world ITFORUM-5

WITFOR - 5

India hosted the World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) 2012 on April 17 and 18, 2012 in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. This was the fifth edition of the event. It was organised by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), in partnership with the Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DEITy), Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Government of India.

Representatives from over 30 countries shared their knowledge, views and best practices in the use of IT for governance and delivery of key public services.

The next event, WITFOR 2013 will be held in Paraguay.

Focus areas of WITFOR - 5

WITFOR – 5 deliberations mainly focused on the use of ICT in agriculture, education, health and e-Governance, within the overall theme of ‘ICT for Sustainable Human Development’.

The Forum also discussed the role of IT interventions in bringing about greater transparency in governance, issues of privacy and security while dealing with public databases, financial inclusion and ways of leveraging wireless technologies.

Background

WITFOR was born out of the need for emerging economies and developed countries to collaborate and harness the potential for digital technologies for sustainable development. Since its inception in 2003, World IT Forums have been held four times–in Vietnam (2009), Ethiopia (2007), Botswana (2005) and Lithuania (2003).

The activities of the Forum are broadly guided by the World Summit on the Information Society’s (WSIS) Plan of Action, in order to help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Significance of such events for India

As a country with enormous ICT capabilities and equally immense socio-economic development challenges, India attracts significant international attention for its efforts to exploit the developmental potential of ICT. At the same time, Indian policymakers and practitioners can learn from the experiences of other countries. WITFOR 2012 provided a unique opportunity for sharing knowledge on mobilising ICT for development, among a diverse range of professionals engaging in this effort in many countries with a variety of development challenges.

Thus, WITFOR 2012 provided a valuable forum for understanding how the power of ICT can be harnessed for sustainable development.