Dear Colleagues, Transforming governments is not easy. While technology alone cannot transform governments, governments today cannot transform without technology. In the fast paced world of technology, new approaches constantly extend the boundaries of what is possible. The pace of change is evidenced by the fact that terms like SOA, WOA, community sourcing, cloud computing, software-as-a-service, and Web 2.0 that seem almost common place today, were not in the lexicon only a few years ago. It would be good to step back and take a dispassionate view of where the practice of government is heading. Some interesting questions, in a 5-10 years time perspective include: * What is the future of government? Is technology facilitating a movement towards minimalist government? Joined-up, seamless government: is it feasible? * What is likely to be the next frontier in moving from e-government to i-government to u-government*? * How will government services be delivered in the future? What technologies are likely to be most relevant? * What should governments do to leverage existing and emerging technologies to achieve transformation? * What are the major challenges in moving towards Government 2.0 and beyond? It is from this background that African eDevelopment Resource Centre in conjunction with the Kenya ICT Board and the eDevelopment Thematic Group of the World Bank invite you to participate in the Global Dialogue on the Future of e-Government via videoconference at the World Bank Office Nairobi on 29 July 2008 3.30 pm - 6.30pm local time. Participation is free but one needs to register. Should you be interested in participating, please send your request to wangechi@africanedevelopment.org by mid-day 28th July 2008. Kindest regards Harry African eDevelopment Resource Centre eDevelopment House 604 Limuru Road, Old Muthaiga PO Box 49475 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Cel +254 725 650044 Land +254 20 3741646/7 <http://www.africanedevelopment.org> www.africanedevelopment.org July/August 2008 Training Opportunities Records Management 28-30 July IT Security 6-8 August GIS 20-22 August VSAT Eng 27-29 August (Dar es Salaam) Space is limited Book Now! P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail