Kabul, Afghanistan - 29 Mar 2009

Afghanistan Government uses UN training to develop local ICT capacity. As part of the United Nations continuing effort to close the digital divide, a national training the trainers programme was held in Kabul, Afghanistan on 31 May - 4 June 2009 as a first step towards training decision makers in information communications technology (ICT). The training is the first in a series of ICT workshops based on the Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders Programme – an eight module training course designed by APCICT to give decision makers the necessary information to use ICT for development.

29 May 2009

Press Release No: G/39/2009

Bangkok (UN/ESCAP Information Services) - As part of the United Nations continuing effort to close the digital divide, a national “training the trainers” programme will be held in Kabul, Afghanistan from 31 May to 4 June as a first step towards training decision makers in information communications technology (ICT).

The training is the first in a series of ICT workshops based on the "Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders Programme" – an eight module training course designed by United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT) to give decision makers the necessary information to use ICT for development.

In  Afghanistan,  the  Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT)  -  the  core body mandated to promote and implement ICT projects in the  country -  is taking the lead in rolling out the Academy with technical support  from  APCICT.   As a commitment to ICT capacity building, MCIT has set  up  34  ICT  training  centres  throughout  the country to provide ICT training to local governments and the public.

“In  today’s  information  society,  policymakers  need  to act swiftly and decisively  to  ensure  that  they  provide  the  right environment for ICT innovations  and  creative  use of the technologies in creating sustainable social  and  economic  development,”  remarked  Hyeun Suk Rhee, Director of APCICT.

The  Academy  workshops  in  Afghanistan are therefore targeted at high and mid-level  policymakers  with  the  aim  to  equip  them with the essential knowledge  and  skills to fully leverage opportunities presented by ICTs to achieve national development goals and bridge the digital divide.

This  first  national  workshop will cover two of the eight Academy modules focusing  on the linkages between ICT and the Millennium Development Goals, and  on  ICT  for  development  policy,  process and governance. Both these modules  will  be  delivered  by the original authors with the intention to re-train  the  local  trainers  who  will  lead subsequent provincial-level workshops.

“This Academy will help the mission led by MCIT to develop the ICT sector in Afghanistan and to mentor our policy makers and government decision makers in understanding the benefits of new ICT for social and economic development,” remarked Amirzai Sangin, Minister of Communications and IT in Afghanistan. Local trainers  at  MCIT have customized the modules and added local case studies to  meet  training  needs  and  increase  the  relevancy  of  the course in Afghanistan.  The  modules  are also being translated into Dari and Pashto, the official languages of Afghanistan.

Similar  partnerships  with institutions to develop national Academies have taken  place  or  are  underway  in many other countries including Armenia, Bangladesh,  Bhutan,  Cambodia,  India,  Indonesia,  Kyrgyzstan,  Lao  PDR, Mongolia,  Myanmar,  Pakistan,  the  Philippines,  Sri  Lanka, Timor Leste, Uzbekistan and Pacific Island countries.

For more information on the Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders Programme, visit http://www.unapcict.org/academy

 

Organizer
UN-APCICT