INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON Advancing public-private partnerships for e-business standards
18-19 September 2008
World Meteorological Organization
Geneva (Switzerland)
ISO, IEC, ITU-T, OASIS, UN/ECE-UN/CEFACT and UPU, supported by the Management Group of the MoU on e-business, are organizing a landmark conference on the key role of e-business standards, to be held on 18-19 September 2008 at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, Switzerland.
The benefits of global standards are a well-established theme, facilitated by a large international stakeholder community. In the context of e-business (i.e. the use of technology to support business processes), standardization efforts promote significant opportunities for enhanced efficiency and good practices in the public interest as well as fostering important private sector developments.
The benefits of e-business to industry, government and consumers are strengthened in a context of sound governmental policies, clear laws and regulations, solid legal agreements and implementable technical standards – a unique challenge, given the intrinsically global scope of e-business.
The public-private partnerships that advance the standards, technical specifications and recommendations associated with e-business are motivated by many specific goals both within and across borders. Key priority areas include: national competitiveness, effectiveness in regulatory controls, reducing trade barriers, fostering market entry by small and medium enterprises and facilitating growth in developing and transition economies. Recent developments also demonstrate an opening up of new opportunities for accelerating growth in the capabilities and benefits of services that impact the public and private sectors as well as their multifaceted interactions.
This two-day conference aims to foster a better understanding of public-private partnerships through which stakeholders collaborate to develop e-business standards, focusing attention on:
- Strengths and opportunities for enhancing the voluntary consensus model of standards development and implementation,
- The importance of open, interoperable standards that serve the needs of both public and private sector,
- Steps forward that might be taken to significantly enhance recent achievements and work in progress as well as to address emerging new requirements,
- How stakeholders can most effectively identify emerging needs for e-business standards, share in their development and collectively implement the results to deliver the expected benefits.
The conference has been designed as invitation only with a view to ensure the most productive interaction among highly qualified individuals with specific interests and decision-making responsibilities in the field.