UNITeS Update - December 2000

Since the last update at the eve of the Millennium Summit, activity has continued at good pace towards the start of full implementation for UNITeS. This short note summarizes the activities taking place, following three main lines of work:

• establishing a series of partnerships, in particular around some specific project ideas,
• concretizing the ideas and concepts for the initiative into a comprehensive programme document, and
• gathering the necessary means and resources to face the operational challenges ahead.

Expanding the range of partnerships
A lot of effort is being dedicated to this facet of activities, as UNITeS will depend on an active network of committed institutions to become successful. One way to develop partnerships is in the context of specific projects. Therefore, a series of projects ideas has been identified that (1) can demonstrate the type of contributions that UNITeS will be able to make and (2) will help to attract institutions and resources towards a successful start. These include:

• Assistance on e-commerce for SMEs, with UNCTAD and ITU

• Establishment of a network of Community Telecenters in Jordan, in partnership with the Royal Government of Jordan and UNDP (UNITeS is already active in the first of these telecenters, see article noted below in Computerworld)

• Least Developed Countries Initiative of Cisco Systems/UNDP ·

• ICT support to health and agricultural activities undertaken by the New Nigeria Foundation, with the Government of Nigeria, Citizens International, Lagos Business School and others

• Creation of e-Forum for the World Youth Forum 2001 in Dakar ·

• Virtual Health Library in the Americas, with Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO).

• Integration of radio and Internet via community telecenters, with UNESCO (possible starting in Indonesia) ·

• World Links for Development, with the World Bank, to integrate ICT tools into the curriculum of secondary schools and allow them to communicate with other schools in the North.

In addition, the relationship with the other "digital bridges" initiatives from the Millennium Report continues to evolve. In particular, meetings were held with OCHA and Ericsson, who lead the disaster response "First on the Ground" programme, and information on UNITeS was shared with the participants of the upcoming annual meeting of the Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET) in New York. Moreover, UNV already has a strong presence in places under "special situations", like East Timor or Kosovo, which it can leverage to facilitate UNITeS contributions within the overall processes of peace and nation-building. There is also a growing number of institutions that have manifested interest in becoming involved and contributing to work done under the UNITeS umbrella.

Among them are private sector firms, which are exploring the possibility of win-win situations around the power and general appeal of Volunteering for human development (until recently not easily associated with the private sector). UNITeS will provide an exciting vehicle for "corporate volunteering", an exciting new window in the volunteering arena, and also for financial and technology contributions in the global effort to bridge the digital divide.

Formulation of a programme document
After an extensive formal consultative process, which included two UNITeS workshops held in Bonn in June and August, the finishing touches are being put on a first draft of a comprehensive programme document. It builds on the rich array of ideas and recommendations that have emerged since the initiative was first announced on the Secretary General´s Millennium Report. The document will describe UNITeS identity, strategies and operational framework. This first draft, expected in early January, will be circulated for additional feedback, eventually serving as the operational reference for the implementation of the initiative. It will also be used as the substantive reference for the preparation of proposals for specific donors.

Securing resources
Demand for UNITeS support continues to come from the field. The word is out already! As was planned, the assignments that at the time of the Summit numbered 23, will have expanded to 40 by the end of the year. With new financial resources, the number of assignments can easily multiply. A UNITeS Open Trust Fund will be established soon by UNV. The Fund is governed by standard UN rules and regulations, and makes it easy for countries or institutions to provide financial resources. UNV already manages a number of other UN Trust Funds.

We have been approaching a number of potential bilateral donors to achieve a solid level of financing that can allow for operations and assignments to reach critical mass during 2001. We are glad to report that Finland has already made a financial contribution to this Trust Fund, even before the start of 2001. Other development institutions, such as large Foundations, will be contacted early in 2001.

Visibility is important to help secure resources. It is a good sign that the media continues to pick up on the concept of UNITeS. For example, an interesting article was published Computerworld in 2001 about a community telecentre set in Bedouin territory in Jordan supported by Volunteers affiliated with UNITeS. At the time of the Summit, both the Economist (9 September, "Tapping into Africa") and Computerworld (11 September 2000, "World Leaders: IT Can Ease Globalization Woes") made direct reference to the new programme. There have also been references in other countries' press, e.g. newspaper articles in Spain, India and Japan.

In addition, a colourful flyer is now available, and it can be downloaded from the UNITeS web site in PDF format.