Initiators
The Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID) was suggested by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and officially launched in June 2006 following comprehensive worldwide consultations with governments, the private sector, civil society, the technical and Internet communities and academia. It functions as a network supported by the United Nations, under the authority of the Secretary-General and under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
GAID is a response to the need for a global forum that comprehensively brings together activities and players in areas related to ICT in development. With its multi-stakeholder approach, the Alliance reaffirms the belief that a people-centred and knowledge-based information society is essential for achieving a better life for all. Aside from abstract targets and higher human goals, GAID also means practical thinking and action. On the one hand, ICT can enable citizens and communities to do more, but it can also improve the performance of businesses, increasing efficiency and opening up markets. There is high potential for demand, for new markets and new business models. GAID relies on market- and opinion-leaders who regard universal access to ICT as important, who come up with practical solutions and who share best practices and knowledge. The target group includes all who want to help bridge the digital divide, provide innovative business models for development activities and economic growth, and who regard self-help as a means to an end when it comes to helping the world’s poor to improve their quality of life.
The Global Alliance promises benefits for all sides. Its unique characteristics with regard to participation attract all interest groups and allow creative involvement. GAID unites various partners with no fixed membership. Interested parties can promote the Alliance in their network, initiate or join a thematic group, become involved in a regional centre, view GAID as a partner in their professional activities or support the Global Alliance with expertise or financial and in-kind contributions. All GAID’s activities are funded by voluntary contributions. As a United Nations Trust Fund, the Global Alliance can receive contributions from individuals, societies and Member States. The Trust Fund is managed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
This website is a project under the auspices of GAID: http://www.un-gaid.org
The Federal Foreign Office is coordinator of the GAID Europe regional network. Within the ministry a Division in the Economics Directorate-General deals with all matters relating to information and communications technology. For instance, the staff are responsible for general questions concerning the information society, ICT research, support for German ICT companies abroad and participation in international ICT-related organizations.
This Division at the German Foreign Office is also responsible for all administrative matters concerning this website.
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de
The Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in Potsdam is the only university-level institute in Germany offering study programmes in “IT Systems Engineering”. The HPI has no tuition fees and is financed entirely through private funds donated by its founder, Professor Hasso Plattner, co-founder and chair of the Supervisory Board of the software giant SAP. Plattner is probably the most important private supporter of science in Germany and will contribute a total of more than 200 million euro over 20 years to further promote this unique university-level training in IT Systems Engineering.
One of the HPI’s major goals is to become an elite, world-class educational facility. It already offers an outstanding study and work environment and cooperates very closely with the business community. The HPI also maintains strong international contacts, for example with Stanford University, the American ivy league university in Palo Alto, California.
At the HPI, approximately 330 highly-gifted students are currently pursuing their Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in IT Systems Engineering with the help of roughly 50 professors and lecturers. Study programmes are structured according to the needs of the IT industry, and students get not only an insight into individual software technologies, but also an overview of entire IT systems. HPI graduates understand, develop and put into practice highly complex IT systems. Each graduating class represents a new group of outstanding minds destined to become the international IT industry’s most prominent players.
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