Focus: ICT innovation in the areas of access, connectivity, and relevant local content development
The Global Innovation Forum in Yerevan is a follow up engagement to last year’s Global Forum on Youth and ICT for Development held in Geneva, Switzerland in September. UN GAID, ITU, Athgo and many other partners brought together over 600 young people from around the world to have an open discussion on technology’s role in advancing people’s lives.
The forum in Yerevan will add to this effort by displaying some concrete examples of the best practices in the areas of ICT access and connectivity with a special attention on the impact of appropriate local content to ensure sustainable development.
Each participant will have the opportunity to engage policy makers, experts and his/her peers during an informal discussion session to draft innovative solutions to ICT development and implementation challenges. On the final day, the young participants will showcase their plans in innovation panels. The proposals will be evaluated by leaders in government, the private sector, and civil society, and will be showcased at the conference closing ceremonies.
Informal discussion session
The informal discussion session will be scheduled for approximately 60 minutes, as participants will have the opportunity to engage various presenters in dialogue relating to forum themes. The discussions will incorporate some general knowledge about ICTs and their relation to education and development, with a specific emphasis on individual’s research and area expertise. Participants can expect presenters from a wide range of backgrounds, including academia, economic institutions, non-profit organizations, and the government. Speakers include: Ms. Irene Hardy, Director of the Professional Development for Teachers Program, Cisneros Foundation; Ms. Gudrun Wicander, PhD candidate, at Karlstad University, Sweden; Mr. Bagrat Yengibaryan, Director, Enterprise Incubator Foundation; and Ms. Zhenya Azizyan, Head, IT Development Department, Ministry of Economy, Armenia.
Panel focus and objectives
The expert-panels will be scheduled for approximately 60-80 minutes. The panels will include up to 5 presenters and will be interactive, a dialog format. The discussions will incorporate some general knowledge with a larger emphasis on specific expertise. At the opening, each panelist will have up to 4 minutes to present a case. After all individual presentations, the moderator may conduct another 5-10 minute internal dialog to summarize and tie some of the presentations and thereafter open the panel for a Q&A session.
View Sample Questions
i. Panel 1: Access
- Education – Innovation – Development
- Transfer of technology, Open access, Relevant technology development, Human capacity, Youth engagement
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Speakers
 Mr. Vahe Danielyan, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economy, Republic of Armenia
Ms. Lindsay Petrillose, Government Affairs Liaison, NComputing
Mr. Hovannes Avoyan, Director, Union of Information Technology Enterprises of Armenia
Moderator
Mr. Bagrat Yengibaryan, Director, Enterprise Incubator Foundation
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ii. Panel 2: Connectivity
- Education – Innovation – Development
- Types available, Upcoming innovations, Bandwidth issues, Human capacity, Youth engagement
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Speakers
Mr. Andrei Korotkov, High Level Advisor to President, Foreign Trade Bank of Russian Federation
Mr. Igor Mkrtumyan, President, Internet Society
Mr. Karen Vardanyan, Director, UITE
Mr. Avetik Kalantaryan, Chief Commercial Officer,Armenian Datacom Company
Mr. Karen Shaboyan, Sales Manager, Ucom
Moderator
Mr. Kamran Elahian, Chairman, Global Catalyst Partners |
iii. Panel 3: Local Content
- Education – Innovation – Development
- Determining local content, Alternative developers, Human Capacity, Youth Engagement
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Speakers
Mr. Mike Eberhardt, Business Development Manager, South & East Europe, Middle East
and Africa, Sun Microsystems International
Ms. Flor Borrelli, Director of the ICT Teacher Training Program for Indigenous Teachers,
Cisneros Foundation
Mr. Dag Nielson, Director, Ericsson Response, Ericsson AG
Moderator
Mr. Arman Kuchukyan, Chief Engineer, YCRDI, Armenia |
iv. Innovative Funding
- Funding availability, New funding methods, Current funding focus, Benefits of funding allocation to develop Human capacity and engage Youth
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Speakers
Mr. Sarbuland Khan, Executive Director, GAID
Mr. Bagrat Yengibaryan, Director, Enterprise Incubator Foundation
Mr. Karen Grigoryan, Economist, Private and Financial Sector Department, The World Bank Group
Moderator
Dr. Armen Orujyan, President, Athgo International |
v. Private – Public Partnership
- Mutual benefit, Challenges, Innovative partnerships, Developing Human capacity and engaging Youth
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Speakers
Mr. Sarbuland Khan, Executive Director, GAID
Mr. Bagrat Yengibaryan, Director, Enterprise Incubator Foundation
Mr. Karen Grigoryan, Economist, Private and Financial Sector Department, The World Bank Group
Moderator
Mr. Dag Nielson, Director, Ericsson Response, Ericsson AG |
Download the Program (pdf format)
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