Digital Pacific

Conference Report

supported by

Conference Objective

“Getting our Governments and Economies Ready for the Digital Age” Increased connectivity is beginning to level the playing field for Pacific Island nations including Samoa. This connectivity has been brought through major hardware investment in Submarine Cables providing an array of opportunities for government, private sector and citizens. Experience around the world, however, has shown that technology of itself is no panacea in achieving sustainable development.

The inaugural Digital Pacific Conference aimed to gather government delegates from Samoa and neighbouring states to discuss digital transformation with international expert-practitioners, academics, and private sector and NGO representatives answering the following questions:

• How can Governments unlock the potential of digital tech in the public sector and foster a digital economy? • How can Governments ensure that change would be inclusive and sustainable? • What have others learned and what pitfalls could be avoided? • What can be done to ensure digital transformation efforts in Samoa and the region are more coherent, scalable, collaborative and economical?

Digital Pacific Samoa, the national component of the Conference aimed to narrow down the discussions to the national scale, take stock of current initiatives and produce the initial contours of a national digital strategy with many opportunities for regional sharing.

TATTE Conference Centre: Venue for Digital Pacific 2018

Digital Pacific

The Digital Pacific Regional Conference took place in Apia, Samoa on 7-8 June 2018 and was attended by 14 Countries, 30+ Speakers and 170+ participants. These included key international stakeholders, regional delegates from neighbouring Pacific Island States, international expert practitioners and national representatives from both the public and the private sector. The event was followed by a National Workshop on 11 June, entitled Digital Pacific Samoa which gathered national representatives and international partners. The agendas of both components can be found in Annex 1 and 2 respectively. Speaker and company profiles are contained in Annex 3.

To signal the importance of private sector participation and partnerships, the conference was combined with two side events, Pacific Connect and the Youth Co:Lab Samoa. The Youth Co:Lab was a 2-day workshop mobilized young Samoan entrepreneurs and determined young minds to ideate and evolve their ideas on tackling sustainable development challenges. The young entrepreneurs presented their ideas to the plenary Regional Conference and the best three pitches received prizes from private sector sponsors. Given the limited scope of this report both side events will be reported elsewhere.

Digital Pacific 2018 was co-organised by MCIT, the UNDP Samoa Multi- Country Office and UNDP GCPSE Singapore, with significant additional funding support from Australia. Private sector supported through sponsorship provided by Digicel, Bluesky and Huawei. It was live- streamed and used a Conference App, Convene in a bid to help the environment and in the spirit of digitalization.

The sun shining bright on a future Digital Pacific (Photo Credit NZHC)

For full Agenda See Annex 1 For speaker, company and delegate profiles See Annex 3 Videos and Powerpoints available at ws.undp.org Youtube @UNDPSamoa and Twitter @DPConference18

Conference Summary

Keynote Addresses Samoa Minister for ICT Hon Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupai Opening the event, Samoa’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Honourable Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupai emphasised the need for regional partnerships given the common challenges faced by Pacific SIDS. These include small size and narrow resource and export base; exposure to global environmental challenges and external economic shocks as well as remoteness from most large markets and reliance on remittances. These common but unique issues ought to be addressed through for regionally relevant digital initatives that build on timely exchanges of information “Thanks to digitalization, Samoa will and cooperation. Connectivity will bring never be as remote as it once markets nearer, connect was”— Hon Afamasaga Lepuiai Pacific sellers to the world Rico Tupai and reduce the high operating costs of government. The Minister framed this Conference in the context of the SAMOA Pathway and its Mid Term Review due to take place after the conference.

UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Bureau Director for Asia and the Pacific, Haoliang Xu Mr Xu addressed the audience, highlighting UNDP’s commitment to achieving digitalization of the Pacific at the highest levels of the organization. He told of his trip from the airport to central Apia where he was surprised to have access to 4G internet in a remote village. He emphasized the need for an inclusive Digital Pacific that ensures that nobody is left behind as per the SDGs and Agenda 2030. He outlined a number of examples where technology is “The technology is already here. The already empowering people in question is who is using it, who is the Asia-Pacific region, from benefitting from it … we need an MPs in Bhutan who are now inclusive Digital Pacific—Mr able to remotely contact their Haoliang Xu constituents, to an access to information project in Bangladesh where now no citizens needs to travel more than 4kms to get digitized government services.

This future will require a mindset change, he advised, that sees technology as an opportunity and not a threat. Nevertheless, he warned that technology may also bring with it unforeseen changes and that societies and governments need to be ready to deal with this also.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University, UNS-G’s Adviser on 2030 Agenda Professor Sachs emphasized the digital world of big data as transformative in all areas of the SDGs– including for health, education, energy, banking, climate change and importantly for Samoa in employment. Further, the ICT revolution has the capacity to help nations achieve all “We have no stronger opportunity 17 of the SDG, with particularly for breakthroughs in all of the key exciting opportunities. Professor Sachs highlighted smart grids, e- areas of economic social and currency and e-payments and data environmental development than driven smart agriculture as through digital technologies” – particularly transformative for Professor Jeffrey Sachs Pacific SIDS like Samoa. Professor Sachs emphasized the new online models of working which could have a transformative on the traditional migration and remittance model currently practised in Pacific Islands such as Samoa, whereby young people can work online while living at home on the islands. Finally, Professor Sachs indicated that the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network would be eager to partner in the future to help make Digital Pacific a reality.

Conference Structure

Day 1 was conceptualized to inspire the audience with relevant digital transformation experiences delivered by practitioner-experts from countries that are known to be pioneers, such as Estonia, New Zealand as well as the Caribbean region (to include a SIDS perspective).

Five panels covered key aspects of digital transformation, such as digital identity, digital economy, digital government, skills & education as well as cyber security.

Day 2 started with a Tech Showcase featuring 9 solutions from the region and beyond, showcasing the latest in digital technologies and their relevance in the Pacific Island context. This included: remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicles, blockchain enabled voting and community engagement, broadband and the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) in the digitalisation of documents, satellite-based connectivity for remote areas, as well as public services delivery in remote communities leveraging mobiles.

The afternoon of Day 2 highlighted regional coordination and collaboration and participants joined an exercise exploring possible digital futures, culminating a vote on the most convincing future vision (the winner was a remote learning event delivered to students in Samoa by Elon Musk via a holographic image). The presentation of the Youth Co:Lab winners closed the day. Parallel to the conference young Samoan entrepreneurs had worked on their pitches for business ideas and were awarded a range of prizes from sponsors and will continue to be supported by the Samoa Chamber of Commerce through an MOU signed between UNDP Samoa MCO and the Chamber.

Key Insights from Digital Pacific 2018

Digital Identity

A recurring message of the two days of dialogues was the importance of a Digital Identifier (ID) for individuals and businesses to facilitate digital Government services and the evolution of a digital economy. Mr Hannes Astok, Director of the e-Governance Academy of Estonia, shared the transformation journey of Estonia and its key building blocks: digital (and mobile) ID and x-road (the backbone for-data sharing that connects 900 organisations and businesses daily). He emphasized that while these were important features of Digital Government, transforming the back office (business process re-engineering), enhanced coordination among departments (data and process sharing) and a slow but steady cultural change were three key pillars of success. Mariana Dahan, CEO and founder of the World Identity Network and former coordinator of the World Bank’s Identification for Development programme stressed the importance of digital identity in tackling target 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals which aims to “provide legal identity for all, including birth registration, by 2030”. Identity, she emphasized is also foundational as an enabler for most public services and the 2030 Agenda. It is a prerequisite for access to legal rights, social protection, tax payments, financial services, voting and healthcare. She also highlighted a joint WIN-UN Initiative, Blockchain for Humanity that leverages blockchain technology in the humanitarian sector, emphasizing that the principles of self-sovereign identity can be ensured using blockchain and that this would address many of the privacy concerns around digital ID.

Whole of Government Approaches

Whole-of-Government (WOG) approaches were advocated for by a wide array of speakers during the conference. Indeed, many suggested creating a single unit coordinating and leading digital transformation. Cleveland Thomas (ITU Caribbean), Paul Shetler(Accelerate HQ, former Australian Chief Digital Officer), Helen Jamison(Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand) and Mohamed Ibrahim(National ICT & Digital Economy Office, Somalia), all stressed the importance of having a single agency in charge. In doing so, support from the key government departments such as Ministries of Finance, Economy and Education could be gained, while ensuring political support at the highest level. Often such units, in successful transformation experiences were placed directly under the purview of a Prime Minister or President to provide it the “teeth” and political capital required to implement these quite significant reforms.

Speakers also recommended a review and amendment of relevant regulations which would help modernize public service delivery across Government and a review or design of new policies to promote the growth of a digital economy.

Citizen-centred Public services Paramount to the success of digital Government is to focus all transformation efforts on the needs of citizens and businesses. This underpinning mindset shift towards human-centred design principles was widely shared among international experts, including Paul Shetler who previously headed the Australian Digital Transformation Agency as well as the UK’s Government Digital Service. With this in mind,

Governments must work in an iterative manner, taking a purpose driven step-by-step approach to improve service delivery An interesting insight from the Caribbean, shared by Cleveland Thomas who has extensive experience in digital transformation journeys across the Caribbean was that as digital transformation processes tend to take several years until they bear fruit. Thus he highlighted that in the design of such processes it would be prudent to identify a few “quick-wins” that would ensure support for the change agenda at the grassroots and bring credibility to the political leadership backing it. Joana Valente (Partner at Ernst & Young Australia) argued that the leap in connectivity witnessed in the South Pacific needed to be leveraged to transform government services and procedures. Done right it could bridge the digital divide, ensuring that the concepts of Digital Equality are respected. However, she insisted on digital not being the only solution and pointed out that non-tech face-to-face interactions were still and perhaps would always remain essential for many interactions between Government and citizens. This insight echoed a recurring theme throughout the Regional Conference, namely, that technology is not an end in itself.

The Digital Economy Pathway Conference experts and delegates emphasized that any national or indeed regional digital transformation must employ a Whole of Government approach but not be confined just to government. The agenda must go beyond eGovernment. Only through significant public investments in the up-skilling of the current and future workforce can a new digital economy emerge and be fostered to create sustainable livelihoods in the Pacific.

To underline the importance of private sector participation and partnership, the conference was combined with two side events, including the inaugural Youth Co:Lab Samoa. This two day workshop mobilized young Samoan entrepreneurs and determined young minds to formulate and pitch their ideas on how to tackle sustainable development challenges.

With prizes donated from sponsors Bluesky and Digicel, the Samoan youth pitched their ideas to the plenary. Presented with the results, conference participants, partners and sponsors were overwhelmed by the creativity of Samoan youth and committed to continue their support of future Youth Co:Labs

Panelists Mohamed Ibrahim and Professor Chan Mow (National University of Samoa) spoke about the changing needs in the labor market and identified some of the bottlenecks in the ICT training and STEM Education currently available in the Pacific — both for the active workforce and students.

Many speakers underscored the need for collaboration between the public and private sectors as a fundamental component of digital transformation. Noting this important ingredient to the secret sauce of success, the organizers received favourable feedback about the inclusion of a Tech Showcase in the conference programme which featured both local and international ICT solutions. Representatives of 9 companies and organisations were given the opportunity to display their products/services and its relevance to the Pacific and Samoan context. Companies who showcased included SkyEye Pacific, Horizon State, Trimble Solutions/AllTerra, Kacific, Digicel, Bluesky, MK3/ABBYY as well as the National University of Samoa and UNDP Fiji with its REACH project.

Regional collaboration, coordination and leadership

Given the relatively small budgets of many Pacific SIDS, collaboration among Pacific Island States is not just fiscally sensible given the economies of scale, but could also enable a regional digital economy that would be facilitated by common — or at least compatible — technological and regulatory

frameworks. Existing regional knowledge sharing platforms (such as the Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific), shared institutions and available expertise are ready building blocks for any transformation process. Speakers, experts and delegates agreed that, to save resources and to achieve scale quickly, duplication and a re-inventing of the wheel should be avoided.

Data is the fuel for both digital government and a digital economy, with digitalization (and clean-up) of data being a prerequisite. Greater capacities in the field of data science would enable evidence-based policy design and successful marketing strategies in the private sector. This may not necessarily mean a digitalization of all existing files, but can be achieved through a firm decision to move to digital at a pre-determined date as was undertaken in Estonia. Johan Berghoef (SPC) informed the Conference of the upcoming launch of a regional data portal which will significantly improve data sharing and access across the region.

Carsten Rudolph (Oceania Cyber Security Centre) and Ian Thomson (USP) shared the wide range of cyber security activities currently under way in the Pacific and highlighted efforts to link up and build up competencies.

Although countries like Samoa now have access to high-speed connectivity (and many will follow in 2019), reliable and more affordable broadband internet, Chris Sampson (Digital Society Foundation and the “Connect the Blue Continent” Initiative), reminded the audience that providing such connectivity in all islands through infrastructure investments is the first layer of digitalizationand requires regional collaboration. The opportunity is immense if the potential is leveraged through cooperation and coordination among the relevant actors of governments and the existing regional initiatives.

Continuity and Next Steps: Governments and partners agreed to continue this interesting model of knowledge and practice sharing that could benefit all countries in the Pacific through one intergovernmental mechanism that facilitates regular dialogues, South-South exchanges and a regional approach to digital transformation in the Pacific. In response, Minister for Communication and Information Technology Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupai and the UNRC/UNDP RR Simona Marinescu announced that the event would be held annually with continued branding and multi-stakeholder participation to further enhance the quality and utility of this important development cooperation initiative. Regional representatives expressed their interest in continued involvement and stressed the importance for the solutions emerging from this regional engagement to be tailored to the SIDS in the Pacific given their relatively low populations, unique geography and ongoing challenges.

The Conference, Partners and Sponsors acknowledged the importance of creating the space for young generations to co-design the public services they wish to have access to and recognized the successful model that the Youth: Co Lab offers for that purpose. The Government of Samoa and its partners committed to supporting other Co:Labs and to working together on future, longer term youth innovation engagements. The Chamber of Commerce of Samoa and UNDP entered into a partnership for the Youth: Co Lab to be hosted by the Chamber and supported by the two organizations to continue to foster innovation and youth engagement in devising development solutions.

Nations present committed to engage further in existing regional fora including PIFS, PRIF ICT Working Group, the Polynesian Leaders Group, CROP ICT Working Group among others to ensure that the transformation that takes place in Samoa and the region is coherent, scalable, collaborative and achieves economies of scale

New Zealand representatives encouraged UNDP to engage within the CROP ICT Working Group and consider connecting ongoing efforts in the region for a more cost-effective and efficient pursuit of the

digital transformation in the Pacific. This also aligns with the Pacific Framework of Regionalism principles that guide partnerships in the region to optimize resources for more sustainable results.

The Honourable Minister Afamasaga Tupai closed the first Digital Pacific 2018 with a challenge to all those who attended for the coming year.

“Let us unite and work together to leapfrog, ensuring our people benefit from digitalization” – Hon Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupai

From the Organizing Committee 2018: we hope to see you again at Digital Pacific 2019!

Workshop Summary

For full Agenda See Annex 2 Presentations available at www.bit.ly/DigitalPacific2018 Twitter @DPConference18

Workshop Objective

“Getting our Governments and Economies Ready for the Digital Age” The Digital Pacific Samoa Workshop took place on 11 June, in the aftermath of the Digital Pacific 2018 Regional Conference. Its aim was to narrow down the lessons learnt and knowledge shared to the national scale, take stock of current initiatives and produce the initial contours of a National Digital Strategy going forward.

Keynote Address

Honourable Prime Minister of Samoa, Susuga Tuilaepa Aiono Dr. Sai’lele Malielegaoi The Honourable Prime Minister of Samoa began his interventions by emphasizing the importance of multilateral agreements in ensuring cybersecurity across the region which was the cornerstone of his speech.

He then succinctly outlined the three pillars of a successful Digital Samoa. Firstly, the Prime Minister implored those present to set aside any preconceived notions about Samoa and SIDS, daring the audience to imagine what Digital Samoa looks like even if it takes a generation to build. Secondly, he highlighted the need to identify the significant building blocks required to get to Digital Samoa, whether they be legal and regulatory frameworks, digital identity, digital economy, cyber security or fundamental ICT competencies. The Prime Minister underlined the importance of building on existing frameworks, specifically citing the Communications Sector Plan, warning that “multiple fragmented plans will waste our focus and resources”. Finally, he cited public service and political leadership as the third key pillar of Digital Samoa. The Prime Minister flagged the utmost “[O]ur actions despite a possibly important of ensuring generational timeline must be cyber security is at the intentional and incremental each year heart of any reform towards the Digital Samoa we want to plans, commenting that all these plans will be create”.—Susuga Tuilaepa Dr useless without cyber Sa’ilele Malielegaoi security at the core. While ICT is valuable and should be pursued, this Agenda, he remarked, will need to be undertaken with an awareness of those who may wish to use technology to defame and destabilize Governments and Communities. “Cyber- terrorists” have the potential to create disharmony in the community, particularly so in Small Island Nations such as Samoa, and accordingly in undertaking these reforms, he advocated for an approach and thinking that is more appropriate for Small Island States rather than an approach along the lines of the way that large neighbouring countries Australia and New Zealand have dealt with these issues.

Remarks by the UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) /UNDP Resident Representative Simona Marinescu, UN RC / UNDP RR Samoa MCO Ms Marinescu, framed her remarks around the SDGs, particularly SDG 17 which through creating inclusive connected societies can help ensure that no one is left behind. Further, she underlined the importance of aligning Samoa’s national efforts to regional and global agreements like the SAMOA Pathway, noting that the Mid Term Review would take place in the week following the conference.

Ms Marinescu stressed the role of knowledge and technology as critical enablers for developing states to accelerate progress as demonstrated by a series of studies conducted by Professors Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz, both Nobel laureates for Economics. She encouraged Samoa to remain committed to its digital transformation goals announcing that US$221,000, from UNDP’s Country Investment Facility had been committed to fund Digital Samoa—a small step in a larger resource mobilization effort that would also involve South-South Cooperation and that would prioritize digital skills development for Samoa’s youth.

Ms Marinescu advocated for strategic partnership building that draws upon shared value principles, bringing together public and private sectors, academia and a wide range of partners to build the digital governments and markets that will help to achieve the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. UN RC/UNDP RR Marinescu added that using connectivity for better public and commercial services generates high returns on the significant investment made for the submarine cable to be installed. Cybersecurity will need similar consideration given the importance of protecting citizens’ fundamental rights to privacy.

Selected Workshop Interventions Recap and Reflection on Digital Pacific Conference:

Key Findings from a Government of Samoa Perspective Mr Talatalaga Mata’u, ACEO Policy, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology

Mr Matau reiterated the sentiment of the Prime Minister stating that Digital Transformation is a core national priority; one which requires Whole of Government buy-in to succeed. Samoa would need to learn from the trials, tribulations and successes of other nations if it is to leapfrog and not repeat the mistakes of other nations. Mr Matau outlined four practical steps that will need to be undertaken that emerged from Digital Pacific 2018;

1. review existing legislative and regulatory framework; 2. incorporate digital literacy into the curriculum; 3. create innovation labs/centres; 4. invest in an annual Hackathon/Youth Co:Lab for youth.

Envisioning a Digital Samoa

Government, Business and Citizen Perspectives [This Dialogue session opened up the floor to Ministries, Business, Citizens and Development Partners to comment on what Digital Samoa should look like and what they each hoped to achieve from digital transformation]

Government perspectives: Peseta Noumea Simi, CEO MFAT, commented that as Samoa moves towards a national platform, there will be a strong need for policy coherence and buy-in from those outside of Government. Further, there will be a need to know the baselines and be aware of what is already happening in this space. Aliimuamua Malaefono Taua, Government Statistician, emphasized the critical role that data plays for any government policy. She emphasizes the amount of data that government must deal with already noting that e.g. just for SDGs there are 230 statistical indicators to track, By using technology the government could greatly speed up the processes for government services. She further highlighted the need to build a network among government Ministries to more effectively collect data. Professor Muagututi’a Ioana Chan Mow, Computing Professor National University of Samoa, recommended an integrated approach, given that many projects and initiatives are still working in silos. She also underlined the importance of cybersecurity and being cognizant of social implications

and acceptance of technology, citing issues that emerged during the implementation of the SchoolNet project. She also queried what role if any the Samoa National Programme Highway could have as the digital platform used by government. Peseta Noumea Simi, CEO MFAT, further commented that government has systems and processes in place for coordination. She emphasized the need to move away from projects towards programmes. While there are many government institutions that could address some of the challenges in the area, the ongoing issues are access and territorialism. She flagged the National Policy Coordination Committee (NPCC) as a key institution going forward and suggested that Sector Planning was one way to overcome territorialism and ensure data-sharing occurs across government. Private Sector perspectives Grant Percival Jnr, Natural Foods International, highlighted the need to make the process of accessing government data much less difficult. Sam Saili, CEO Skyeye Pacific, affirmed that government had the data that many businesses needed but that it was still difficult for businesses to access. He commended the government for the political will shown regarding e-government but was concerned that if not implemented properly Ministries will not prioritize the important national goals, instead focusing on their own internal priorities. He suggested there would need to be a body to monitor this. Mr Saili hoped that an online payment, e-commerce system would be developed and that government would develop a One-Stop-Shop Data Portal for businesses to link into. Development Partner Perspectives Ms Simona Marinescu, UNRC/UNDP RR Samoa MCO, reminded the Conference that technology is not an end in itself. She emphasized the power of evidence based decision making through the use of verifiable, systematic and timely data, suggesting that Digital Samoa would need not just accurate baselines but also an effective data management system. Ms Marinescu re-emphasized that National ID is a critical step. However, she cautioned, to successfully implement it, there would need to be full- time staff allocated and sufficient budgets for testing and roll-out. She further informed the Conference that the UN has the capacity to undertake integrated approaches to looking into areas like National ID and National Security Support. The UNDP/ESCAP MAPS Mission could look into this further. Cleveland Thomas (ITU Caribbean Region) noted that regarding baselines ITU had produced a range of ICT statistics, including the ICT Development Index 2018 due to be released mid this year which would be helpful for benchmarking and measuring the attainment of goals and targets.

Digital Transformation Estonia’s Transformation Experience: Challenges and Elements of Success Hannes Astok, Director (Strategy and Development), e-Governance Academy, Government of Estonia Mr Astok showcased three elements as key to digital transformation once the prerequisite of connectivity is already in place as it now is in Samoa, namely digital identity as the foundational step, an efficient and secure method of data exchange and finally for digital data to be accessible to citizens, governments and the private sector upon an agreed, efficient basis.

Mr Astok outlined Estonia’s experience in terms of financing, change management and political will required for such reforms. Of interest was Mr Astok’s strong emphasis on these rather than technology per se. While technology is invariably important, indeed—Estonia’s latest generation of SIM-less software based mID that allows people to access government services on their smartphone may be the sort of model that might work in Samoa— it is an enabling tool not the end goal of itself. In summing up Estonia’s experience in two sentences, Mr Hannes emphasized the broad nature of e- governance noting: “E-governance is a comprehensive set of Strong Digital Portal & organizational, regulatory Identity Secure Data and technological measure, not just computer software Exchange Digital Data and hardware”. Accessible He encouraged Samoa to view e-governance as “reforming and modernizing public administration with tools of ICT, not merely the computerization of government offices and process.” When asked about the balance between data security vs transparency he suggested that this is a question that each country must decide for itself in line with the culture. In this vein he also recommended pilot groups and understanding the usage culture as a key step of any successful digital transformation process before going large scale. Mr Astok then put forward a hypothetical whereby ordinary Samoa citizens would be informed when their license was expiring. A possible future of e-governance in Samoa he proposed would be that ordinary Samoans would then be able to renew their licenses from their smartphones, pay the associated fees and have the license delivered to a home, village or business of their choosing.

Identifying Ongoing Activities that link with the Agenda Mr Tony Saaga, Chair of Technical Working Group (TWG), Government of Samoa

Mr Saaga, outlined in depth the work of the recently formed Technical Working Group (TWG). The TWG was an initiative and activity borne out of the Communications Sector Plan that brings together all qualified ICT staff across government on a monthly basis, to share/explore/discuss issues, challenges, solutions and emerging Government priorities in the ICT area, including cybersecurity. The TWG links closely with the call for better coordination and knowledge sharing across government.

Identifying Gaps: Group Work Tofilau Victor Vaeau, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise, NZ [Three groups of Government Officials were convened, tasked with identifying future areas for improvement in the use of ICT across Government] A variety of common responses were identified:

• A culture that does not share data; • Capacity deficits including a lack of ICT research analytical capability • Budgets that are not aligned with ICT priorities • The perception that ICT personnel are support staff; • The perception that ICT is a cost rather than a saving; • The need for a leadership / career pathway for ICT Staff; • There is no venue for engagement between the public and private sector ICT professionals in Samoa after the Computer Society ceased to exist; • The disconnect between online processes and payment options.

Closing and the Way Forward Mr Arndt Husar, Deputy Director, UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence, Singapore

Mr Husar proceeded to summarize and contextualise the key digital transformation lessons of the conference and pointed out three key considerations for the digital transformation agenda in Samoa:

Firstly, when planning to embark on a digitalisation agenda, the Government must work with all relevant parties to define what public value shall be created (which benefits will be created for the public) and what problems will be addressed. This basic step towards a National Digital Strategy differs from the Enterprise Strategy that the Government needs to have for its own digitalisation journey (i.e. enterprise architectures, information systems and information technologies). The introduction of digital technologies is not an end in itself, in fact, much of the transformational change is non-technical. Secondly, strong and effective partnerships will need to be core to the initiative. Not only should the needs, interests and resources of interest groups and stakeholders be properly considered, but the two

key sectors – private and public – depend on each other for success – be in with regard to skills development, taxation, digital commerce or job creation in the IT sector. Policy frameworks and the regulatory environment will determine whether the private sector will invest and grow. Similarly, the public sector cannot finance the entire strategy on its own. It requires private sector participation in bring the nation and leading the region towards the digital age.

Thirdly, the challenges and risks must be understood, noting that digital transformation initiatives are multi-dimensional endeavours which include change of organizational structures, institutional arrangements and work practices that extend far beyond technological issues.

Political and cultural context will be key in the success or failure of such initiatives and require informed and context-aware approaches by those who will be at the helm of the initiative.

Final Comments

Sala Georgina Bonin, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative, Governance and Poverty Reduction Unit re-emphasized the importance of context in the design of this e-governance initiative, stressing that 80% of Samoa’s population is rural and only 3% have credit cards. Aliimuamua Malaefono Taua, Government Statistician, expressed the view that Samoa was not yet at the stage to talk about implementing a National ID. Moana Luamanuvae, UNDP ARR Operations, queried the Statistician’s remarks asking whether the fact that Samoa is ready or not for a National ID should preclude us from discussing how to support it, given it is a core government priority. Simona Marinescu, UNRC; UNDP RR, emphasized that the need to understand the gaps would be at the heart of the UN’s approach going forward. Minister Afamasaga Lepuia’i Rico Tupa’i, gave thanks to all involved and re-committed Samoa to moving forward on the National ID requesting on behalf of the Government for Arndt and Hannes to continue to support this important agenda.

Key Insights from Digital Pacific Samoa 2018

• National ID remains the top priority of the Samoan government in this space. The National ID policy should include an opening to explore Digital ID and Mobile options • A stock-take of existing initiatives and gaps analysis is an indispensable first step in any e- Governance intervention: o Coordination with existing processes at the regional and national level will be key to the success, given that there are significant initatives already underway (e.g. digitalization of form processing at MoF, policy design process for National ID and a STEM policy being developed by GoS in collaboration with UNESCO) and past processes from which lessons can be gleaned, e.g. change management under SchoolNet;

o Digitalisation efforts have sound digital data sources as their baseline. Gaps in digitizing Government data can be identified with a baseline mapping (integrity, quality, frequency, sensitivity classification, inter-operability, etc.). • Cyber-security, and thorough analyses of possible impacts on communities must be pre-requisites for this process and remain the utmost priority of Government; • Digital Transformation agenda should be pursued by way of a programme not through a project modality – signalling a Whole-of-Government approach and shared ownership, the cross-cutting nature of the agenda and the concept that this is an ongoing effort that will have a life-cycle beyond a usual project duration; • Initiatives targeting young entrepreneurs (e.g. Youth Co-Lab, mentoring), students & adult learners (e.g. ICT Trainings, Digital Innovation and Skills Education initiatives), and professionals (e.g. a revived IT Society with regular Tech Talks) will be an important pillar of the overall digital transformation process

Donor Roundtable concluding Digital Pacific 2018

Called by Ms Peseta Noumea Simi, CEO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Samoa, a donor roundtable was held after the conclusion of the Digital Pacific Conference to explore interest and partnership opportunities for the digital transformation of the region and of Samoa in support of sustainable development.

The Donor Roundtable was co-chaired on 13 June 2018 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Finance. Participants included the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative and team, the High Commissioner of New Zealand, the Ambassador of China, the High Commission of Australia and the Head of the Asian Development Bank in Samoa.

The MCIT and UNRC presented a proposed approach to the digital transformation of Samoa that is guided by a series of principles as follows: o Whole-of-Government approach o Regional knowledge sharing and cooperation o Multi-partner engagement (private sector, CSO, academia, international development actors) o People-centered / human rights / equal opportunities / data security and integrity o Financially sustainable o Aligned with regional and global commitments A multi-year process to address priorities in their logical order of supporting development progress was discussed to include:

• Short-term objectives (6 months) o Digital Transformation Assessment - Stocktake, Gap Assessment, Baselines (digitalisation of data, connectivity, computerisation, skills) o DT Roadmap development (including activity planning, timeframe and budget) in consultation with key stakeholders and partners and mapped against SDS, SDGs

o Cabinet endorsement, roles and responsibilities assigned, partnerships established (private sector, academia), financing secured

• Mid-term objectives (2 years, tentative key results) o National ID o Enhanced connectivity o Digitalised data o Cybersecurity system development o E-Government infrastructure and regulations

• Long-term objectives (5+ years) o E-Governance o Digital markets (financial, services, products) o Evidence, data informed public policies

While all representatives of the donor community in Samoa expressed interest in the proposed digital reforms, participants concluded that another roundtable should take place once the conference report is circulated and preliminary budget estimates are made to allow for a better informed decision as to how the process could be further supported. The United Nations Development Programme and the UN Country Team in Samoa express appreciation for the contributions that the participating organizations and individuals made to the success of the Together for a Digital Pacific 2018 Conference in Apia, Samoa. Sincere gratitude goes to the Government of Samoa for hosting and extending considerable financial and in-kind support to the event and remarkable hospitality.

@DPConference18 Website: www.bit.ly/DigitalPacific2018 Livestream: http://bit.ly/DigitalPacific2018live Annex 1 Conference App: http://bit.ly/DigitalPacific2018app

Thursday, 7 June 2018

9:00 – Opening Ceremony 9:40 am • Prayer by Reverend Siaosi Salesulu • Welcome by the Master of Ceremonies, Talatalaga Mata’u, ACEO, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of Samoa Keynotes Hon Minister Afamasaga Lepuia'i Rico Tupa'i, Ministry of Communications & ICT, Government of Samoa Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary General and Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia & Pacific Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University 9:40am Group Photo & Coffee Break 10:05 – Stage-Setting 10:30am “Towards a Digital Pacific – Sustainable Development Opportunities in the Digital Age” Paul Shetler, Co-Founder, AccelerateHQ (formerly CEO, Digital Transformation Office, UK & Chief Digital Officer, Digital Transformation Agency, Australia) 10:30am Digital Transformation Pathway #1: Estonia 11:00 Hannes Astok, Director (Strategy and Development), e-Governance Academy

11:00 – Panel 1: Digital ID / Digital Entitlements 11:45am Facilitator: Aliimuamua Malaefono Taua (Samoa Bureau of Statistics, Samoa) o Mariana Dahan (World Identity Network) o Hannes Astok (Estonian eGovernance Academy) 11:45am Panel 2: Digital Economy 12:30pm Facilitator: Pepe Christian Fruean (Electric Power Corporation, Samoa) o Mohamed Ibrahim (National ICT and Digital Economy Office, Somalia) o Peter Fritz (Group Managing Director, TCG Group) o Prof. Ioana Chan Mow (National University of Samoa) 12:30pm Lunch Break 1:15 – Digital Transformation Pathway #2: Caribbean Region 1:45pm Thomas Cleveland, Area Representative (Caribbean Countries), International Telecommunications Union (ITU) 1:45 – Panel 3: Digital Government / Organisational Change 2:30pm Facilitator: Arndt Husar (UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence) o Paul Shetler (AccelerateHQ) o Joana Valente (Partner Advisory - Ernst & Young, Australia) o Thomas Cleveland (ITU) 2:30 – Digital Transformation Pathway #3: New Zealand 3:00pm Helen Jamison, General Manager, Strategic Relationships and Advice, Service & System Transformation, Dept. of Internal Affairs

3:00 – Panel 4: ICT Skills / STEM Education 3:45 pm Facilitator: Tuaimalo Lealiiee Asamu Ah Sam (Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Samoa) o Kisione Finau (University of the South Pacific) o Deanne Thomas (CORE Education) o Helen Jamison (Dept. of Internal Affairs, New Zealand) 4:00 – Panel 5: Cyber Security 4:45 pm Facilitator: Mr Ioane Nacanieli Koroivuki (Regional Director, ITU Office for Asia & the Pacific) o Carsten Rudolph (Monash University) o Ian Thomson (USP / CROP ICT Working Group) 4:45- Brief Reflections on Day 1 5:00 pm Facilitator: Arndt Husar (UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence) o Prof. Graham Hassall (Victoria University of Wellington) o Kolone Vaai (KVAConsult Co Managing Director,UTOS)

Friday, 8 June 2018 9:00 am Tech Showcase 12:30 Opening Announcements in Plenary pm Arndt Husar (UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence)

Foyer Conference Room

9:00am SkyEye – Sam Saili 9.20am Horizon State – Oren Alazraki 9.40am MK3 NZ Ltd. / ABBYY – Angus Malietoa

10:00am Kacific – Jacques-Samuel Prolon

10.20am Digicel – Farid Mohammed Aptus Project/ National University of Samoa 11:00am – Tara Patu and Mose Mose 11.20am Bluesky – Sanjeewa Perera

11.40am Trimble Solutions / AllTerra – Warren Eade 12.00pm Start to Finish Service Tracker/UNDP – Andrew Harrington parallel Side Event* Pacific Connect Roundtable “Exploring Practical Concepts for Digital Innovation” Facilitators: Catherine Fritz-Kalish (Director, Intl. Centre for Democratic Partnerships (ICDP)) and Joana Valente (Partner, Ernst & Young) MWTI Conference Room, Level 4 TATTE Building

12:30 Lunch Break

1:30 – Regional Coordination and Collaboration 2:15 pm Facilitator: Bakhodir Burkhanov (Country Director, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, and Head of Regional Programme and Policy Support) o “CROP ICT Working Group Action Plan” Ian Thomson (University of the South Pacific) o “Connect the Blue Continent” Chris Sampson (Digital Society Foundation) o Facilitated Discussion 2:15 – Plenary: 3:15 pm “Together for a Digital Future” Facilitators: Arndt Husar (UNDP GCPSE) and Johannes Schunter (UNDP Pacific Office) o Finding common ground o Picking your team o Intro to Alternative Futures o Narratives: Envisioning 2030 parallel Dialogue Session* Hosted by Simona Marinescu (UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa & Tokelau) MCIT Conference Room, Level 6 TATTE building * only Partner Country Delegations and Conference Speakers 3:15 Coffee Break 3:30 – Sharing of Digital Future Narratives 4:00 pm Teams present their favorite narratives

4:00 – “The Digital Pacific we Want” Voting on Narratives 4:30 pm Youth Co:Lab Feature 3 Top Teams will present their pitch 4:30 Backcasting to 2018 – Pacific Digital Transformation Pathways 5:00pm “Getting our Governments & Economies Ready for the Digital Age” Facilitators: Arndt Husar (UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence) and Hannes Astok (e- Governance Academy) • Where do we go from here? Common ground? • What keeps us from fulfilling our vision? How can we collaborate to overcome challenges? • What are the opportunities that we can see? How will we leverage these? o Catherine Fritz-Kalish (Global Access Partners) – investors o Lemauga Hobart Vaai (Chamber of Commerce) – private sector o Deanne Thomas (CORE Education) – skill development o Tuaimalo Asamu Ah Sam (Govt of Samoa) Reception hosted by Australia 5:45 pm at Tanoa Tusitala Hotel (Sogi, Apia) 6:30 Dinner hosted by the United Nations Development Programme PM at Tanoa Tusitala Hotel (Sogi, Apia)

Annex 2: Monday - 11 June 9.30AM High-Level Workshop “Getting our Government and Economy Ready for the Digital Age” OPENING CEREMONY Welcome Tua’imalo Asamu Ah Sam, CEO-MCIT Prayer Rev Mose Galuvao Keynote Address Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister Remarks Dr. Simona Marinescu, UN Resident Coordinator &UNDP Resident Representative 10.00AM Morning Tea/Group Photo 10.15AM4. 5. Recap and Reflection on Digital Pacific Conference • Key Findings from a Government of Samoa Perspective Talatalaga Mata’u, ACEO-MCIT • Mapping and Sharing of Insights [Interactive Session] facilitated by Arndt Husar, UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence, Singapore - Which lessons were most relevant for Samoa’s digitalisation agenda? - What key opportunities and challenges were spotted? i.e. trends, assets, interested stakeholders/partners, resources, etc. 10.45AM 6. Envisioning a Digital Samoa (Digital Government and Digital Economy) Facilitator: Aliimuamua Malaefono Taua, Samoa Bureau of Statistics-Samoa • What does Digital Samoa look like? What do Ministries, Agencies, Associations and Businesses hope to achieve? [Dialogue Session] • … the business community; … citizens; … public servants. 11.30AM 6. Digital Transformation • Estonia’s Transformation Experience: Challenges and Elements of Success Hannes Astok, Director (Strategy and Development), e-Governance Academy, Government of Estonia • Discussion on Samoa’s Readiness and Needs 12.15PM 7. Partnerships • Identifying Priorities and Key Stakeholders [Interactive Session] facilitated by Arndt Husar, UNDP 12.45PM 8. Closing Remarks • Summary and Vote of Thanks Hon. Afamasaga Lepuia'i Rico Tupai, Minister, MCIT

1.00PM Lunch 1.45PM Samoa Government Workshop “Towards a Digital Samoa Action Agenda” 9. Mapping of Ongoing and Planned Activities / Initiatives / Projects Identifying Ongoing Activities that link with the Agenda • Government TWG Report on Digitalisation Efforts (focus on Government Data) • Group Discussions facilitated by Prof Graham Hassall (Victoria University of Wellington) • International and Regional Initiatives • National (public sector initiatives) • National (private sector initiatives) Which are the most relevant activities? What are the gaps (thematic, resources, capacity, leadership, etc.)? What is moving well and what isn’t? What is keeping us from realizing our ambitions?

• Report Back and Comments 2.30PM 10. A Whole of Government Approach to Digital Transformation • Probing our Readiness and Identifying Gaps and Challenges facilitated by Hannes Astok (e-Governance Academy) What mechanisms exist to manage a change that cuts across institutional boundaries? How do we engage the entire Public Service and how external stakeholders? Are we well equipped to begin this journey? Where are gaps?

3.15PM Coffee Break 3.30PM 11. Agenda and Priority Setting Defining the Cornerstones and Milestones for Digital Transformation facilitated by Arndt Husar (UNDP), Hannes Astok (e-Governance Academy) and Prof. Graham Hassall (Victoria University) • Probing the Shared Agenda Do we see the beginning of a shared vision? Which thematic areas (most likely cross-cutting) could provide the frame for the Digital Samoa agenda? Are our ideas ambitious enough and at the same time achievable? • Agreeing on thrust areas and priority actions/activities. Which agencies/institutions can be assigned leadership roles and who else needs to be involved? 4.30PM 12. Closing and Agreement on Way Forward • Summary and Vote of Thanks

Annex 3 Regional Speaker & Company Profiles

Honourable Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupai Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Government of Samoa

Hon. Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupai was appointed as Minister of Communications and Information Technology in March 2016. Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Afioga Afamasaga Lepuiai Rico Tupai is a Member of Parliament for Aana Alofi Nu. 3 Constituency. He has extensive private-sector experience, founding his own media business Skylite Samoa in 2002. He has also worked in the public sector including a stint at the National University of Samoa. The Minister is an avid sportsman.

Haoliang Xu UN Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Twitter: @HaoliangXu Mr. Xu joined UNDP in 1995 and has worked in the Asia and Pacific and Eastern Europe and the CIS Regions respectively. He has worked in UNDP New York headquarters (1997-99), Iran (2000-02), Timor-Leste (2002-04), Pakistan (2004-07) as well as serving two terms in Kazakhstan (1995-97, 2007-10). Before taking up his current post, he was UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan (2007-10) and Deputy Regional Director for Europe and the CIS in New York (2010-13). Before joining the United Nations, Mr. Xu worked as an assistant lecturer in Tongji University in China, and was a computer-aided design engineer with Louis Berger International Inc. in the USA and South Korea. Mr. Xu is a national of the People’s Republic of China. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Bridge Engineering from Tongji University, a Masters in Management Science from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University.

Simona Marinescu United Nations Resident Coordinator, UNDP Resident Representative Twitter: @SMarinescu_UNDP Dr. Simona Marinescu was appointed UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative at the beginning of 2018. She has previously served as the inaugural Director of the UNDP Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) from 2012-2014. In this role she established the governance system, strategic objectives and thematic priorities and the programmatic agenda successfully forging the IICPSD as a center of excellence in market-born solutions to development challenges. Before joining the IICPSD, Simona served in Iraq as UNDP Programme Director for Private Sector in Development and Senior Economist, as UNAMI Head of Humanitarian, Reconstruction and Development (2008-2012) and as USAID Sector Lead for Social Safety Net and Pension Reforms. Prior to that, she was Social Protection Specialist in the World Bank Human Development Unit, MENA Region. She also has served as Minister Secretary of State for Labor and Social Affairs in Romania and as Senator, President of the Labor and Social Protection Committee of the Senate. Dr. Marinescu holds an MBA in International Relations and a PhD in Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies ASE Bucharest. She holds a Diploma in Leadership from Harvard University and a Certificate in “Modern Labor Administration for Development” from the Mediterranean Institute of Management of Cyprus. Her first studies, however were in Computer Science, making her no stranger to e-governance and digitalization.

Arndt Husar Deputy Director, Global Centre for Public Service Excellence Singapore, United Nations Development Program (Facilitator) Twitter: @ArndtHusar Arndt Husar’s career in the development sector has been focused on governance and public sector challenges in developing country contexts, ranging from the local to the national level. At the UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence (GCPSE) he works on strategy, programme management and advisory services with a focus on public service innovation, strategic foresight and digital technologies. Given the role of the Centre as UNDP’s catalyst for new thinking and action in the field of public service, activities range from publishing evidence to convening thinker-practitioner- oriented events for knowledge sharing. Mr Husar has been driving a range of activities on public service innovation in support of UNDP's innovation agenda, including the 2013 Public Service Innovation Lab series across Southeast Asia (#UNDPpsi), the Empowered Futures Initiative with its foresightXchange workshop series (#fsXc) as well as GCPSE’s work on disruptive technologies and digital government (#techPS). Arndt graduated as a Spatial Planner (Engineer) from the University of Dortmund (Germany) and was a fellow of the Postgraduate Programme for International Affairs, working on City Development Strategies and Slum Upgrading with the Cities Alliance. Prior to his posting in Singapore, he worked for 5 years with UNDP India and the UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre in programme and advisory roles. His professional exposure includes assignments in the private, public and non-governmental sectors with stints in Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Germany, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Malawi, Peru, Rwanda, Samoa, South Africa, Thailand, Tonga and the United States.

Bakhodir Burkhanov, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Country Director & Head of Regional Policy and Programmes Twitter: @BakhodirUNDP Bakhodir Burkhanov was appointed Country Director and Head of Regional Policy and Programme for the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji on July 2016. Prior to this appointment, he had served UNDP as Deputy Country Director in Vietnam, Deputy Resident Representative in Bhutan, Donor Relations Adviser in New York, and Assistant Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea. Mr Bakhodir Burkhanov oversees the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Carsten Rudolph Associate Professor of Cybersecurity, School of Information Technology, Monash Clayton University. Twitter: @Oceania_cyber Dr. Carsten Rudolph received his PhD in Computer Science at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane in 2001. Since then, he worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT, Darmstadt, Germany, where he was head of the research department Trust and Compliance. In 2015, he co-ordinated the start of a new research group on Trusted Computing in Germany as part of the Huawei European Security Competence Centre in Germany.

Dr. Carsten Rudolph has contributed extensively to four key areas of cyber security: 1. Trusted Computing, Security of critical infrastructures and Security of IT Networks 2. Security by design / security engineering / formal methods for security 3. Validation and design of security protocols 4. Digital forensic readiness and secure digital evidence

Catherine Fritz-Kalish, Managing Director, Global Access Partners (GAP) Twitter: @cfritzkalish Over the last 20 years, under Catherine’s guidance, GAP has grown to be a proactive and influential network which initiates high-level discussions at the cutting edge of the most pressing commercial, social and global issues of today. Through forums, global congresses, annual summits and government advisory boards, GAP facilitates real and lasting change for its stakeholders, partners and delegates by sharing knowledge and creating input for government policy. Over the past few years, GAP has established a number of national consultative committees and taskforces which are working to shape the face of the Australian business and policy environment. Catherine's broader business experience includes coordination of a number of international initiatives as part of the annual programme for the small and medium sized enterprise unit of the OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development), at headquarters in Paris, France; marketing and brand management within all 7 divisions of the George Weston Foods Group; and just prior to establishing GAP, working within the TCG Group of companies, particularly in the area of start-up incubator establishment. Catherine holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New South Wales and a Masters of Business in International Marketing from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Christopher James Sampson Director, Digital Society Foundation Experienced Chief Information Officer and former Deputy Secretary Technology and Innovation with the Government of Tasmania, Chris is a digital technology veteran with more than 35 years of experience applying systems-oriented innovation across the private and public sectors. Chris has held a number of key Chief Information Officer (CIO), innovation and consulting roles in organisations such as the Scottish Government’s economic development body, Australian Mutual Providence, the Tasmanian and Australian Governments. Chris is now assisting a range of governments and communities to harness the power of digital technology through collaborations with start-ups, innovation companies and civil society organisations. Chris is a committed supporter of developing and disadvantaged communities, working to assist social and economic development through non-profit start-up and registered charity Digital Society Foundation which is being established to focus on digital inclusion challenges. In 2010 Chris was appointed as an honorary adjunct professor with the University of Tasmania and is an Associate of the Institute of Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney. Chris has connections throughout the Pacific through his volunteer work with the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures and regular participation in Pacific Islands Forum programs where he champions Pacific digital empowerment through the initiative ‘Connect the Blue Continent’.

Cleveland Thomas, ITU Representative for the Caribbean Effective August 14th, 2011 Mr. Cleveland Thomas was appointed the ITU Representative for the Caribbean. Prior to this appointment Mr. Thomas was the CEO for the State Enterprise, National Information and Communication Technology Company Limited (Trinidad and Tobago). He also held the post of National Chief Information Officer (NCIO) for the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. \As NCIO and CEO, Cleveland was responsible for implementing the Government’s vision for development: improvement in healthcare, education, computers for students, commerce, transport, security etc, through technology.

Mr. Thomas brings a wealth of ITU experience. He was Trinidad and Tobago’s representative at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for over 14 years and sat as the Caribbean region's representative at the ITU Council. He chaired a number of Study Groups, Rapporteur Groups and was TAL's chairman. He also made presentations to government officials in Russia, the Caribbean, Fiji, Botswana and Zimbabwe. He is a Certified Accountant having obtained his designation in the United Kingdom and also possesses a Master’s Degree in Information and Communication Technology for Regulations and Policies form the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Deanne Thomas, Kaihatu Maori, CORE Education Deanne Thomas, a descendent of Ngāti Kere, is passionate about retaining and enhancing culture, language and identity in a fast moving, and somewhat challenging technological age. Deanne has a long history in the education of indigenous learners in Aotearoa. As well as a successful career in teaching she is also Keynote and invited speaker at a number of education events: Learning at Schools, ULearn, He Waka Eke Noa, NZ School Trustees Association conferences and International Conference On Thinking; Writer and publisher of numerous education resources, including those supporting students to understand technology in a traditional way; Lead writer of Hangarau Matihiko/Digital Technologies curriculum and supporting materials in Aotearoa. This involves cross sector engagement with other developers, involvement in strategic decision making, rewriting the Māori technology curriculum to include digital technology, and the development of exemplars to model key parts of this. She is currently Kaihautū Māori / Champion Māori Innovation at CORE Education. Ko tō ringa ki ngā rākau a te Pākehā , hei oranga mō te tinana Ko tō ngākau ki ngā taonga a ō tīpuna Māori , hei tikitiki mō tō māhunga Tā Apirana Ngāta (1875- 1950). New knowledge does not replace existing cultural beliefs - this is particularly pertinent as learners and teachers engage more deeply in a technologically dominated society. Indeed, “ngā taonga a ngā tīpuna” must enhance cultural practice.

Graham Hassall Associate Professor in the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Twitter: @GrahamNZ Dr. Graham Hassall is an accomplished academic having previously taught at the University of Melbourne, Landegg Academy (Switzerland), the University of the South Pacific, and the University of Papua New Guinea. His research focus has been government in the Pacific Islands, including Pacific regionalism in the context of globalization. He is currently academic director of PNG’s Foreign Service Training Programme and is on the advisory boards of the United Nations Association of New Zealand, the New Zealand Centre for Global Studies, and the editorial boards of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, Comparative Law Journal of the Pacific, and the Australasian Parliamentary Review. He has participated in a range of academic, professional and policy networks, including LAWASIA; Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand Electoral Administrators (PIANZEA); Asia Pacific Mediation Forum (APMF); Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE); the Commonwealth Local Government Forum - Pacific Project (CLGF); Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue (EPLD), and the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Commonwealth Pacific Forum of Central Agencies. He has recently co-edited a book entitled “Achieving Sustainable e-Government in Pacific Island States” with Emeritus Professor Rowena Cullen, from the Victoria University of Wellington. It

explores the challenges and opportunities for Pacific Island nations developing e-government systems and offers examples of best practice. Hannes Astok Development and Strategy Director, e-Governance Academy, Estonia Twitter: @hannesastok Hannes Astok is an enthusiastic speaker on the information society, in particular promoting the role of local governments, the challenges of online and mobile governance and new technologies in government. Hannes is a senior expert with and the Director for Development and Strategy of the Estonian e-Governance Academy, providing training and consultancy to central and local governments in Central Asia, the Caucasus, South-Eastern Europe, the Middle East and other transition areas. Hannes is a former MP and the former Deputy Mayor of Estonia’s second largest city, Tartu. As an MP he dealt mainly with the development of the information society and issues related to the regulation of intellectual property and electronic communication. He graduated from the University of Tartu as a journalist. He launched his political career in Tartu, working for a decade for the City of Tartu as Deputy Mayor. Today Tartu is one of the world’s leading cities in e-governance, providing citizens and businesses with a wide variety of Internet- and mobile phone-based services.

Helen Jamison, Acting General Manager Strategic Relationships and Advice, Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand Twitter: @govtnz

Helen has been part of the senior leadership group supporting New Zealand’s Government Chief Digital Officer as the Digital functional leader for all of government since 2014. She is currently leading the newly established Strategic Relationships and Advice group that provides central oversight for the delivery of key Government priorities. This includes servicing of ministerial and government stakeholders’ needs, including the strategic support of the Chief Technology Officer, the Digital Economy and Digital Inclusion Ministerial Advisory Group and international partners such as the D7. Previously Helen led the Government Stakeholder area during which time she managed the group’s relationships with Ministers’ offices and key government agencies. During this time she led the Government Chief Information Officer’s Information Privacy and Security Programme that focused on raising the maturity and capability of agencies privacy and protective security practices. Prior to this Helen had an extensive career in government as an executive advisor and operational service delivery leader. She holds an Executive Masters of Public Administration from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. Prior to joining the public service Helen worked for three years as a lawyer in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Ian Thomson Senior e-Learning Fellow, University of the South Pacific; Cybersecurity Taskforce Chairman CROP ICT Working Group Representative, Twitter: @UniSouthPacific Mr. Thomson is currently working at the University of the South Pacific as a senior fellow of e-Learning. In this role, he jointly manages the Teachers Education Resources and e-Learning Centre and focusses on helping Pacific Ministries of Education develop strategies, policies, capacity building plans and trials of ICTs to help improve education outcomes. He is also involved in the CROP ICT Working Group, chaired by the USP and aimed at promoting and facilitating the use of ICT in the South Pacific.

Ian has over a decade of experience working in the region, starting at SPC as the inaugural ICT Outreach co-ordinator. Among his achievements, he has helped develop and review the regional ICT and ICT for Education Frameworks and has led multiple trials, including the OLPC and Rural Satellite connection projects and more recently has been involved in OER and MOOC development in the region. He is currently working closely with five Education Ministries on regional approaches that and developing regional approaches that will assist many more. His engineering background and Pacific experience helps him develop ICT solutions appropriate for Pacific Education systems and his research into the latest international developments ensures he is across good practice use of ICTs from around the globe.

Ioana Tuugalei Vaai Chan Mow, Professor in Computing and Computer education, National University of Samoa

Dr Ioana Tuugalei Vaai Chan Mow is currently the Professor in Computing and Computer education at the National University of Samoa. Her previous roles include Dean of the Faculty of Science and Head of the Computing department at the National University of Samoa. She is currently the Country Focal point for the Commonwealth of Learning. She has been the project manager of various projects for the Faculty of Science including the Edulink NIU project, PaceNet Plus project, and the COLTEL project. She has also been involved in various international research collaboration with academics in Australian and New Zealand universities. Ioana’s research interests revolve around computer programming, ICT policy and regulation, e-government, ICT4D, sustainable technologies, technology enabled learning, providing digital access and bridging the digital divide.

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University Twitter @JeffDSachs Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. He is the co- recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. He has twice been named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders. The New York Times called him “probably the most important economist in the world.” Time magazine called him “the world’s best known economist.” Professor Sachs serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. Sachs is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the Sustainable Development Goals, and previously advised UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on both the Sustainable Development Goals and Millennium Development Goals and UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals. Sachs is currently Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network under the auspices of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and a Commissioner of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Development. Prior to joining Columbia University, Sachs spent over twenty years as a professor at Harvard University, most recently as the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Sachs received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. at Harvard.

Joana Valente, Partner Advisory, Oceania Digital Government Lead Partner Twitter: @joanavalente8

Joana Valente is an executive-level advisor with a background in technology strategy who works across a range of data and technology enabled transformation programmes. For nearly two decades, she has worked with the public sector helping to improve the effectiveness of federal and state government policy, across a wide range of areas from border protection to human services delivery. Joana specialises in Digital Transformation and leads EY’s Oceania Digital Government practice. As the Oceania Digital Government Leader Joana leads teams in working with clients and technology partners to shift the engagement between the public sector and its key stakeholders. Before joining EY, Joana was a partner with IBM’s systems integration and consulting arm. In this role, Joana was responsible for delivering technology enabled transformation programs across social security, service delivery and border protection sectors. Prior to this role Joana was the accountable executive for one of the first and largest IT Government outsourcing contracts exceeding $1 billion as the Public Sector General Manager, Computer Sciences Corporation.

Johannes Schunter, Innovation and Knowledge Specialist, UNDP Twitter: @jschunter

Johannes has been working as Knowledge Management Specialist for UNDP in New York, Thailand and Germany since 2006. Prior to this, he worked for eight years in the private sector in the area of business consulting and information systems, including five years as CEO of his own company. Johannes also has varied experience in organizational development, change management, online systems, consulting and training. Nowadays Johannes works to promote innovative development approaches, effective knowledge management and “working differently” within UNDP’s 15 country portfolio in the Pacific. Johannes also runs a blog Stepping Higher: Reflections on the Knowledge Age where he shares his views on Knowledge Management, Social Innovation and ICT for Development.

Kisione Wesley Finau, Director of the Information Technology Services, University of the South Pacific Member of the CROP ICT Working Group Twitter: @UniSouthPacific

Mr. Kisione Wesley Finau is the Director of the Information Technology Services at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. He has held this position since 1999. Prior to that, he was one of the Managers at IT Services from (1990 – 1998). Native of Tonga, he holds a Master in Computing Science (QUT), a Master Business Administration (USP) as well as a Bachelor of Computing Science (Hawaii Pacific University). Additionally, Mr. Finau is a member of CROP ICT Working Group, a member of the ESCAP Steering Committee Working Group on the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Committee (Asia and Pacific) as well as member of various ICT advisory committee (PIRRC, PacCERT, Fiji Reserved Bank). His interest is to encourage and develop strategies on how to use ICT to improve the lives of people in the Pacific.

Afoa Asiata Kolone Vaai Co-Managing Director, KVA Consult Ltd ‘Former Financial Secretary for Government of Samoa up to 1991 when he set up the financial and economic consultancy firm, KVAConsult based in Apia. As Co- Managing Director of KVAConsult, Kolone Vaai has led a wide cross section of institutional and financial consultancy assignments at the national, sectoral and enterprise levels primarily in Samoa and the Pacific Island countries. He has been involved in the reviews of the regional inter governmental organisations like PIFS, SPREP, SPC and FFA. Recently he was a member of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) reviewing the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group beyond 2020. As part of the KVAConsult community services, he provides a wide range of voluntary advice to both the Government and Community organisations. In the ICT development space, Kolone Vaai has been involved through IFC and World Bank with the regional ICT and knowledge economy readiness diagnostics for the Pacific and telecom sector reforms in Samoa. Through his Chairmanship of the Unit Trust of Samoa he has been involved with the development of the Bluesky Samoa and Samoa Submarine Cable companies.’

Mariana Dahan, CEO & Founder, WIN - World Identity Network Twitter: @marianadahan As the founder and CEO of the World Identity Network (WIN) — an initiative launched on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island this past summer — Mariana Dahan is striving to bring together world’s brightest minds and leverage the potential of DLT and blockchain technologies to solve some of humanity’s toughest challenges, such as the trafficking of human beings. To that end, WIN has partnered with several United Nations agencies to organize the “Blockchain for Humanity” Global Challenge, which resulting in a series of forward- looking technologies solutions and approaches. Previously, Mariana Dahan was leading the Identification for Development (ID4D) agenda of the World Bank – a global program that she has initiated and which is now reaching $1 billion in lending and grants to developing countries. Dahan is also a founding member of the Global Blockchain Business Council launched in 2017. Dahan holds two PhD degrees in management and economic sciences: one from ESCP Europe Business School and another from Paris II University in France. Prior to joining the World Bank Group in 2009, Dahan was a visiting researcher at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she worked on her book Quenching the Thirst for Innovation.

Mohamed Ibrahim, Head of the National ICT and Digital Economy Office, Somalia Director, KAJM Consulting Pty Ltd Mohamed Ibrahim is Somalia's former Minister of Posts and Telecomunication. Founding Chairman of ISOC Somalia, the Project Manager of the .so registry, and a Research Fellow at University of Melbourne. Mohamed was also the Chairman of the Centre for Research and Dialogue, and Somalia's CERT and IGF. He has also been involved in ICANN's ccNSO and GAC on behalf of the Somali government, and has also represented the Somali government at numerous other fora such as the ITU, AfriNIC and AfTLD. Mr. Ibrahim has been in the IT industry for more than two decades and has worked at PNG Elcom, Kuwait Oil Company (80s-90s), UAE High-ed sector (2001-2007). Also in the Australian Public sector; Victorian Government's Health Superannuation Board ('80s), and CIO at Peninsula Health (1998-2003). IT Strategy Manager at Deakin University, honorary senior lecturer at Monash University, Lecturer/EdTech at Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE. He is currently the head of the National ICT

and Digital Economy Office in Somalia and member of ITU-T Focus Groups on Application of Distributed Ledger Technology (FG DLT) and Digital Currency including Digital Fiat Currency.

Paul Shetler, Co-Founder, AccelerateHQ, Former CEO, Digital Transformation Office, UK, and Chief Digital Officer, Digital Transformation Agency, Australia. Twitter: @paul_shetler

Paul Shetler is a technologist and entrepreneur with over two decades’ experience working on large scale IT and organisational change projects – spanning the public and private sectors. He has co-founded two start-ups, worked in two others and also been in leadership roles at large suppliers like Oracle, Microsoft, and the global payments network, SWIFT. More recently, Paul was responsible for transforming the way government delivers public services. He was appointed CEO of Australia's Digital Transformation Office in July 2015 by Malcolm Turnbull and served in that role and later as Australia's Chief Digital Officer until November 2016, delivering 6 exemplar services, a digital marketplace, a government cloud platform, a services dashboard, an alpha of a whole-of-government website – GOV.AU – and an alpha government identity platform. After signing an MOU with the British government, he has worked at the UK’s Government Digital Service, where he helped develop a suite of practical lessons from its work to transform 25 exemplar services. Before that, he was Chief Digital Officer at the UK Ministry of Justice (where his team delivered four of those 25 exemplar services). \

Peter Fritz Group Managing Director, TCG; Chairman, GAP Twitter: @GlobalAccessAu Peter Fritz AM is an Australian businessman and philanthropist. He is Chairman of GAP, and Group Managing Director of TCG - a diverse group of companies which over the last forty years has produced many breakthrough discoveries in computer and communication technologies. In 1993, some of the 65 companies in the Group were publicly floated on the Australian Stock Exchange as TechComm Group Limited (now called Utility Computer Services UXC), with great success. Another former TCG company floated on the New York Stock Exchange in November 1997 for US$600m, making it the largest technology company to be established in Australia until that time. Today the TCG companies, and entities with TCG roots, employ well over 6000 people with a turnover in excess of $1.3 billion annually. Peter's innovative management style and corporate structuring has led to the creation of a business model which is being copied by many successful entrepreneurs, and has become part of university undergraduate and masters programs in business management in Australia and around the world. Peter Fritz chairs a number of influential government and private enterprise boards and is active in the international arena, including having represented Australia on the OECD Small and Medium Size Enterprise Committee. He is the holder of six degrees and professional qualifications, is a recipient of the Order of Australia.

Tua'imáló Asamu Ah Sam, CEO, Ministry of Communications and ICT, Government of Samoa Twitter: @samoagovt

Tua'imáló Asamu Ah Sam was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in April 2003. He was previously the Director of Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), which was the former name of the Ministry prior to the realignment of the Government departments. The name change of the Ministry and reappointment of Mr Ah Sam in 2003 was inevitable, given the merge of the Savali (Government newspaper) and broadcasting policy functions with the MPT. In his current capacity as Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ah Sam is responsible to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology for the following functions: • Review and update Communications Sector Policy; • Development and review of a National Broadcasting Policy; • Monitor the implementation of Government policy in the Sector; • Monitor the provision of postal, telecommunications, broadcasting and ICT services; • Provision of advice with regards the grant and operation of licences of postal, telecommunications and broadcasting services; • Assisting the development of human resources capacity in the communications sector; • Fostering positive relations with international bodies of which Samoa is a member, such as International Telecommunications Union, Universal Postal Union, Asia-Pacific Telecommunity, Pacific Island Telecommunications Union and other relevant donor organisations; • Further to the above responsibilities, the CEO chairs one steering committee; • The Telecommunications and Postal Sector Reform Project (World Bank) - this project's life span is 5 years and aims at reforming the postal and telecommunications sector through introducing significant changes in the policy, legal and regulatory frameworks as well as opening up competition in the provision of digital cellular mobile services. Tua'imalo is a member of the National ICT Committee, appointed by cabinet in 2002 to develop a National ICT Policy.

Company and Tech Showcase Profiles

Bluesky Twitter: @blueskysamoa Formerly known as SamoaTel officially became a subsidiary company of Bluesky Communications and Bluesky commenced operating SamoaTel on Thursday March 31, 2011. 25% of Bluesky Samoas shares are owned by the Unit Trust of Samoa (UTOS), while the other 75% are owned by Bluesky Communications and other investors from Samoa and American Samoa. Bluesky Communications is owned by eLandia Group. Bluesky Samoa is one of the leading operator sin Samoa offering GSM, fixed line and Internet services. Bluesky Pacific Group has signed a contract with Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks to roll out a new submarine cable system spanning more than 9,700km across the Pacific. Moana Cable system will span more than 9,700 km, connecting New Zealand to Hawaii and Cook Islands to Samoa, enhancing capacity and ensuring redundancy across the region. Bluesky Samoa, to demonstrate its social has positioned itself as one of the main sponsors for this conference.

Digicel Twitter: @OfficialDigicel From its launch in Jamaica in 2001, Digicel has expanded rapidly and now spans across 31 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. Today, Digicel serves consumers and business customers alike to offer the worlds of mobile communications, business solutions, media and entertainment. They have invested over US $5 billion in the Digicel business worldwide and continue to invest to bring leading edge technologies to the markets in which we operate. In addition, Digicel was the first to deploy mobile money services in these countries creating an ecosystem of agents that includes the main commercial banks ANZ Bank, BSP, Westpac, National Bank Vanuatu as well as key money movers such as PostFiji and VanuatuPost. The service has been supported by The Pacific Financial Inclusion Program, AusAid and GSM Association's Mobile Money for the Unbanked initiative. In 2006, Digicel expanded into the Pacific. Digicel's sister operation in the Pacific Islands region operates in Samoa and in Papua New Guinea running at 900 MHz GSM with GPRS & Edge data services and in PNG Digicel is now rolling out 3G UMTS/HSDA also data services, also via 900 MHz, Vanuatu, Tonga, Fiji, Nauru as well as an experimental license in the Solomon Islands and Tahiti. As one of the leading regional companies for ICT-related solutions, Digicel is a sponsor for this event.

Horizon State, Represented by Oren Alazraki, CEO Twitter: @HorizonState Horizon State is working on platforms and tools that finally bring methods of education and our democratic processes into the 21st century. Horizon State’s team is comprised of smart contract developers, successful entrepreneurs, IT consultancy executives, veteran technologists, foresight strategists, and more. Horizon State has built a secure community engagement and voting platform that delivers unprecedented trust through the integrity and post-unforgeable attributes of blockchain technology. Horizon State delivers collaborative decision-making tools wherein results can never be altered, and identities are protected. Leveraging the latest breakthroughs in cryptographic and distributed systems, Horizon State protects the record of results - be that electoral results or solicitation of sensitive opinions - with perfect security, stored across a tamper-proof decentralised database known as a blockchain. Not owned by any individual or institution, blockchain’s transparency and inherent resistance to tampering creates a distributed network of trust and integrity never seen before. The Horizon State community engagement platform enables constituencies – be they staff, citizens, or members – to participate in collaborative decision-making processes with greater autonomy, decentralisation and convenience. Paradigm shifting opportunities for voting and deliberation mean improvements in participation, and critically, the quality of outcomes on matters that affect them. Beyond operational efficiencies, our platform delivers significant cost savings. Traditional methods of voting can often cost taxpayers upwards of $7 per vote to facilitate - $25 in some cases. The Horizon State platform offers secure, cost effective voting decision-making systems for a range of issues and voting parameters.

Huawei Twitter: @Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is a Chinese multinational networking, telecommunications equipment, and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It is the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world, having overtaken Ericsson in 2012. In 2017, Huawei became 83rd of Fortune Global 500 in Fortune Magazine.

Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei. At the time of its establishment, Huawei focused on manufacturing phone switches, but has since expanded its business to include building telecommunications networks, providing operational and consulting services and equipment to enterprises inside and outside of China, and manufacturing communications devices for the consumer market. In 2010, Huawei joined the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, formed by the ITU and UNESCO to support broadband deployment to developing nations. In the same year, Huawei joined the Green Touch consortium, an industry group that aims to make communications networks 1000 times more energy efficient than they are today. Huawei is sponsoring the event.

Kacific, Represented by Jacques-Samuel Prolon, CCO Twitter: @kacific Kacific is a next-generation broadband satellite operator. Working through local partners, its satellites deliver fast internet bandwidth empowering public services, businesses and consumers in urban areas, rural villages and remote communities in territories with highly dispersed pockets of population. Its first satellite, Kacific-1 brings affordable broadband in the archipelago countries of the Pacific and South East Asia. With direct-to- the-building speeds of up to 100Mbps, this satellite will substantially improve the access to affordable broadband for all islanders, local businesses and collective connectivity systems. Kacific is addressing the endemic lack of high-speed and affordable broadband supply in the Pacific and South East Asia. Satellite service providers, telecom infrastructure providers, tourism industry leaders, local governments, regional aid programs and local companies all have much to gain from the digital ecosystem brought by Kacific’s enabled broadband connectivity. Kacific is member of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) and an affiliate member of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT).

SkyEye, Represented by Mr. Sam Saili, CEO Twitter: @SkyEye_Samoa

SkyEye Pacific is a Pacific based and Samoan, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu registered Information Technology Company. SkyEye is a geospatial technology company operating in Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and expanding. Geospatial technology uses location based systems to solve problems involving GPS, aerial surveying, remote sensing, geographical information systems and a few more facets that’s involved in geospatial technology.It focuses on providing services that harness technology and customise for user friendly Geo-Spatial Technologies solutions to Pacific Island Countries. Established in December 2013, SkyEye Pacific is owned and operated entirely by Pacific Islanders. It is governed by a Board of eight (8) directors and managed by a Country Manager for each of the Countries with a team of 24 staff over 3 countries.

Start to Finish Service Tracker - UNDP REACH Project, Fiji Represented by Andrew Harrington, Programme Manager - Rule of Law, Access to Justice and Human Rights at UNDP Twitter: @UNDP_Pacific

The REACH Mobile Service Delivery Buses are custom designed and equipped in Fiji for effective service delivery. They cater for service delivery to all, including children, the elderly and people with disabilities, reaching out to rural and urban communities in Fiji to leave no one behind. Through the REACH Project (2015-2018), mobile service delivery is being conducted with the support of buses that function as ‘mobile offices’, travelling to remote areas and providing opportunities for communities to seek economic, social and legal services provided by the Ministry of Women, Children

and Poverty Alleviation, the Legal Aid Commission, and the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission. The Fiji Access to Justice Project (2016-2020) seeks to empower people to access legal rights and services through the key justice institutions – the Judicial Department, Legal Aid Commission and relevant NGOs – in conjunction with strengthening their capacity and resources to undertake improved service delivery. This project is also supporting the Legal Aid Commission with the development and establishment of a toll-free legal aid helpline for Fijian citizens.

The National University of Samoa, Represented by the NUS Aptus team

Established in 1984, the National University of Samoa (NUS) offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs across 6 faculties, 2 centres and one school. In the area of Computing and ICT, NUS offers Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor programs in Computing as well as a major in Applied Computing.(Graphic design and Hardware). NUS also hosts a CISCO academy within the Faculty of Science. ICT projects developed by Computing staff within the Computing department of the Faculty of Science include: • Aptus project • Raspberry pi project • COLTEL project • Vex Robotics project • ODL Innovation project The project showcased in this conference is the Aptus. The Aptus is a device developed by the Commonwealth of Learning. A combination of wifi server/router the Aptus allows students to access quality teaching resources wirelessly and offline. The Aptus has already been trialled within the Samoan school system and its deployment in primary schools has commenced.

Trimble Solutions / AllTerra Represented by Warren Eade, Pacific Islands Geospatial Manager Real-time Network Manager Twitter: @TrimbleCorpNews

Positioning-centric information is changing the way people, businesses and governments work throughout the world. By applying Trimble's advanced positioning solutions, productivity increases and safety improvements are being realized. Though best known for GPS technology, Trimble integrates a wide range of positioning technologies including GPS, laser, optical and inertial technologies with application software, wireless communications, and services to provide complete commercial solutions. Its integrated solutions allow customers to collect, manage and analyze complex information faster and easier, making them more productive, efficient and profitable. Trimble products are used in over 150 countries around the world. Employees in more than 35 countries, coupled with a highly capable network of dealers and distribution partners serve and support our customers. For over 38 years, Trimble has created unique positioning products that help customers grow their business. Our portfolio includes over 1,200 patents and serves as the basis for the broadest positioning offerings in the industry. Trimble augments its organic product development with strategic acquisitions to bring the latest positioning technologies to a wider market. Since its formation in 1985, AllTerra has been dedicated to providing innovative geospatial technology through a commitment to technological evolution and development. The AllTerra brand replaced the GeoSystems brand in July 2016. AllTerra is the global dealer brand for Trimble’s geospatial portfolio and symbolises a new brand with a fresh look and feel, and a renewed focus on Trimble geospatial products and services.

Regional Delegate Profiles

COOK ISLANDS, Bredina Drollet, Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime Minister Ms Drollet was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Office of the Prime Minister in March 2017. The Office of the Prime Minister supports the Prime Minister, and Cabinet, in achieving effective national governance of the Cook Islands through strategic policy advice and effective decision-making processes. Core responsibilities include Cabinet services, national policy and planning, climate change, oceans management, emergency management, renewable energy, outer islands development and information and communications technology. Prior to this appointment, Ms Drollet was the Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with responsibility for implementation of welfare assistance programs, development of social policies on children, youth, women, people with disabilities and elderly, regulation of employment relations including workers’ rights, employers’ obligations, workplace safety; and administration of consumer protection legislation; and price control. Ms Drollet is a career public servant with public financial management experience in the Cook Islands Ministry of Finance and Economic Management and the Australian Government’s Department of Finance and Deregulation in economic policy and budgetary advisory roles. Ms Drollet has a Master in Public Administration (Executive) from the Victoria University of Wellington and a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics and Commercial Law) from the University of Auckland.

TOKELAU Hon. Ulu-o-Tokelau, Aliki Faipule Afega Gaualofa, Minister for Transport, Minister for Energy Faipule Afega Gaualofa was elected Faipule for the first time in the 2015 by-election when the Fakaofo Faipule seat was vacant. He was inaugurated as the Ulu o Tokelau (titular head) for his first one-year term in February 2016. The Faipule was re-elected in the national elections of January 2017 for a term of 3 years (2017-2019). Faipule Gaualofa is one of the six members of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau established in November 2003. Faipule Gaualofa received his primary education at the Tialeniu Primary School, Fakaofo, Tokelau. He moved to New Zealand at a young age and attended the Kaikohe Intermediate School before he entered the Northland College. He pursued further studies at the Waikato Technical College before returning to Tokelau. He won a scholarship in 1986 to attend the Technical Teacher Training at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. While in New Zealand he worked as a Market Auctioneer, for the Auckland Council. He was employed as a Cargo Equipment Service provider for the Cesco Company. After a few years he returned to Tokelau and was recruited as a Teacher Aide at the Tialeniu Primary School. From 1994 to 2004 he was a Policy Adviser at the newly established Office of the Council of Faipule. During the Devolution he was transferred to Taupulega Office as a Senior Policy Adviser.

TONGA Mr. Andrew Toimoana, Director, Ministry of Information and Communications Andrew is one of the many talented and dynamic Directors that leads the digital evolution in The Kingdom of Tonga through the Ministry of MEIDECC. After 15 years of working in the private sectors, he decided to join the Government of Tonga workforce as Deputy Secretary and Director of Information and Technology in January of 2015. He was then charged with the leading role of building a state of the art digital platform for the Government as part of implementation of the E- Government project in Tonga. He played a major role in establishing of the Tonga National CERT which is currently under his Department. He has brought with him a vast experience to the Government in areas such as Cloud Strategies, ITIL Service Management model, Client Data Security, and Information Security Operation Centers. He is leading the designing of the Enterprise Architecture for the Government online services and information systems integrations that would transform the way Government provide services to the citizens of Tonga.

TUVALU Honourable Maatia Toafa, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Finance and Economic Development Maatia Toafa OBE is the Tuvaluan Minister of Finance and Economic Development, representing Nanumea who served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He first served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2006, from the resignation of his predecessor, Saufatu Sopoanga, until the defeat of his Cabinet in the 2006 general election. He was re-elected to parliament in the 2010 general election;and regained the premiership on 29 September 2010; however he lost the support of the parliament following a motion of confidence on 21 December of the same year. On 5th August 2013, Toafa became the Minister of Finance and Economic Development in the government of Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. He was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister following the Tuvaluan general election, 2015. Prior to entering domestic Tuvaluan politics, Toafa worked for the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva, Fiji

VANUATU John Jack, Deputy Chief Information Officer, Office of the Government CIO. John Jack is the Deputy Chief Information Officer in the Office of the Government CIO. In this capacity, Jack leads the ICT business solution and e-Government operations within the Vanuatu Government. John Jack has extensive experience in the ICT field, spanning hardware, network, and software development both private and public sectors and has represented Vanuatu in many regional and international forums in e-Government solutions, ICT Development Policies, and Cyber Security. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of the South Pacific in Computer Science and Master’s Degree in Information Technology Systems from the University of Canberra, Australia.