ESSEC MBA, Representing Singapore General Assembly Second Committee GA2

I . Information and Communication Technologies for Development Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) is a general term referring to the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) within the field of socioeconomic development or international development. ICT4D concerns itself with directly applying information technology approaches to poverty reduction. ICTs can be applied either in the direct sense, wherein their use directly benefits the disadvantaged population, or in an indirect sense, wherein the ICTs assist aid organizations or non-governmental organizations or governments or businesses in order to improve general socio-economic conditions. In many impoverished regions of the world, legislative and political measures are required to facilitate or enable application of ICTs, especially with respect to monopolistic communications structures and censorship laws. This worry affects the International Community. Thats why the Economic and Social Council requested the creation of The United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, which was indeed founded in November 2001 by the United Nations Secretary, General Kofi Annan. The task force followed in the footsteps of several initiatives including the World Economic Forum and the G8 and was thought to be a broader legitimization of these two initiatives. The intention of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (UN ICT) Task Force was to lend a global dimension to the efforts previously made to bridge the global digital divide and to advance digital opportunity for all. A good example of the impact of ICTs on development is farmers getting better market price information and thus boosting their income. Another example includes mobile telecommunications and radio broadcasting fighting political corruption in Burundi. However, giving direct access to the ICTs to the populations in need is not always the good solution. Indeed, the technologic gap cannot be filed just by giving to them a computer and a connection to the Web. Before this organizations like NGOs or UNESCO must act to make them able to use these technology correctly, to preserve the equipments, and especially the hardware is adequate spaces. More than the possession of the mean of communication and information, it is the ability to use it which is essential. When these new technology are well used their impact can be extremely beneficial. For example an only one internet connection in a village can allow people in this village to find others in another part of the world in favor of the idea to help them to finance their projects of self development by a sort of microcredit like it is shown in Wim Wenderss movie Person to Person. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_and_communication_technologies_for_development http://www.unicttaskforce.org/ II. Promoting Low-Carbon Economic Growth in the Developing World A low-carbon economy is part of a sustainable growth, which goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emission and environmental pollution while reducing social disparities. Green growth is a new development paradigm that creates jobs, hope and especially new growth engines. This is a very important matter after the financial and economic crisis. In mid-December of 2009, world leaders gathered in Copenhagen to revisit the Kyoto Protocol. The conference ended with the Copenhagen Accord (COP15), which established various climate change goals and set up a fund to assist undeveloped states in their goals of low-carbon emission. However, many associations criticize the lack of precisions of the COP15, particularly concerning reduction figures. This is all the more problematic since the low-carbon economy is one of the United Nations millennium development goals. That is why another summit will take place in Mexico in December 2010.

ESSEC MBA, Representing Singapore General Assembly Second Committee GA2

Its a long time since Singapore has taken this call for greater efforts into account, like its good record on environmental issues shows it. The country was a signatory to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to the Kyoto Protocol. In the 2008 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Singapore was 28th, the USA 61st and China 121st The country wants to be a leader in this domain in Asia. Many low-carbon growth strategies are possible but their application depends on the political will. Some efforts have to be made to increase the use of renewable energy sources, but also to restructure the industry in favor of low carbon intensity. Promoting 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) for installing low-carbon development in the developing world should be a top priority. To do so, the UN has to identify opportunities and estimate the financial needs, and economic impacts of shifting to this new growth model. Sources http://www.un.org/fr/millenniumgoals/ http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/climatechange/gateway http://www.nccc.gov.sg/Newsroom/seminar_20.shtm http://www.lexpress.mu/story/9318-maurice-au-6e-rang-d-un-classement-mondial-en-matiere-denvironnement.html III. Protecting Developing Countries during the Current Financial Crisis The title of the subject raises several issues. One appears immediately: which are the developing countries? Is China still a developing country, does it need any protection to face with the current financial crisis? Would it even accept it? Is this dichotomy still relevant in the XXIst century world? The second issue lies in the notion of protection. It is deeply biased because it makes the so-called developing countries childish. It is the continuing of the historical paternalist policies carried out by the northern countries toward the South. Developing Countries do not need protection, or not only protection, but overall they need an international cooperation, in a mutual respect. In this cooperation every country should be on an equal footing. Moreover, the title of the subject seems to imply that the question of the protection during the current financial crisis is contingent to the level of development of the country whereas it should be contingent to the importance of the crisiss impact is this country. For example it is not evident that Greece would anyway theoretically need less protection that any country of South-East Asia. We think that regarding the question of the protection against the financial crisis just by the optic of the protection of developing countries is narrowing. The point of contention is precisely to create an international economic cooperation which could adapt itself with adequate modifications to any country. This cooperation would pass by the IMF which has experienced over the last three years a deep metamorphosis thanks to the new international economic situation and the will of his new president, Dominique Strauss-Khan. However a real cooperation will not be possible since there are not any modifications on the distribution of the powers and voices within the IMF. Of course, the Developing Countries have been, are, and will be hit by the current financial crisis and its economical, social and political consequences. For example, without a positive growth, and with scarcely aids from the Northern countries, MDG goals will surely not be met, and the achievement of these goals was supposed to help the yet developing countries to develop themselves even more. Finally, it seems that, financially speaking, the developing world has been less affected by the crisis than the western world as the evolution of their stock exchanges markets can show it. That is why if we develop a protection for the developing country, it should be much more an economic and social one to face with the consequences of the financial crisis more than a protection to help them to face the financial crisis. Sources: Protecting-developing-countries-during-the-current-financial-crisis.pdf http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/3413.pdf