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Newsletter of the Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development |
COMNET-IT News
An Electronic Document Distribution System with
associated communication facilities has been delivered to
the Conferencing Department at the Commonwealth Secretariat.
This will enable the Secretariat to better manage the distribution
of conference material under secure mechanisms and with version-control
of document modifications. Timely and effective electronic
distribution is also expected to result in cost-savings on
express mail and courier services.
The Science and Technology Division at the Commonwealth
Secretariat, on behalf of the Commonwealth Science Council,
has entered into a strategic partnership with COMNET-IT for
the development of a Commonwealth Knowledge Network (reported
on page 1).
COMNET-IT has also secured an agreement to substantially
upgrade, host and develop the internet web site for the Commonwealth
Science Council.
The Management and Training Services Division
at the Commonwealth Secretariat is currently engaged with
COMNET-IT in developing an electronic network enabling it
to communicate more effectively and to offer additional services
to its points of contact in the fifty-four countries of the
Commonwealth. This initiative is in line with the Commonwealth
Secretariat’s efforts to deliver more with less.
The Commonwealth Secretariat, in partnership
with COMNET-IT as co-executing agent and with the sponsorship
of the UK Government’s Department for International Development
has concluded a series of Y2K scoping and planning consultancies.
Upon conclusion of the current round of activity in the SADC
region, a total of ? countries will have benefitted from this
programme. Significant amongst these has been the successful
regional Caribbean approach undertaken under the leadership
of the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana with the Regional Coordinating
Committee chaired by Dr. Finbar Fletcher from the Ministry
of Trade and Industry, Trinidad and Tobago. The highly-effective
consultancy services were provided by Y2K experts from the
Malta IT and Training Services, an agency of the Government
of Malta.
The responses to a global survey on the subject
of On-Line Governance organised jointly with UNESCO are now
being received. Results will be analysed, published and placed
on a dedicated web-site being developed for UNESCO. In the
meantime COMNET-IT was represented at an OECD meeting held
in Paris in June. OECD member-states are developing metrics
designed to measure the degree of IT penetration in the public
service and the COMNET-IT/UNESCO material provided valuable
input to the OECD development. UNESCO, COMNET-IT and the OECD
are looking forward to on-going collaboration in this area.
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