On 4-8 July, UN-APCICT/ESCAP will partner with the Royal Government of Bhutan’s Ministry of Information and Communication and the Royal Institute of Management to launch the “Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders” (Academy) programme in the country.
In partnership with the Royal Government of Bhutan’s Ministry of Information and Communication (MoIC) and the Royal Institute of Management (RIM), the country’s apex training institute, APCICT will be launching its Academy training programme to promote ICT development in Bhutan and strengthen the country’s ICT capacity to help achieve national socio-economic development goals.
In recent years, the Royal Government of Bhutan has prioritized ICT capacity development, both in terms of infrastructure and human resources. In 2009, work began on Bhutan’s flagship ICT infrastructure project, the Thimphu Tech Park. ICT human resource capacity development has also been made a government priority, as demonstrated by Bhutan’s Chiphen Rigpel “Empowering a Society, Enabling a Nation” project that is designed to provide ICT training to all sectors of society in order to move Bhutan into the Information Age.
It is within this context that the Academy is to be launched and utilized in Bhutan. Through the signing of an Implementation Arrangement, APCICT will continue to support the efforts of MoIC and RIM to promote ICT for development in Bhutan and strengthen the country’s ICT capacity to help achieve national socio-economic development goals.
The inaugural Academy workshop will welcome approximately 50 senior government officials and policymakers, and be inaugurated by the Secretary of MoIC. It will impart training on 3 Academy modules: 1) The Linkage between ICT Applications and Meaningful Development; 2) ICT for Development Policy, Process and Governance; and 8) Options for Funding ICT for Development. APCICT resource persons, comprised of original Academy authors, will deliver the workshop training.
