Empowerment of people through information literacy is an important prerequisite for harnessing ICT for education and fostering equitable access to information and knowledge.
Main strategy in this area consists of awareness-raising about the importance of information literacy at all levels of the education process – basic education, primary and secondary education, technical and vocational training and lifelong education – and of establishing guidelines for integrating information literacy issues in curricula.
A particular focus will be on training teachers to sensitize them to the importance of information literacy in the education process, to enable them to incorporate information literacy into their teaching and to provide them with appropriate pedagogical methods and curricula.
An essential element of the strategy is the integration of libraries into information literacy programmes as they provide resources and services in an environment that fosters free and open inquiry and serve as a catalyst for the interpretation, integration and application of knowledge in all fields of learning.

Access to information does not define itself only in terms of access to different technologies and media, but must take into account the nature and type of information youth need for full participation in society.
UNESCO, through its Communication and Information Sector, is therefore actively assisting young people to produce information themselves by supporting youth media, by facilitating the creation of youth information and communication networks and by providing appropriate technologies to youth organisations.

An important initiative for UNESCO is Infoyouth, a worldwide information network of government authorities, relevant agencies and youth organizations on youth-related issues. The establishment of various information structures all over the world is a high priority, reflecting a key concern to secure better conditions with which young people can access information.

By collecting information concerning different youth activities and projects and providing training, these info-structures meet the constantly increasing needs of young people and youth NGOs for an increased access to information for education and development. Infoyouth also supports the global preventive effort against HIV/AIDS.

Informative, lively, and provocative, Information Technologies and International Development (ITID) focuses on the intersection of information and communication technologies (ICT) with international development. ITID aims to create a networked community of leading thinkers and strategists to discuss the critical issues of ICT and development, an epistemic community that crosses disciplines (especially technologists and social scientists), national boundaries, and the North and South hemispheres.

A contribution to theorizing information and communication technology (ICT) and development by applying a livelihoods approach. This is found to provide the basis not only for an information-centered understanding of ICTs but also a means for broad and systematic analysis of poverty. The specific development issue analyzed is the role of ICT in microenterprise because microenterprise represents a viable route out of poverty through increased and more diversified income streams for poor households. A case study of Botswana is presented to demonstrate how the livelihoods framework can be applied. This suggests that ICT applications may only bring marginal direct benefits for poverty reduction.

Viewed from the perspective of a livelihoods approach, greater benefits for the poor may be derived from ICTs if they are applied to strengthen a broader range of social and political assets and if they are able to assist in building more effective structures and processes that favor the poor. The livelihoods approach is therefore able to identify information and ICTs as only one part of a much broader development picture, and it avoids the overemphasis on technology that can beset some development informatics/ICT for development (ICT4D) research. Mainstream application of livelihoods ideas tends not to engage explicitly with either information or ICT issues but the framework developed in this paper shows how such engagement can occur. It identifies both an analytical role for information/ICTs that helps understand livelihoods of the poor, and a functional role that uses these assets within livelihood strategies.

Engaging in the ICT business in the developing countries, particularly as the solution (software) provider dealing with human need, thought and understanding, and processes (not hardware) in the public sector is very high risk and very difficult to find short term financial gain as there is no clear definition of engagement. Particularly for those firms from developed countries where the rule of engagement was much more developed and defined. There are a number of firms (large and small) that didn’t realise these differences, engaged and ended up with financial loses or even closure (for example: some years ago Some governments had initiated the tendering process for
e-tax system where hardware and software solution needed to be provided. One international firm had tendered and won the contract. They could deliver the hardware but unable to deliver the software solution as the tax system and business environment in developed countries.

Climate change poses a huge threat to humans, particularly in developing countries. Until recently, however, donors and governments have done little to prepare for the impacts. A recent report highlights the progress and challenges in enabling development to adapt to a changing climate.
Adaptation to climate change is the ability to respond and adjust to the actual or potential impacts of changing conditions, in order to reduce harm or exploit opportunities. A report from the Institute of Development Studies in the UK and Tearfund, a development charity based in the UK, reviews the progress made by developing countries and donor agencies in ‘mainstreaming’ adaptation. This means including climate change in other development programmes and budgeting plans.
Many countries have carried out impact assessments to determine how climate change will affect them. The small island developing states in the Caribbean and the Pacific, which are extremely vulnerable to climate change, have made good progress. Wider progress on mainstreaming climate adaptation has been limited, however. In particular, mainstreaming adaptation into existing frameworks, such as national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, has been poor.

Challenges to mainstreaming climate change adaptation in developing countries include:

A lack of awareness amongst many policymakers and development workers about the potential impacts of climate change, and little information about how these relate to development priorities.
Institutions with little policy influence, such as environmental organisations or meteorological departments, often deal with climate change. There is poor coordination between organisations working on climate change and those involved with development and disaster risk reduction.
Policymaking related to climate change often overlooks important groups of actors, particularly civil society.
There is a risk of ‘mainstreaming fatigue’ if efforts to integrate climate change adaptation are not successful. This means that adaptation may not receive the attention it deserves if staff are under-motivated or overworked. Also, donors and planners may not accept the costs of changing their working practices.
Developed countries, largely responsible for climate change, must assist developing countries’ adaptation, through provision of financial and technical assistance. However, current levels of funding and support are woefully inadequate.
Climate change is likely to affect developing countries most significantly. They are more reliant on agriculture, which is closely linked to climatic conditions. They are also more vulnerable to changes in coastal environments and water resources, and have limited money or expertise to cope with damaging changes. It is vital, therefore, that adaptation strategies become a central part of development planning. Key recommendations include:

Governments need to work closely with the scientific community to help it provide information that is easy to understand and more relevant to development activities.
A broad range of stakeholders should be involved in climate change policy-making, including civil society, sectoral departments and senior policymakers.
Funding for adaptation will need to increase well beyond current levels.

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I was so lucky to attend both Regional Meeting in Sharm Elshikh May 2006 in Egypt & Dead See May 2007 Jordan I was so happy beacuse this Time I was member in the Egyptian Delegation this is make happy but same time I must be all the time with them with very exiting meeting.
I just returned back to Egypt after our offcial meeting in Hussein Convintion center.
Next Year will be in Shalrm Elshikh also I hope to I can attend and make some thing good about this kind Issue.
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