Abu-Ghazaleh Meets UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

With the Secretary-General?s leadership and endorsement of our initiatives, with his permission to ?use? his name, we will now devote, with even stronger determination and hope, our creative energies and entrepreneurial spirit to making the wonders of the ICT revolution work towards development for all ? Abu-Ghazaleh

NEW YORK --------February 8, 2010 --------- Chairman of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID), Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, met with the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon to discuss new proposals to further strengthen the contribution of the Global Alliance to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
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UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Sha Zukang, Co-Chairs of GAID Mr. Ramon Garza of Indigo BrainMedia (Mexico) and Mr. Kamran Elahian of Global Catalyst Partners (USA), and Mr. Richard Hall of Intel Corporation (USA) attended the meeting.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh briefed the Secretary-General on the major activities of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development to help advance United Nations Development Agenda, in particular the achievement of the MDGs.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh, on behalf of GAID leadership, informed the Secretary-General of the intention to re-focus the work of the Alliance in 2010 on the paramount objective of fostering effective use of ICT for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Secretary-General strongly endorsed this course of action.

The Chairman presented to the Secretary-General an initiative to construct a Matrix of ICT Solutions for MDGs Advancement ? a powerful web-based tool for United Nations system, government policy makers and business leaders that can help transform the policy and operational environment and accelerate the implementation of MDGs by all stakeholders. According to Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh?s vision, the Matrix will be built as a collaborative project among all stakeholders under the patronage of the United Nations Secretary-General and spearheaded by the Global Alliance for ICT and Development.

The Chairman also presented to the Secretary-General several new important initiatives. Among these were a ?Declaration on Rights in the Information Age? that is intended to promote ?ICT rights? and encourage governments to grant their citizens full access to effective participation in the emerging global Information Society. Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh shared with the Secretary-General his initiative on launching work on the urgent task of using the information and communication technologies for the Protection of Life and Property.

Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh invited the Secretary-General to become an Honorary Chair of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development and to extend his patronage to the Matrix of ICT Solutions for MDGs.

The Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon commended Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh and the leadership of GAID on the important initiatives spearheaded by the Alliance. He accepted Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh?s invitation to become an Honorary Chair of GAID and expressed his full support for the initiative to build a Matrix of ICT Solutions for MDGs Advancement. The Secretary-General welcomed Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh?s proposal to organize a Stakeholder Leadership Summit in July 2010 in New York in which the initial results of the work on the Matrix of ICT Solutions for MDGs Advancement could be presented for discussion and review, and agreed to extend his patronage to the meeting and to participate personally.

Commenting on the momentous results of his meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh stated: ?The Alliance is now in a position to enhance further its relevance, visibility and, ultimately, its development impact. With the Secretary-General?s leadership and endorsement of our initiatives, with his permission to ?use? his name, we will now devote, with even stronger determination and hope, our creative energies and entrepreneurial spirit to making the wonders of the ICT revolution work towards development for all."

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