The World IT Forum (WITFOR) is coming to Africa for the first time in September, when it will be staged in Gaborone, Botswana.
WITFOR is a UNESCO initiative sponsored by the European Union, and will be hosted by the Botswana government, in partnership with the International Federation for Information Processing.
The event is expected to attract around 700 decision-makers from around the world, and aims to generate proposals for ICT-based initiatives that will accelerate economic progress in developing countries.
"The purpose is to help implement information development strategies and projects in developing countries," says Festus Mogae, president of the Republic of Botswana and honorary chairman of WITFOR 2005. "The conference will also address issues critical to developing countries, such as the role of ICT in fighting HIV/AIDS and poverty, as well as bridging the digital divide."
The first WITFOR conference, held in Lithuania in 2003, identified eight major themes, as well as a number of development projects. Eight commissions are now reviewing the progress of these projects and determining the way forward. This work will lead to the draft Gaborone Protocol, a document calling for concrete plans of action and outlining proposals to accelerate development through ICT. The Gaborone Protocol will be discussed and finalised at the conference.
"WITFOR 2005 will result in a living document, detailing real projects of direct benefit to people in developing countries," says Marianne Nganunu, permanent secretary, Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, Botswana.
Following WITFOR 2005, the Gaborone Protocol will be submitted for adoption at the UNESCO general conference and the World Summit on the Information Society later this year.
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