Introduction
As clearly stated by the world leaders convened at the World Economic Forum in Davos and by the most
important scholars worldwide, poverty is the main issue to be tackled by the international community in the
near future. Only by eradicating poverty can the world population enter in a new phase of prosperity. As the
industrial revolution made possible widespread well-being in Europe and North America in the XIX Century,
the digital revolution can help all the people currently secluded from wealth reap new opportunities: it
is possible to fight poverty with profitability, as emphasized by C.K. Prahalad in his best selling book
“The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid”.
Since its first edition the INFOPOVERTY WORLD CONFERENCE, the first and most prestigious
conference on the digital divide, tried to highlight the positive role ICT can have to spur development in
disadvantaged communities, which can greatly benefit from using the communication technologies in an
innovative way. Moreover, the Infopoverty World Conference launched many initiatives in developing countries
such as Honduras, Lebanon, Mozambique, Peru, Tanzania, Tunisia which mirrored the above mentioned general,
favoring a wise use of the ICT in the communities.
The Conference - organized by OCCAM and the Office in Milan of the European Parliament, under the Patronage
of the President of the Italian Republic and the Presidency of the Italian Council of Ministers and in
partnership with the United Nations Information Center in Brussels, the UNESCO Mediterranean Programme,
the University of Oklahoma, the Università Cattolica and Politecnico di Milano – involves more
than a hundred international institutions.
WHO participates?
Decision makers from communitarian
and governmental institutions, regional and local authorities, content and service providers,
International Organizations, UN Agencies, NGOs, financial institutions, corporations, prestigious
universities and civil society.
HOW & WHERE?
The Conference will take place in simultaneous sessions
connected by videoconference with New York (UN seat) and other locations
home to the most important international institutions, at the presence of the most influential
protagonists of the digital revolution.
AIM OF THE CONFERENCE
To keep you updated on the most effective applications
in the field of sustainable development; to know in advance the breakthrough experimentations in the
fields of telemedicine, e-governance, distant learning, teleconsulting, e-commerce; to participate
in the programs and projects developed in the framework of the UN system, the multilateral cooperation,
the creation of new tools and services; to launch the model of ICT Village such as the one realised in
Borj Touil for the WSIS 2005; to meet the most influential international stakeholders and
reap the opportunity Infopoverty gives both to those participating – offering the possibility to start
concrete synergies with the operations discussed in the Conference and to those participating as
sponsors, granting high and prestigious visibility.
Quotations about Infopoverty
“The INFOPOVERTY Conference underlines the responsibility of information in facing
poverty in the world. There must be a definition - at an international level - a system of common
rules able to transform the present digital revolution in an opportunity to bridge the divide
between North and South.”
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of the Italian Republic (2001)
“All stakeholders - the private sector, national and international authorities,
NGOs - need to cooperate in fighting infopoverty. Only by cooperating in this way we can achieve
real, sustainable progress, tackle the needs of isolated people and communities, involve people
actively and achieve greater equality. For all these reasons, I want to thank you for your
contribution to this highly topical debate.”
Romano Prodi, President European Commission (2003)
“I consider the work of Infopoverty more important than ever. Your initiatives are at the
same time effective - with respect to the numerous projects already launched and in planning - and
opportune, because they intervene timely in the Summit preparations and they will contribute to
increasing the opportunities offered by the use of ICTs in numerous domains. I see your work as an
invaluable contribution to the take-up of the Information Society in a development context.”
Erkki Lükanen, European Commissioner for Enterprise (2003)
“OCCAM is to be congratulated for organizing this conference: Events such as this,
focused on identifying and developing concrete solutions to the urgent challenges facing humanity,
are a useful opportunity to share ideas and experiences concerning key international development
issues, especially those enshrined in the Millennium Development Goals.”
Koicïro Matsuura, Director General UNESCO (2004)
Program of the Conference
PDF Version
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sessions connected by videoconference |
May 12, 2005
| New York, UN Headquarters |
Milan, Politecnico di Milano |
Other venues |
| 9.00 a.m. |
3.00 p.m. |
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| OPENING SESSION: |
|
Guido Bertucci
Head, UNDESA
Pierpaolo Saporito
President, OCCAM
Marcello Spatafora
Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN
|
Giulio Ballio
Dean, Politecnico di Milano
Umberto Cugini
delegate of the President, Fondazione Politecnico
Keynote address:
Roberto Formigoni [PDF]
President, Regione Lombardia
|
Baghdad, Iraq
Wael Al-Rifa'i, Chairman
Baghdad, University of Technology
[VIDEO]
Dr. Mohammed Sadik Khoshnaw
President, University of Salahaddin, Erbil
[VIDEO]
Dr. Fadhil Al-Jobory
President, University of Babil, Iraq
[VIDEO]
|
9.30 - 10.30 a.m.
The ICT services for Alcoholism related Health Problems
Chaired by:
Adele Smithers-Fornaci
Smithers Foundation
|
3.30 p.m.
Fighting the Digital Divide as Constraint Factor on Development
Chaired by:
Alberto Rovetta
Professor of Robotics, Politecnico di Milano
Renato Cortinovis [PDF]
Rotary International
Alberto Colorni
Politecnico di Milano
Stefano Scotti [PPT]
METID, Politecnico Milano
Fulvio Falcone
Rotary International
Pierachille Lanfranchi [HTML]
Member of the Board, Anci Lombardia
Paolo Mazzanti
Director, Asstel
4.30 p.m.
Promoting Digital Opportunities as Driving Force for Growth
Co-Chaired by:
Antonio Emmanueli
Italian Chapter, Infopoverty Network
Francesco Iarlori [PPT]
ICT Advisor, OCCAM
Francesco Sicurello [PPT]
[DOC]
Presidente @ITIM
Pasquale Pistorio
Vice President, Confindustria
Pierpaolo Celeste
Member of the Board, INAIL
Giuseppe Perotti
Siemens Mobile
5.30 p.m.
Round Up
Stefano Cacciaguerra [HTML]
Cooperation for Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
|
Muhura, Rwanda
Anastase Musafiri
Head Computer, Department, COL Project, St.
Alexandre Sauli
Highschool
University of Mentouri
Constantine, Algeria
Abdelouahab Zaatri [DOC]
Mechanic Department
Window Rock, Arizona
Joe Shirley Jr.
President, Navajo Nation
David Stephens
Chairmen & CEO, OnSat
Erwin Keeswood
Member, Navajo Tribal Council
Ernest Franklin
Division of Economic and Social Development
Gerardo Zepeda Bermudez
Vice President, OCCAM
|
10.30 – 12.00 a.m.
Innovations in Safe Water for All through the Use of ICT
Chaired by:
Orville Schaefer
President Emeritus, Schaefer Water Centres
1.00 – 2.30 p.m.
New Digital Perspectives in Fish Farming
Chaired by:
Richard Thomson
President, Caribbean Valley Farms
2.30 – 4.00 p.m.
Renewing Community
Chaired by:
Mack McCarter
Executive Director, SBCR
All workshops will be co-chaired by:
Dr. John Steffens
Executive Director of the Infopoverty Institute
|
May 13, 2005
| New York |
Milan, Università Cattolica |
Other venues |
| |
9.30 a.m.
New European Roles and Strategies in Fighting Poverty through the ICT
Chaired by:
Maria Grazia Cavenaghi Smith
Director, Office in Milan, European Parliament
Mario Mauro
Vice President, European Parliament
Vittorio Agnoletto [HTML]
European Parliament
Pia Locatelli
European Parliament
Mario Mantovani
European Parliament
Cristiana Muscardini
European Parliament
Pierantonio Panzeri
European Parliament
Guido Podestà
European Parliament
|
Beijing, China
Giuseppe Viriglio
[PDF-eng] [PDF-ita]
Director, EU and industrial policies, ESA
Paris, UNESCO Headquarters
Abdul W. Khan
Assistant Director-General for Communication & Information, UNESCO
Giulio Cesare Giordano
Secretary General, CICT-UNESCO
Francesco Caruso
Permanent Representative of Italy to UNESCO
|
| |
11.30 a.m.
The Main Stakeholders and ICT Strategies in Emergency and Rescue Efforts
Chaired by:
Cristina Castelli
Director, Master Emrgenza,
Università Cattolica
Hugh Peterken [PPT]
[DOC]
Head, IT Department, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Alberto Piatti [PPT]
General Director, AVSI
Representative of General Staff, Italian Army
|
| 9.00 a.m. |
3.00 p.m. |
|
ICT Companies and Financial Strategies at the Service of the MDGs
Chaired by:
H.E.Ambassador Prof. Klaus W. Grewlich
High-level Panel of Advisers to UN ICT-TF
Members of the UN ICT Task Force will participate in the session
|
Agostino Fusconi
Director, Management Sciences, Università Cattolica
Norberto Patrignani [PPT]
CeTIF, Università Cattolica
Mario Zanone Poma
President, Banca Intesa Mediocredito
Federico Rajola [PPT]
Director, CeTIF, Università Cattolica
|
| 10.30 a.m. |
4.30 p.m. |
3.30 p.m.
Borj Touil, Tunisia
|
|
World Summit on the Information Society 2005 in Tunis
Ali Hachani
Permanent Representative of Tunisia to the UN
|
11.00 a.m.
UN Strategies towards the WSIS 2005
Chaired by:
Guido Bertucci
UNDESA
12.00 a.m.
Round Up and Final Declaration
Chaired by:
Pierpaolo Saporito
President, OCCAM
Patrizio Civili
Assistant Secretary General, UN
John Steffens
Executive Director, Infopoverty Institute
|
5.00 p.m.
Anton Mangstl [DOC]
Director, Documentation System Division, General Affairs and Information Department, FAO
Giorgio Bosco [HTML]
Plenipotentiary Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hugh Peterken [PPT]
Head, IT Department, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Enrique Planas
Head, Council on Social Communications, the Holy See
Silvio Dottorini
Senior Consultant, UNESCO Roste
Lorenzo Ornaghi
Dean, Università Cattolica
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Press Release
Other Conference related Pages & Documents
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