The ICT4D Conference has announced the Call for Speakers, which opens until the 30th of November 2019 and we republish it below for our users . Inspire and make an impact at next year's 12th ICT4D Conference, confirmed to take place on April 21 - 23 in Abuja, Nigeria. The event is an excellent platform to emphasize your position as a visionary ICT leader and gives you the opportunity to join 900+ attendees for 3 days of networking and knowledge sharing. We are looking for practical case studies and presentations on truly cutting-edge applications and innovation in the use of digital...
The September Issue of ICT Update is now available online and reflects on the 20 years of publishing the ICT Update - nearly 100 issues . The current issue highlights three recurring themes – learning; barriers for inclusion and adoption of ICTs; and innovation and entrepreneurship.An editorial by Yanick Bakker and Chris Addison walks readers through the details of the three main highlights mentioned above. Read the editorial here Furthermore, their editorial reveals a rich history of development of the ICT Update alongside the developments in technology and regional focus of specific...
17 October. Rome . As a part of FAO’s work in transforming National Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services System (EAS), FAO’s Research and Extension Unit wishes to start a webinar series to raise awareness on various challenges and opportunities related to strengthening and reforming EAS. EAS are undergoing a deep transformation due to the changing environment and context in which they operate. The previous top-down approach where EAS would simply transfer the technology to producers, can no longer address modern challenges. It appears to be clear that EAS will - effectively support...
The WFP Innovation Accelerator has announced the following call, we republish for our members Do you have a project with the potential to solve hunger? If yes, then apply to the WFP Innovation Accelerator and receive up to 100,000 USD in equity-free funding, mentorship from industry experts and access to the world’s largest humanitarian organisation. The WFP Innovation Accelerator identifies, nurtures and scales bold solutions to hunger globally. WFP support innovators and external start-ups and companies through financial support, access to a network of experts and a global field reach...
FAO DIGITAL INNOVATION DIALOGUE: Session 6 - China’s Approaches and Experiences in Digital Agriculture and Digital Rural Area Abstract In recent years, China has made great efforts to promote the integration of the internet, big data, artificial intelligence with the development of agriculture and rural areas, vigorously develop digital agriculture, accelerate the development of e-commerce in rural areas, and actively promote informatization in rural areas. In 2018, the retail sales of e-commerce in rural areas in China reached 1.37 trillion yuan, the e-commerce business volume of...
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes the importance of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls ( SDG 5 ). There is a need to leverage information and communication technologies (ICTs) to empower women and also for the achievement of all SDG Goals. The linkages between Gender and ICTs, and how FAO seeks to mainstream gender in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for agriculture and rural development were explored in a recent publication. However, the role of digital transformation and gender equality deserves further discussion within the...
This news item was first published in FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia Climate change adaptation and mitigation, rapid urbanization, increasing natural disasters, migration issues and unresolved humanitarian conflicts... how can digital technologies, data, related policies and legislation help address these complex challenges that today’s world is facing? More than 200 experts from 21 countries and 12 international organizations will meet starting today in Vrdnik, Serbia, to discuss this question and its particular relevance for the region at a conference titled “ Digitally...
The INNOVATION Quartely Update (2019 #3) has been released! The update provides an overview of highlights from the innovation activities of UN organisations affiliated with the UN innovation Network.There are very exciting news from the UN Community, below we review a few selection of the innovations The UN Innovation Network (UNIN) is an informal, collaborative community of UN innovators interested in sharing their expertise and experience with others to promote and advance innovation within the UN System. The UNIN is open to innovators from all UN Agencies as well as external partners and...
23 September 2019, New York and Rome - Putting the world's eyes in the skies to work to improve human lives and combat climate change is now easier thanks to an overhaul of the Food and Agriculture Organization' innovative geospatial monitoring system. A new version of SEPAL - System for Earth Observation Data Access, Processing and Analysis for Land Monitoring - has been developed that enables advanced forest monitoring from mobile phones. It also provides access to high-resolution data updated daily by a fleet of more than 190 satellites run by Planet , an integrated aerospace and data...
Background Today, there are more than 7 billion people on the planet, a figure that is expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. Overall food production needs to double in a relatively short period of time to meet food demand of the world's population. It is therefore an imperative for the different agricultural stakeholders to revolutionize the traditional agriculture. On 19 January 2019, Agriculture ministers from 74 nations adopted a number of resolutions stated in a political communiqué on digitalization in agriculture, which was issued during the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA...
