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Wien (pts036/24.06.2010/15:20) - The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) announced today that the Isaac L Auerbach Award^1 has been awarded to professor Dipak Khakhar from the University of Lund, Sweden. Professor Khakhar has been the Swedish representative to the General Assembly of IFIP since 1989, and has served as Honorary Treasurer of IFIP for eight years.
IFIP has decided to make this Award to professor Khakhar specifically for his initiative to start the World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR)^2 which in only eight years time has developed into a international event that has added immense value to IFIP and the use of information and communication technologies in developing countries.
IFIP salutes professor Khakhar for his vision to have started this initiative in IFIP.
During his term as Honorary Secretary, professor Khakhar also tabled some other initiatives which are presently under consideration in IFIP.
The Award will be handed over to professor Khakhar during the Gala Dinner of the IFIP World Computer Congress WCC2010 in Brisbane, Australia on 22 September 2010.
For more information contact Mr Eduard Dundler (eduard.dundler@ifip.org)
^1 The best known of the IFIP awards is the Isaac L. Auerbach Award, named in memory of the founder of IFIP, which in principle is presented every other year (at the IFIP World Computer Congresses) for extraordinary support of IFIP in its mission. The Auerbach Award is specifically for services rendered to IFIP, on behalf of IFIP and/or in furthering the position of IFIP on different levels. The recipient will be a person who, over a long period, has been intimately involved with the workings of IFIP, and has played a significant role in expanding the vision of IFIP. The recipient will be more than a person who had served as General Assembly member or Chair of a Technical Committee for a number of years. Even having served in an elected position on the Executive Committee (previously the Executive Board) or the Board (previously the Council) of IFIP does not in itself make such a person necessarily a candidate. The recipient must have added value over and above the normal service to IFIP.
^2 Recognizing the developmental opportunities offered by digital technologies and the need for developing countries and developed countries to collaborate to exploit such opportunities, IFIP undertakes a number of activities under the umbrella of the World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR).
The overall goal of WITFOR is to assist developing countries in developing and implementing sustainable strategies for the application of ICT and to share experiences that will help to bridge the digital divide and improve the quality of life. The specific goals are:
- To share and discuss experiences in drafting and implementing ICT policies;
- To share and discuss experiences in initiating and implementing ICT projects;
- To present and discuss research concerning the overall goal.
The activities are guided by the World Summit on the Information Society's (WSIS) Plan of Action in order to help achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
WITFOR examines different initiatives on effective, context sensitive development and use of ICT applications, access to quality relevant information, and the development of "fair use principles". In particular the WITFOR events are intended to:
* help put ICT-enabled development initiatives on the agenda of different organizations, governmental bodies, and groups currently involved in information and communications technologies;
* work with different groups to ensure that the issue of ICT diffusion and sustainable effective use is on the agenda of senior policy makers and political leaders;
* assist international organizations and donor agencies to build issues of the spread of ICTs and access to information into their loan and funding programs with adequate financial and institutional allocations;
* develop guidelines on these issues and advise governments, to formulate and follow the best strategy for the use of ICT in order to achieve global ICT-equity.
The bi-annual main WITFOR conference is organized by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and hosted by the government of an emerging or developing country. The concept of WITFOR is to bring together politicians, policymakers, researchers and practitioners from developed, emerging and developing countries with the aim of discussing together ICT policies and practical experiences.The forum will address issues critical to developing countries, such as the application of ICT in fighting HIV/Aids and other health issues, poverty, access to education, empowerment, environment, as well as social, ethical, and legal consequences of IT. It will also showcase leading edge ICT solutions for economic development, as well as best practice projects from around the world.
For more information about WITFOR see http://www.witfor.org
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