"The awards are given by the UN`s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) during the WSIS 2018 Forum," the Indonesian permanent representative noted in a written statement received by Antara in Jakarta.
The awards ceremony is being held at the ITU Headquarter in Geneva on Mar 19-23. On Mar 20, ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhaoi had presented the awards to Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Hasan Kleib.
The ceremony was attended by some high-ranking officials and representatives of world bodies, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO).
During the ceremony, some delegations of the Information and Communication Ministry, Foreign Affairs Ministry, South Halmahera district government, Pemalang district government, and other stakeholders were seen among the invitees.
The ambassador, who is also serving as the permanent representative to the WTO and other international bodies in Geneva, expressed hope that the awards would boost the development of information technology in Indonesia.
"In 2017, Indonesia had received four awards, and this year, we won 12 of them. This is incredible that our innovation in information and communication technology has been highly lauded by the UN," Kleib remarked.
As a forum for sharing updates and innovation on information and communication technology, the WSIS has regularly awarded initiatives in 18 categories.
Before receiving the awards, these initiatives will be carefully reviewed by experts from around the world.
For the "Government Portal for Viralable Public Policy Communication" category, the award was presented to the "Indonesiabaik.id" website.
The other awards are from the categories of E-Health, E-Employment, E-Agriculture, Capacity Building, Access to Information & Knowledge, Information & Communication Infrastructure, as well as the Role of Government and All Stakeholders in the Promotion of ICTs for Development.
In the past years, the UN had awarded the WSIS prize to all its members from around the world in a bid to support the acceleration programs to realize the Sustainable Development Goals.
Reported by Yuni Arisandy
(Uu. KR-GNT/INE)
EDITED BY INE/a014
(UU.KR-GNT/A/KR-BSR/A014)
Reporter: Genta Tenri Mawangi
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
