The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Cambodia Development Resource Institute and the Royal School of Administration of Cambodia, will hold an ESCAP/WTO/UNCTAD ARTNeT Capacity Building Workshop for Trade Research, on 2-6 June, in Phnom Penh. The five-day workshop brings together junior researchers from 16 research institutions in developing and least developed countries of the region to develop their capacity to conduct research on trade policy and competitiveness issues. The workshop is part of the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network (ARTNeT) initiative launched by ESCAP and Canada’s International Development Research Centre, in 2004. More information on ARTNeT capacity building activities, as well as on its research programmes and publications, are available at www.artnetontrade.org or www.unescap.org\tid\artnet\.  

The Emerging Social Issues Division of ESCAP, in collaboration the World Health Organization (WHO), is organizing the first Policymakers’ Meeting on Review of Ongoing Health Financing Reform in Lao PDR and Challenges in Expanding the Current Social Protection Schemes, in Vientiane, on 6 June. The meeting aims to inform and encourage multi-sectoral dialogue on health financing among a wide range of policymakers from various government agencies such as the Ministries of Health, Finance, Labour and Welfare, the Prime Minister’s Office and the National Assembly. The meeting is part of a project on "Promoting sustainable social protection strategies to improve access to health care in the Greater Mekong Subregion.” More information is available at:
http://www.unescap.org/esid/hds/projects/UC/files/wsmar08.asp.

The Transport and Tourism Division of ESCAP will convene a Regional Meeting on the Development of Intermodal Interfaces Transport at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok on 16-17 June. The meeting will bring together transport officials from ESCAP member countries as well as representatives of international organizations to discuss future policy initiatives and review guidelines to promote the development of Inland Container Depots and dry ports as essential components in establishing an international integrated intermodal transport and logistics system for the region. The vision of such a network was endorsed at a Ministerial Conference on Transport held in November 2006, which also opted for the Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Railway networks to be the two building blocks for the realization of this vision. Successful intermodal transport can enhance international trade, promote greater access to markets and reduce transport costs for hinterland areas.
 

The United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (UN-APCICT), a subsidiary body of ESCAP, will hold a global forum on Building Inclusive Internet Economy: Voices from Developing Countries, on 16 June 2008, in Seoul. The event precedes an OECD Ministerial Meeting, on 17-18 June, on the future of the Internet economy and will seek to channel the perspectives of developing countries on the implications of the Internet economy on them. The forum will also explore the potential of the Internet in reaching out to poor and marginalized groups, enabling them to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Internet economy in advancing economic growth, reducing poverty, and improving education and health services. UN-APCICT will also launch on 16 June a training programme, the Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders, which aims to help governments to overcome the unfamiliarity that some officials have with ICTs, which in turn hampers efforts in fully utilizing the potential of ICTs to achieve national development goals.
 

The Statistics Division of ESCAP will organize a Workshop on the Benefits and Challenges of Microdata Dissemination, to be held 18-20 June, in Bangkok. Heads of National Statistical Offices (NSOs), senior statisticians and experts from various countries of the region will meet to share experiences gained in the implementation of Phase I of the ESCAP Microdata Management Project. They will also review the results of an ESCAP survey on microdata management practices among NSOs and highlight the importance of disseminating census and survey microdata to enhance evidence-based policymaking. Microdata is unaggregated original sample data that contains all the individual records of a person or household in the sample. The workshop is part of the Microdata Management Project that ESCAP implements in coordination with PARIS21 and the World Bank which aims at increasing the amount of data made available for the research community worldwide.
 

Ms. Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, will address the World Cities Summit, to be held on 23-25 June, in Singapore. The Summit will focus on urban development and environmental sustainability and cover issues related to urban infrastructure, clean environment, climate change, good quality of life and economic competitiveness. ESCAP, along with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UN Development Programme, the UN Environment Programme, and UN-HABITAT, are the strategic partners of the Summit. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore will inaugurate the meeting. Ms. Heyzer will speak at the session on "Collaboration between the Public and Private Sectors for Urban Development" and will focus on the issue of urban energy efficiency. Energy efficiency and energy security were the theme topics of ESCAP’s annual high level Commission Session in April.
 

ESCAP and the World Tourism Organization, in collaboration with the Government of India’s Ministry of Tourism, are organizing a Seminar on Expansion of Tourism for Socio-economic Development in India, 24-26 June, in Guwahati, Assam. The seminar aims to strengthen the capacity of India to formulate and implement appropriate policies, strategies and programmes to enhance the role of tourism in socio-economic development. Participants will include officials of government agencies, representatives from the tourism industry including airlines, hotels, tour operators and travel agents, and members of the Network of Asia-Pacific Education and Training Institutes in Tourism.