Report on the 7th Annual Forum on City Informatization in the Asia-Pacific Region

The 7th Annual Forum on City Information in the Asia-Pacific Region(CIPAR VII) was held from 24th May to 29th May 2008 in Shanghai, P.R.China. This Annual Forum was co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Ministry of Science and Technology of P.R.China, the Ministry of Information Industry of P.R.China, the Ministry of Commerce of P.R.China, China Association for Science and Technology, the Internet Society of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shanghai Municipal Government. 300 participants from 100 cities and 30 International Organizations attended this forum.
The theme of the CIAPR is “Smart use of ICT for Better Cities�, with the main topics of: Informatization and Sustainable Development, E/M-Government knowledge Base Development, Scientific Data Sharing and Emergency Management, South-South Cooperation and Innovative Technologies, Global Informatization and World Expo 2010 Shanghai, Global Trend for Creative Industries Development.
Mr. Sha Zukang, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs chaired the opening ceremony, and Mr. Yang Xiong, Executive Vice Mayor, Shanghai Municipal Government, P.R.China, delivered a welcome speech at the opening of the forum.
During the forum, 8 Parallel sessions were held as follows:
  • International Workshop on Open Data and Knowledge Environments (ODKE) for Innovative Research and Development â€? A Decentralized Network of Networks in/for/with Developing Countries,
  • Steering Meeting for CIAPR VII Co-Sponsors,
  • Workshop on the Development of China City Informatization,
  • Capacity-Building Workshop on Bach Office Management for e/m-Government in Asia and the Pacific Region,
  • IAP International Workshop on Natural Disaster Mitigation,
  • British Telecom: Executive CIO Forum,
  • The EU-China Information Society Project Seminar on Smart Use of ICT for Better cities,
  • IAP Program on Digital Knowledge Resources and Infrastructure First Meeting of the Steering Committee.
Prof. Guo Huadong, the Secretary-General of the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE), attended the meeting and chaired the IAP International Workshop on Natural Disaster Mitigation. During the forum, Exhibition on Achievements of UN South-South Cooperation on Sustainable Development was launched. As one of the co-sponsors of the forum, ISDE showed their achievements and announced that the 6th International Symposium on Digital Earth is going to be held in Beijing, the next year.
 
CIAPR VII served as a platform for key decision makers and policy developers to share their visions, policies and strategies, technologies, products, practices and experiences. The forum made a great contribution to speed up the process of the global information society and help create a better life for all.
 
ISDE Secretariat