Kein Betreff

space for reflection and to raise awareness on an evident need today,
that is, the need to promote, support and adapt ICTs as a key element to
carry out development policies, programmes and projects. And besides, it
will give us the opportunity to promote networks for development
cooperation.

For this first edition, we will try to set up not only a national but
also an international reference framework on ICT and Development
Cooperation matters. Thus, we will be making it easier to exchange
knowledge on ICT applications as innovation regarding Cooperation, and
so, giving visibility to ongoing actions.

To top it all, we will be highlighting the need of an ICT knowledge
network for Cooperation, made up of cooperation agents. This will create
a new sort of knowledge on the area coming from the experience many
cooperation agents already have. As a matter of fact, even though there
are many projects to bridge the digital device through the use of ICTs,
there are not so many spaces for debate or reflexion. Neither
physically, nor virtually; neither in Spain, nor abroad. That is why we
are proposing a kind of net of networks on cooperation.

Where: In Gijón’s Congress Palace (Asturias International Fair of
Samples, at Gijón Fairground), Gijón, Asturias (Spain).

When: From 30 to 31 January de 2008.

Working Groups:

ICT and the Millennium Development Goals

Given the transversal nature of ICT in development, there is already an
important array of references about successful thematic applications of
these technologies. This Group will debate about their own experiences
and those of other parties, highlighting which ICTs have more relevance
at present. Particular attention will be paid to emerging Web 2.0
applications, which in general facilitate online participation. As
reference, the Group can use the ICT-MDG matrix developed by the UN ICT
Task Force in preparation of the first phase of WSIS. A key question to
consider is how the use of such applications can be widely disseminated
among cooperation and development actors.

ICT and e-Governance

Governance can be understood as the capacity of a given society to face
its challenges. With this understanding, ICT applications for a
democratic governance go beyond e-government services, which in turn
require substantial incorporation of ICT tools and process in the
back-office of Public Administrations. Just these processes alone imply
and require significant changes on how government functions are carried
out and in their relationship with the citizenry. 

Moreover, it is necessary to consider ICT tools and processes as an
essential factor to develop digital or e-democracy, since they aim
towards a more intense and diversified citizen participation through
various channels * from electronic ‘agoras’ (forums) to
e-Administration services and even media web/digital campaigns. Topics
such as information security and privacy, access to public information,
and government transparency/accountability are some examples of what may
be treated here. 

Towards Networking Cooperation 

Castells claims that societies in the Information Era organize
themselves and function through networks. Consequences for development
and international cooperation are arguably deep and multi-faceted. To
start with, there is a need to examine the meeting of two paradigms,
that of the Network Society (Castells) with the one of Human Development
(Sen). What mechanisms facilitate Human Development in the Network
Society? What effect does the Network Society have over Human
Development processes, and over their essence, the expansion of choices
for people?

Moving onto the particular field of international Cooperation, either
at the level of a given organization, or from the perspective of the
international cooperation system, we can assume that international
Cooperation will be increasingly networked. Now, how should we adapt
international Cooperation structures to a network environment? How to
modify working structures to include network strategies aimed at
improving performance and results? What are the attributes of a
renovated ‘Network Cooperation’? We are already giving answers to
these questions on the go, yet, without guidelines or references. Thus,
it seems worth to stop to think and discuss about it. We invite you to
do so in this workshop.

Spanish International Cooperation: Towards Cooperation 2.0 

Spanish International Cooperation is at an interesting crossroads. On
the one hand, the level of public financial resources has increased
dramatically (at a national as well as at a regional level). As a
result, there are an increasing number of actors involved, as well as
support services for them (like Masters in Development, development
portals, etc.). 

On the other hand, the leading cooperation agency in Spain, AECI
(Spanish Agency for International Cooperation) is in the midst of a
needed and encouraging reform. As Leire Pajín * Secretary of State for
International Cooperation- has put it, this process “encourages us to
put our shoulders to the wheel to build a coherent, 21st Century
international cooperation structure within the Information Society; an
international cooperation which main objective should always be the
development of peoples and equal opportunities for all men an women in
the world”.

All this seems to be a good argument in favour of supporting this
relatively young Cooperation movement. Our challenge now is to shrug
shoulders about old methodologies and leapfrog a couple of stages,
adapting and assimilating best practices, peering the most advanced
countries, while developing our own identity. That is the aim of this
particular workshop: to debate and generate new ideas on this
challenging and relevant topic, to shape a future for the Spanish
Cooperation.