GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE PARTNERSHIP AND GENDER AND ICT AWARDS

GKP: WORLD'S FIRST MULTISTAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIP IN ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT

The Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) is a worldwide network of organizations committed to harnessing the potentials of information and communication technologies (ICT) for sustainable development. It is the world's first multistakeholder ICT for Development (ICT4D) partnership at the global level, with members comprising governments, donor agencies, private sector companies, civil society, networks and international institutions.

Background to the GKP
In June 1997, development stakeholders from 144 countries came together for the first Global Knowledge Conference (GK97) in Canada. Hosted by the World Bank and the Government of Canada, and supported by a large group of public and private organisations, this was the first conference of its kind in the world to address Information Age challenges facing developed countries and the international community.

Five months later in New York, the GKP emerged.

Building on the success of GK97, the Government of Malaysia hosted the second Global Knowledge Conference (GKII) in 2000, which saw a 75 per cent representation from developing countries. GKII effectively brought the voices of these nations to the attention of the development community, and areas for collective action were identified.

In 2001, the GKP Secretariat moved from the World Bank Institute to Kuala Lumpur under a new EXCOMM chaired by the Government of Switzerland, represented by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Partnership Principles
Commitment to effective partnerships sits at the core of the GKP. This is encapsulated in its core principles:

• All Partners maintain their own identity and autonomy, have equal rights and are enabled to design their own future.
• Shared values and mutual respect are key.
• Transparency and trust are essential.

Areas of Activity
The GKP maximizes its impact by facilitating advocacy in global policy dialogues on ICT for Development, providing services that enhance its members' individual and collective efficiency and effectiveness, and increasing the availability of information and knowledge on ICT for development and empowerment.

GKP Thematic Focus Areas
GKP is harnessing the Partnership's knowledge and experiences on ICT4D programmes that focus on gender, youth, media & communications, poverty reduction, governance, local content & indigenous knowledge, multistakeholder partnerships and financing ICT4D.

Selected GKP Milestones

Bridging the Digital Divide Consultation and Recommendations to the G-8 Dot Force
GKP conducted a member consultation which brought in lessons learned from concrete GKP-member projects on the ground from around the world The GKP contribution helped the Dot Force consult non G-8 members, particularly those in the developing world and outside of official government channels, on the proposed Dot Force plan of action.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the GKP and the UN ICT Task Force (www.unicttaskforce.org) in the third quarter of 2002 paved the way for future collaboration and joint action in various areas. These include the sharing of information and knowledge, including lessons learned by GKP members and joint regional thematic events. In addition, GKP members are represented in the UN ICT TF membership and the advisory panel.

GKP co-organized a Gathering of Stakeholders with the Global Digital Divide Initiative (GDDI) of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in conjunction with the East Asia Business Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur in October 2002. WEF expressed interest in further working collaborations with the GKP.

The Secretariat of the World Summit on the Information Society (www.geneva2003.org) has recognized the importance of the GKP as an organization that represents and embodies multi-stakeholder approaches and initiatives towards realizing an information society. The GKP will bring its knowledge and experience to the WSIS process and events by channelling developing country views and concerns, facilitating the participation and advocacy of marginalised stakeholder groups, providing thematic inputs based on consultations and co-organising thematic events.

The "Youth Creating Digital Opportunities" (YCDO) Coalition, the core component of the GKP Youth Strategy, was launched at a reception held in conjunction with WSIS PrepCom2 in Geneva on 20 February 2003. Spearheaded by GKP, TakingITGlobal and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the YCDO Coalition is comprised of organizations committed to realizing the potential of young people as leaders in using information and communications technologies (ICTs) to achieve more sustainable development in their communities and around the world.

At GKII in 2000, GKP enabled gender issues in ICT4D to be pushed to the fore in terms of the inclusion of a cross-cutting gender perspective as well as gender-specific recommendations. GKII outcomes were then channelled into the ASEAN Biennial Meeting of the Confederation of Women's Organisations and the UN Beijing+5 General Assembly on "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century".

Current/Upcoming GKP Initiatives

The e-Awareness Seminar Series for Asian Parliamentarians (e-ASSAP)
To sensitize high-level Asian parliamentarians on the use of ICT for the development and transformations of their constituencies and nation, the GKP, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP) are organising 3 regional seminars in Hanoi, Vietnam (for Parliamentarians from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, China and South Korea) ; Colombo, Sri Lanka (for parliamentarians from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan) and Delhi, India (for parliamentarians from India).

Forum on ICTs and Gender
GKP is co-organizing this event in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia from 20-23 August 2003 to foster a greater appreciation of the gender-related barriers that exist in developing and developed countries, to develop an understanding of why women need access to ICT, and to discuss strategies for overcoming these barriers. This will translate into policies that support women's access to ICT and successful networking to enhance women's participation in the information economy, especially in the developing world.

ICT4D Platform@WSIS
GKP and the Government of Switzerland, represented by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) are organizing an ICT4D platform at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, 10-12 Dec 2003, to encourage joint action in increasing access to knowledge and information through ICT, strengthen the voice of the disadvantaged by promoting the use of ICT, facilitate networking and knowledge-sharing; and showcase worldwide ICT4D best practices and lessons learnt.

All stakeholders in ICT4D are invited to participate in the Platform. Stakeholders can present their programs, exchange experiences and build up new partnerships at the ICT4D marketplace, workshops, discussions and forums. More info: http://www.ict-4d.org

GKP Youth Award
The GKP Youth Award aims to reward and bring international recognition to the outstanding work of young people who have used information communication technologies (ICT) for the promotion of development around the world. The winner of the USD10,000 award will be honoured at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland.

GKP Gender & ICTs Awards
GKP and the Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) have initiated 'The Gender and ICT Awards'. Inviting submissions under the "Multistakeholder" and "Community-based/Individual" categories, the US$8,000 per-category Awards aim to recognise gender and ICT initiatives globally and provide further impetus for others to mainstream gender in the field of ICTs; and therefore support a number of internationally agreed recommendations for gender equality, women's rights and empowerment.

GKP Seed Grant and Small Innovative Projects Fund (SGSIP Fund)
Supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), GKP invites project proposals for pilot projects or from new or ongoing small-scale initiatives, not exceeding US$25,000, with a focus on developing countries. Projects proposed should facilitate innovation using ICTs from the ground-up to further strengthen and promote the growth and maturity of civil society participation in the Information Society. Furthermore, they should promote and facilitate the fertilization of multi-stakeholder partnerships for the upscaling and/or replication of small-scale and community-based initiatives. ICT & Media Training

Programme for Women's Journalists in South Asia
As an outcome of the ICT & Media Workshop held during the GKP South Asia Regional Meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh (15-17 September 2002), a training programme for South Asian women journalists was mooted to familiarise them to the potential of using new media - the internet, websites, mailing lists and discussion forums, newsgroups and multimedia - for communications.

For more information about the GKP and its initiatives, please view www.globalknowledge.org or contact:

The GKP Secretariat,
L2-I-4, Enterprise 4, Technology Park Malaysia, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, 57000 Malaysia.
Tel : +603 89962379 Fax : +603 89962382
Email : gkps@gkpsecretariat.org.my