Fifth Session of the AP-IS Steering Committee on 25 November 2021. This AP-IS Action Plan 2022-2026 proposes to streamline the regional cooperative actions for universal digital connectivity, digital transformation, and a more inclusive digital society. To enhance regional cooperation on innovation policy to foster the sustainable development, UNECE has been in the lead and facilitated the adoption of the SPECA Innovation Strategy for Sustainable Development (2019) and its Action Plan (2021). The Strategy aims to build and strengthen capabilities of the SPECA governments to design and implement innovation policies while promoting regional integration and cooperation on innovation for sustainable development.
The Expert Group Meeting is assembled back-to-back with the SPECA Working Group on Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Development to discuss priorities and mechanisms for implementation of the SPECA work plan on ITSD 2022-2023 in coherence with AP-IS Action Plan 2022-2026. The meeting will review the UNECE tools for support to innovative enterprises in the sub-region, hold consultations on the pilot SPECA Business Incubators and Accelerators network – activities supporting the implementation of the SPECA Innovation Strategy for Sustainable Development. The meeting will also serve to complete the common documentation, prepared for the SPECA Governing Council and the SPECA Economic Forum 2022 (November, Kazakhstan). Objectives of the EGM are to:
- elicit the mechanisms to address the issues, common priorities and approaches towards digital transformation through connectivity, technology and digital data;
- review the policy making tools and the case studies and to elicit the progress and challenges in technology applications;
- foster innovative entrepreneurship and hold consultations on the pilot SPECA Business Incubators and Accelerators Network under the SPECA Innovation Strategy for Sustainable Development.
Organisers: United Nations ESCAP secretariat in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), hosted by the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry (MDDIAI) with support from the JSC ICT Holding Zerde of Kazakhstan.
The participants of the EGM are the nominated SPECA focal points, invited experts from North and Central Asia and East and North East Asia, and the secretariat of ESCAP and ECE. Nominees are represented by the senior government officials from the relevant ministries and authorities and the senior experts concerned with information and communications technology (ICT), digital connectivity, and digital transformation and innovation for sustainable development.
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