South and South-west Asia Conference on
Follow up to the First Phase and Preparation for the Second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society
(1-3 March 2005, Kathmandu, Nepal)

The conference, organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Information and Communication and High Level Commission for Information Technology of the Government of Nepal, United Nations Development Programme Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP) as well as International Telecommunication Union (ITU) discussed Regional Action Plan, Internet governance, financing ICT for development and ICT for knowledge based disaster management from the perspectives of South and South-West Asia.

Draft Regional Action Plan
	Regional Action Plan and Framework (UNESCAP)		Use of ICT for achieving MDGs (Dr Shailendra K Hajela)		Measuring the Information Society in Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)

Internet Governance issues
	Introduction to Internet governance and UNESCAP's Initiatives in this Area (UNESCAP)		UNDP-APDIP Initiative on Internet Governance (UNDP APDIP)		Half-Time at WGIG: What’s Up (Prof Ang Peng Hwa, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
	Internet Governance & Private Sector (Mr Sanjib Raj Bhandari, Mercantile Communications, Nepal)

Financial Mechanisms for ICT for Development
	Financial Mechanisms for ICT for Development (UNESCAP)		Some Case Studies on Best Practices for ICT for development (UNESCAP)

ICT for Knowledge based Disaster Management
	Regional Cooperation towards Informed Disaster Management (UNESCAP)		Recommendations on Establishment of Early Warning Systems (UNESCAP)		Disaster Management and Role of ICT (Mr Manju Haththotuwa, Sri Lanka)
	China ’s Efforts on Developing Space Technology for Disaster Management (Mr Wang Keran, China)