Pakistan Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Development (PIID launched the E-Pakistan (Vision-2025) titled “Good Governance and Women Entrepreneurship” at Convention Centre, Islamabad, on December 14, 216. The PIID is a subsidiary centre for information technology.
The ceremony included interactive session and panel discussion on ICTs for agriculture, educations, women empowerment, good governance, health and tourism.
Speakers on the occasion highlighted the importance for imparting modern techniques and technologies for developing society, empowering women, enhancing labours working efficiency.
Representatives from Aurat Foundation, Fatima Jinnah University and UN-APCICT emphasized on women education to ensure that they can contribute to the society. They said ICTs can help reduce literacy rate in the country.
Vice President PML-N Women Wing Punjab, Amna Malik, lauded the governments efforts by establishing e-village in different sector of the country. She said we are determined to empower women so they pave the way in building better Pakistan.
In her remarks, Fauzia Kausori, senior party leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said women can play a better role for the betterment of society if they are facilitated well. Education can help women to help understanding their rights. “By using modern technologies they can search and communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world,” she added.
The PIID partners included Our International Partners UN-APCICT, ITU – ICT4Girls, Telecenter.org, APTN, ICTs For OIC, Google/ MicroSoft and Intel.
Giving briefing on the E-Pakistan, Ammar Jafri, President, Pakistan Information Security Association (PISA), revealed that under this initiative, the PIID has concepts that included: ICTs are fast changing the world around us, Pakistan need to catch up with the upcoming changes in the region and globally, we in Pakistan have challenges and opportunities.
He said that as a global best practice ICTs for E-Education, E-Health, E-Agriculture, E-Governance is immediate solution to our challenges.
He said that under this project, they have achieved: E-Village project in 2009, stretched over 200 villages in different parts of Pakistan, outreached to remote location on Partnership Model, started E-District Project in 2013 like E-Lahore, E-Peshawar, MoUs are being signed with partner organizations, Expert Group Meetings (EGMs) with subject specialists are being arranged.
He mentioned that they have the strategy to move further including: partnerships with government, public private universities, NGOs, corporate sector, technology partners; focus on E-Districts; up-ward linkages of E-Youth; Linking Village; level entrepreneur youth (males/females ) with Districts level ICT Professional and onwards, linking our Diaspora with economic empowerment/development in their respective Villages/Towns, engaged Community Learning, linking students of Colleges/Universities with development work of local universities; project based engagements with our partners; logical and Physical linkages between our partners.
Under this project, this focus areas included, innovations and entrepreneurship through use of ICTs, E-Women, focus on consolidated reporting of MDGs and Global Plans for SDGs, preparing our Youth to meet the upcoming Challenges, knowledgeable response to Information Security/Cyber Security threats at District level and close working with local government organizations.
Benefits to PIID partner organizations would be: Joint efforts under a planned road map, Branding at International level, Availability of reliable technology platforms, Enhanced Financial gains due to economies of scale, Availability of expert knowledge on cutting edge technologies in their areas of interventions.
PIID conducted main events in 2015 including (April 19th) Women Entrepreneurship Summit, (April 26) ICTs for Girls Day by ITU UN, ICTs for Good Governance Conference in NCRD, Start of Initiative from Mazar Quaid Karachi and engaging partners in Sindh and KPK, E-Pakistan Celebrations in NCRD Islamabad, Launch of E-Pakistan Vision 2025, International Conference on ICTs for Good Governance in Pakistan.
PIID projects for the current years included, IQRA (Using ICTs for Education), Bring 100,000 out of school children in formal school system and vocational training, SHAFA (Using ICTs for Health), extend E-Health facilities to 100,000 persons in remote parts of Pakistan using ICTs based systems, ARGI-CHOWK (Using ICTs for Agriculture), train and empower 10,000 women in rural and urban parts of Pakistan in entrepreneurship and innovations, Silk -Chowk (using ICTs for E-Tourism), train people of 100 communities around tourism facilities in ICTs skills to promote tourism in their areas.
Upcoming initiatives under this project would be scaling up of our traditional initiatives E-Villages, E-UCs, E-Districts, ICTs for Disaster Management, Climate Change, Water Management, Economic Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, Tourism and Culture Heritage, ICTs for Peace and Harmony. Similarly, the products of E-District (to be provided through District Technology Center, included District Portal, Broad Initiatives …E-Health / E-Education / E-Agriculture / E-Governance, E-Village off-line software (Formal and in-formal education ) in each village, E-Services, E-Education, E-Health, E-NGOs, E-SME, E-Women, E-Agriculture.
PIID projects for the current years included, IQRA, bring 100,000 out of school children in formal school system and vocational training, SHAFA, extend E-Health facilities to 100,000 persons in remote parts of Pakistan using ICTs based systems, ARGI-CHOWK, train and empower 10,000 women in rural and urban parts of Pakistan in entrepreneurship and innovations and train people of 100 communities around tourism facilities in ICTs skills to promote tourism in their areas.