IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The rapid, widespread adoption of digital technology, spurred in large part by the COVID-19 pandemic, and its economic and societal ramifications are the key focus of deliberations at a United Nations forum this week.

The Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Science, Technology, and Innovation, which opened today, is set to examine how this digital transformation has brought a number of benefits and opportunities for people, governments and businesses, but also has further widened the digital divide both between and within countries in the region, opening new development gaps and reinforcing a vicious cycle of socio-economic inequalities.

The Organization and its 12 peacekeeping missions around the world must fully embrace new technology in the face of ever-changing challenges, the UN chief said on Wednesday as he outlined to the Security Council his Strategy for the Digital Transformation of UN Peacekeeping.

New technologies are changing the character and nature of conflict, with an “indelible impact” on civilians, Secretary-General António Guterres told the ministerial-level open debate on technology and peacekeeping – a highlight of India’s turn as Council President this month.

E-Government and e-Participation for sustainable development in Azerbaijan’s districts was the main topic of a training course organised in the city of Ganja by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan and Regional Development Public Union.

The course brought together over 70 participants from the government agencies, businesses and civil society from Ganja and surrounding districts, as well as international and local experts. They discussed the access of citizens to public services, employment opportunities, best practices in strengthening ICT capacity of civil servants in the regions, e-signature and e-document.

India has broken into the top 100 in the United Nation’s E-government Index in 2018, Financial Express has reported. India’s rank has improved by 22 places in the past four years and 11 ranks in the past two years. Currently, India occupies the 96th position in the ranking.

The UN E-government index is released once in two years.

During the meeting, the UAE presented its observations on the United Nations e-Government Study 2020

At the invitation of the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, a meeting was held between TRA officials and Vincenzo Aquaro, Chief of Digital Government at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UNDESA, to discuss the prospects of the UN e-Government Study and its use for the digital performance development.

Lithuania comes 40th out of 193 countries in the United Nations' Electronic Government Development Index 2018, dropping 17 positions, compared to 2016. Estonia leads among the Baltic states, coming in 16th with 0.8486 points, and Latvia is 57th with 0.6996 points.

Countries in all regions of the world are continuing to make strides in their efforts to improve e-government and to provide public services online according to a new report launched by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In a 2018 ranking of countries on e­government development, Denmark, Australia, and Republic of Korea came out on top of a group of 40 countries, scoring very high on an index (the E-Government Development Index – EGDI), which measures countries’ use of information and communications technologies to deliver public services. The Index captures the scope and quality of online services, status of telecommunication infrastructure and existing human capacity.

Bangladesh has ranked 124th in the United Nations E-Government Survey-2016 among the 193 countries advancing by 24 notches.

"This year, Bangladesh has been ranked 124. In 2014, and 2012 Bangladesh was ranked 148 and 150 respectively," an official of Access to Information (a2i) programme told BSS today.

Bangladesh has occupied the 124th rank among 193 countries in the United Nations E-Government Survey-2016.

The 2016 ranking is 24 notches better than that of 2014 (148), said an an official of Access to Information(a2i) programme on Friday, reports BSS.

The information and communication technologies (ICT) sector can play a vital role in helping achieve the objectives of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, according to new analysis prepared for the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) by Accenture.

This would involve deploying innovative digital solutions to improve the quality of people’s lives, achieve equitable growth and protect the environment.

The information and communication technology (ICT) sector can help countries achieve the objectives of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, according to a new analysis prepared for the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) by Accenture.

The GeSI report, “#SystemTransformation: How digital solutions will drive progress towards the sustainable development goals,” finds that every country has achievement gaps in more than half of the 17 SDGs, and many fall short on all.

A new United Nations report has found that e-government is an effective tool for facilitating integrated policies and public service by promoting accountable and transparent institutions, such as through open data and participatory decision-making, and therefore it has the potential to help support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The report 2016 UN E-Government Survey, produced every two years by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, is the only global report that assesses the e-government development status of all 193 Member States of the UN.

Denmark, Australia and South Korea have come top in a biennial United Nations survey of countries’ progress in implementing e-government.

The survey, by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, notes an overall “persistent positive global trend” towards higher levels of e-government development – but the world’s poorest countries are lagging behind, the report says. The findings include a ranking of the 193 UN member states according to their scores on an e-government development index (EGDI).

“Information Communication and Technology (ICT) and e-government fail to make it on UN’s development agenda year after year,” Haiyan Qian, Director, Division for Public Administration and Development Management, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs has said.

Researchers at Edinburgh Napier University have produced guidance on managing ‘smart city’ governance for the United Nations.

Luca Mora and Paolo Gerli from the university’s business school led the research team behind the project, which offers practical guidance to local and regional governments applying new technologies with the aim of improving urban life.

For the UN Secretary-General, the benefits of making cities more environmentally friendly are “enormous”, and include reduced climate risk, more jobs, and better health and well-being.

“City leadership in using green materials and constructing energy-efficient, resilient buildings powered by renewable energy, is essential to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050,” said António Guterres in his message for World Habitat Day, marked on Monday.

Indonesia fared the worst.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore all fell in their e-government rankings compared to their position in 2014, the UN e-Government rankings show.

The UN E-Government Survey 2018 has ranked India at 96 position for its performance in development and execution of information technologies, up from 107 in 2016 and 118 in 2014, in what can be termed as a massive leap over the years.

The survey, published every two years, ranks 193 UN member states on basis of their performance on mainly three dimensions or e-governance development index (EGDI): online service index (OSI), telecommunication infrastructure index (TII), and human capital index (HCI).

Recommendations of a two-day expert meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Education, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Organization, the State Welfare Organization, UNECSO, and academia and NGOs working in the field of disabilities, will be presented to Iranian policy makers to foster greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in the economy and the social milieu.

The meeting on January 24 was a joint initiative of the UNESCO Tehran office and the Iranian National Commission of UNESCO, on the development of a national policy to introduce ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities.

Kenya on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Nations that seeks to boost the development of Konza Technopolis, located about 70 km south of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya Stephen Jackson said the agreement will provide a raft of interrelationships with various UN agencies based in Nairobi.