Regional progress and strategies towards building the information society in Asia and the Pacific

This publication presents a review of the progress on the implementation of the action plan to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society in the Asia-Pacific region, including systems to assist, assess, reduce, monitor, early warning the risks and impact of natural and man-made hazards, and to support effective response to disasters.

It presents a list of issues for governments to address the challenges and take suitable measures to achieve the goals set by the action plan and continuing with the expansion of information and communications technology connectivity in the region: (i) economic issues; (ii) technological issues; (iii) social and cultural challenges; (iv) impact on the environment; and (v) cybercrime.

The progress on the activities reported includes the actions, policies and strategies conducted by: (a) subregional intergovernmental organizations such as ASEAN, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO); (b) United Nations and other international and regional organizations; and (c) civil society and the private sector. Finally, this publication presents current challenges to achieving progress in the action plan at the regional level and indicates possible measures to address them.