Text: ITU Photos: Actionpress/Virot Date: May 14, 2012
Geneva, 14 May 2012 – ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré today announced the winners of 18 WSIS Project Prizes, as part of the Opening Ceremony of the WSIS Forum 2012 event, which is taking place this week in Geneva (14-18 May). The prizes, which are being awarded for the first time this year, recognize excellence in the implementation of projects and initiatives which further the goals of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in improving connectivity to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in line with the 11 Action Lines laid out in the Tunis Agenda agreed at the UN World Summit on the Information Society. More than 170 projects from 50 countries were nominated. Submissions, which were subject to a stringent multi-phase evaluation, came from governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and individuals, reflecting the multi-stakeholder nature of the WSIS process.
The winners, who are highlighted in the 2012 edition of the WSIS Stocktaking Report on Success Stories, also released today, are: The Association for Progressive Communications (South Africa/international) with the project Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) in category C1: The role of public governance authorities and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development The National Information Center (Sudan) with the project Sudanese Internet Exchange Point in category C2: Information and communication infrastructure
Computers to Educate (Colombia) with the project Computers to Educate in category C3: Access to information and knowledge
The Ministry of Administration and Digitization (Poland) with the project Lighthouse Keepers in category C4: Capacity building Odessa National Academia of Telecommunications N.A. Popov (Ukraine) with the project Building a Safer Internet for Educational Institutions in category C5: Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs Rural Technology and Business Incubator (India) with the project Rural Technology and Business Incubator in category C6: Enabling environment
Network for Information & Computer Technology (India) with the project Samadhan in category C7: ICT applications – e-Government The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Oman) with the project One Stop Shop Business eServices in category C7: ICT applications – e-Business The Ministry of Education (Saudi Arabia) with the project Noor Program in category C7: ICT applications – e-Learning Cognizant Technology Solutions (USA/India) with the project Ruhanga – RealTime Remote Health Monitoring in category C7: ICT applications – e-Health The Human Resources Development Fund (Saudi Arabia) with the project National Unemployment Assistance Program in category C7: ICT applications: e-Employment ICVolunteers (Switzerland) with the project Green Voice in category C7: ICT applications – e-Environment e-Agriculture Community (Food & Agriculture Organization), with the project e-Agriculture Community in category C7: ICT applications – e-Agriculture University of La Punta (Argentina) with the project Automatic Meteorological Stations Network in category C7: ICT applications: e-Science Telecentre.org Foundation (Philippines) with the project Telecentre.org Community Learning Programme in category C8: Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content Video Volunteers (India) with the project Building A Community Newswire Service in category C9: Media The Ministry of Information Society and Telecommunications (Montenegro) with the project Promotion of the Information Society Among People with Disabilities in category C10: Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
The Technology Organization of Iran (ITO) and Iran University of Science, Technology and Information (Islamic Republic of Iran) with the project WSIS Cooperation: Research Study and Preparation of International Strategic Documents for the Information Society in category C11: International and regional cooperation.
The WSIS Project Prizes were developed in response to requests from participants at the WSIS Forum 2011 for a mechanism to evaluate and recognize individuals; governments; civil society; local, regional and international agencies; research institutions; and private sector companies for outstanding success in implementing development-oriented strategies that leverage the power of ICTs. The new WSIS Project Prizes are now an integral part of the WSIS Stocktaking Process established in 2004.
