UNDP: National digital technology plan takes shape in Cambodia - and a comment

I'd like to point out a couple things relevant to Unicode and OSS
issues. With respect to Unicode, UNDP is making an effort to adddress
problems in the Unicode font for Khmer. UNDP is developing a similar
idea in Lao PDR. I can tell you more soon, but I am hoping that it
will involve those of us who have been working with Unicode in
Viet Nam as well. I hope these lists can also be of value.

With respect to OSS, my associates in UNDP's regional ICT programme,
APDIP, advise me that the focus of the effort both in Cambodia and
Laos are Microsoft platform issues. Open Source is at this point not
in the picture in any realistic way. Since Unix is rare in either
country, the main problem is to get PCs doing good things in those
respective languages.

More very soon, Vern

http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2003/september/8sep03/index.html

National digital technology plan takes shape in Cambodia

Monday, 8 September 2003: Cambodia is preparing its first
national information and communications technology (ICT)
plan, with support from UNDP and the Asia Pacific
Development Information Programme , a UNDP regional
initiative.

Agreement on creating the plan came at a national summit on
ICT policy and strategy in June, where Prime Minister Hun
Sen outlined a vision of a Cambodia that can "benefit from
the dynamic pace of globalization" by making optimum use of
ICT.

The Asian Forum on ICT Policies and Strategies next month in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will provide an opportunity for
Cambodians to exchange experiences with ICT policy makers
from other countries. The forum will discuss links between
ICT and strategies to reduce poverty, and how countries can
mobilize ICT to help achieve the Millennium Development
Goals . Its recommendations will be presented at the World
Summit on the Information Society in Geneva in December.

Cambodia has come a long way since two decades of conflict
ended in the early 1990s, with progress in satellite,
mobile, fixed, and Internet connectivity. Rural areas are
underserved, however, and prices for Internet access are
among in the highest in the region and out of reach of most
Cambodians.

The Prime Minister said that Internet access needs to be
expanded, especially in rural areas, and called for
development of Khmer language computer standards to enhance
communication at all levels. He also said that expansion of
ICT should come through private sector investment, fair
competition and transparent policies.

"The formulation and implementation of ICT policies and
strategies is crucial to keeping Cambodia firmly on the
development track," said Mr. Hun Sen.

UNDP Resident Representative Dominique Ait Ouyahia-McAdams
said that ICT can have a dramatic impact on achieving social
and economic development goals and play a catalytic role in
broader national development strategies.

"While the potential impact of ICT for national
socio-economic development is enormous, whether or not ICT
can play a successful role in development depends largely on
the commitment of both the government and the people," she
said.

"Just as the Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to
harnessing the benefits of ICT, UNDP is committed to
promoting and advocating ICT as an enabler of development,"
she added. "UNDP believes that the real benefits lie not in
the provision of technology per se, but in its application
to create socio-economic networks by dramatically improving
communication and the exchange of information."

An ICT policy steering committee, chaired by Sok An, Senior
Minister and Chairman of the National Information and
Communications Technology Development Authority, is guiding
the drafting of the national ICT plan, due by year's end.

For further information please contact Ladislaus
Byenkya-Abwooli , UNDP Cambodia, or Trygve Olfarnes , UNDP
Communications Office.

--

Vern Weitzel (Mr.), Webmanager
<weitzel@undp.org.vn> or <webmanager@undp.org.vn>
United Nations Development Programme
address: 25-29 Phan Boi Chau; Ha Noi, Viet Nam
postal address:
UNDP Viet Nam One UN Plaza New York, NY 10017 USA
UNDP Viet Nam Palais des Nations 1211 Geneva Switzerland
UNDP Viet Nam GPO Box 618 Bangkok, 10501 Thailand
tel: +84-4 942-1495 (ext 135) fax: +84-4 942-2267
http://www.undp.org.vn and http://www.un.org.vn
home address: Apartment 504-505, Block A4 Giang Vo
[opposite UN Int. School] tel: +84-4 846-1751
-------------------------------------------------
UNDP is the UN's global development network

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