INFODEV SYMPOSIUM 2002, HILTON HOTEL, CHONGQING, CHINA

29 October 2002
China's Ministry of Finance, the Chongqing Municipality and the Information for Development Program (infoDev) are jointly organizing the infoDev Symposium 2002 in Chongqing, China, December 9-10, 2002. Chongqing, located at the upper reaches of the Yangtse river and at the joint of central China and West China, is an ancient city with a heritage dating more than three thousand years. It is one of the four municipalities directly administered by the central government. The Chongqing Municipality recently announced a major project to build a US$2.4 billion information port over the next ten years. This should provide a very stimulating setting for very concrete discussions on the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) for development. Being situated in the Western Provinces of China, Chongqing will also offer first hand examples of the roles which ICTs can play to contribute to the development of less developed areas (Please see the Asian Business article at the bottom of this email on Chongqing). Under the general theme of 'Information and Knowledge for Trade and Development', the 2002 Annual Symposium will include sessions on ICTs in WTO's Development Agenda, e-government, distance education, rural connectivity and open source software. It will be an opportunity to showcase some of the most recent experiences in Asia and the Pacific (especially in China) regarding the uses of ICTs for poverty reduction and economic competitiveness. For up-to-date program information, please consult the Symposium web site. http://www.infodev.org/symposium2002