The United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development, a regional institute of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-APCICT/ESCAP), and Timor Leste’s Directorate National for Information and Communication Technology (DNICT), of the Ministry of Infrastructure, today concluded the second National Workshop of the “Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders” (Academy) in Dili, Timor-Leste.
9 April 2010 – The United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development, a regional institute of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-APCICT/ESCAP), and Timor Leste’s Directorate National for Information and Communication Technology (DNICT), of the Ministry of Infrastructure, today concluded the second National Workshop of the “Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders” (Academy) in Dili, Timor-Leste.
The second National Workshop was opened by Mr. Fernando Da Cruz, Directorate General for Transport and Communication, Ministry of Infrastructure on 6 April, and was attended by over sixty participants from seven government ministries, twelve districts, and international organizations based in Timor-Leste, including the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). Kim Ki-Kwon, Deputy Director of APCICT, attended the final two days of the training workshop, which was facilitated by Academy alumni and resource persons from the University of Indonesia, and Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Infrastructure.
Ministry of Infrastructure officials, APCICT representatives, and Academy partners also met to discuss the expansion of the Academy Programme in Timor-Leste, and support for the development of ICT policies in the country. Moving forward DNICT will continue to deliver the Academy curriculum and begin to roll-out the programme at the district level. APCICT will also continue to support DNICT as it expands the Academy in Timor-Leste, and will work to increase the pool of local ICT resource persons through future sub-regional training events. APCICT will further provide advisory services to Timor-Leste as it works toward building comprehensive ICT policies that will help achieve national development objectives. Both APCICT and DNICT acknowledged that the future success of the Academy programme and the achievement of Timor-Leste’s development goals will be based on a strong, inclusive partnership.
“The second National Workshop is an illustration of DNICT’s work toward strengthening ICT human resources and institutional capacity, and of Timor-Leste’s continued determination to provide effective public services through ICTs”, said Deputy Director Kim. “This workshop has also demonstrated the benefit of continued cooperation between sub-regional stakeholders in the pursuit of achieving socio-economic development goals”, added Kim.
The workshop aimed to enhance awareness and strengthen knowledge on the effective use of ICTs for sustainable socio-economic development among government officials. The Bahasa Indonesia version of Academy Module 3, e-Government Applications, and Module 4, ICT Trends for Government Leaders, were delivered during the four-day event. APCICT and DNICT had previously delivered modules 1 and 2 during the inaugural Academy workshop in July, 2009. Equipping policymakers and project managers with the necessary ICT skills and knowledge to develop relevant policies and deliver effective public services related to ICT for development is the primary objective of the Academy programme. The Academy includes a comprehensive curriculum on ICT for development, currently with eight standalone but interlinked modules.
Academy programmes have been delivered throughout Asia and the Pacific in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Indonesia, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Samoa, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Tuvalu.
For more information about the Academy, please visit http://www.unapcict.org/academy
