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Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas and Plan of Action of Quito

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Joint ITU/CITEL Forum on Enabling and ICT business environment in the Americas Region will be held at the OAS Headquarters in Washington, DC, United States on April 21, 2008 XI Meeting of PCC.II will be held at the OAS Headquarters in Washington, DC, United States on April 22 to 25, 2008

This initiative was presented at the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) of the International Telecommunication Union (Istanbul, Turkey, March 18-27, 2002), which adopted Resolution 39, to include “…among the high priorities of ITU support for initiatives under the ‘Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas’, recommending the use of mechanisms to help to achieve the necessary results for each country and region, and promote the exchange of information on the development of connectivity activities globally.” 

Subsequently, the Third Regular Meeting of the CITEL Assembly (Washington, D.C., United States, August 12-16, 2002) adopted Resolution CITEL/RES. 33 (III-02) on implementation of the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas, which recognizes that the Agenda and Plan of Action of Quito prepared by CITEL represent a significant and positive contribution to efforts under way in a number of forums to bridge the digital divide.

Aware of the topic’s high importance, the Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-02) (Marrakech, Morocco, September 23-October 18, 2002), in Resolution COM 6/10, lent its support for the proposal in order to build awareness of the impact of telecommunications on national economic and social development, and its catalytic role in promoting the development, expansion, and operation of telecommunication services and networks, especially in the developing countries of the America.

In December 2002, the Permanent Executive Committee of CITEL (COM/CITEL), in Resolution COM/CITEL/RES. 148 (XII-02) acknowledged that the Agenda contains elements that are beyond the scope and mandate of CITEL activities, and require the collaboration of the governments of the hemisphere, of regional, sub-regional, and multinational agencies, of civil society and of the private sector, each within their competences and responsibilities to achieve true implementation of this proposal in the region.  In that context, the document was sent to the OAS Executive Secretariat for the Summit Process,  to promote activities with a view to its subsequent development and implementation, in keeping with the needs of each member state. CITEL will continue its support with its sphere of competence and will also encourage cooperation and participation by the region’s principal players. 

At the same meeting, COM/CITEL, in resolution COM/CITEL RES. 152 (XII-02), and taking account of resolution COM 6/10, adopted by PP-02, in which it is resolved to instruct the Secretary-General of the ITU  “to release appropriate financial resources to support and stimulate the implementation of projects aimed to fulfill the objectives set in the resolutions and recommendation highlighted above, particularly by mobilizing the surplus income from world telecommunication exhibitions and forums (TELECOM),” established a Group for Connectivity Initiatives Management to interact with the ITU/BDT through the Regional Office of the ITU and with other interested organizations in order to implement projects originating from these initiatives.    

This Group, chaired by the Chair of COM/CITEL, will work within CITEL’s sphere of competence in the following areas:      

• Promotion of network infrastructure development

• E-government (development of applications enabling government modernization processes to be established

• E-health

• E-education

• E-commerce

• Training of human resources in the telecommunication sector

• E-culture and distance-culture

• Access to ICTs

• Minorities

• Persons with special needs

• Public protection and disasters relief telecommunications

The countries of the Americas are called upon to formulate a vision of their national agendas that may tend to improve the capacity for access to knowledge and information.  But each country is urged, in defining its national vision, to establish realistic objectives and timeframes.  Effective incorporation in this new information and knowledge society will enable the countries of the region to compete on equal terms and to encourage optimization of the use of our limited resources. 

The goal is that at the Fourth Summit of the Americas, the Heads of State and Government will have available a set of experiences that not only make integration a reality but that, at the same time, may benefit other regions of the world in their development efforts. 

A preeliminar list of links of interest on this topic is provided below, preceded by the initiatives of the countries that have already implemented this initiative.

National Initiatives:

Canada	The Canadian Connectivity web site	http://www.connect.gc.ca
	The Aboriginal Canada Portal	http://aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/
Colombia	Agenda de Conectividad de Colombia	http://www.agenda.gov.co/
Ecuador	Agenda de Conectividad	http://www.conectividad.gov.ec/
Estados Unidos/United States	A nation onlines	http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/index.html
	Reports and statistics on digital divide	http://www.digitaldivide.gov/reports.htm
	Connecting the globe	http://www.fcc.gov/connectglobe/
Trinidad and Tobago	National Connectivity Report	National Connectivity Report for Trinidad and Tobago that outlines the policy initiatives as well as programmes and projects to be implemented over the next three to five years.

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