At 2 PM on December 7 (Tuesday), KISDI (President Kwon Ho-yeol) hosted the '2021 ICT ODA Performance Sharing Workshop' online through the KISDI YouTube channel.

The workshop was organized by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), National Information Society Agency (NIA), Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA), and Educational Broadcasting System (EBS), and attended by the representatives of organizations that are running Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects in the ICT sector, ODA experts from related government organizations, and international cooperation managers from private companies. The event agenda focused on sharing the achievements of ICT ODA projects (Ministry of Science and ICT sponsored projects in 2021) and discussing how such projects should be carried out amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

Through ICT ODA project execution organizations such as KISDI, NIPA, KISA, NIA, RAPA and EBS, the Ministry of Science and ICT runs programs on the construction of ICT ODA management systems, technology policy cooperation, invitational training, development bank cooperation, the operation of channels for collaborating with overseas ICT policy decision-makers, the installation and operation of K-Lab, improvement of the broadcasting environment, the construction and operation of educational broadcasting, and the construction of an information center.

In session 1, the ICT ODA project execution organizations each gave presentations on the 2021 performance results of their projects. The presentations were divided into development consulting, training, and other areas and projects. Meanwhile, session 2 consisted of panel discussions in which the participants explored the directions for undertaking ICT ODA projects in this era of great transformations.

As part of the government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) efforts, these projects are contributing to eliminating the global digital gap by sharing the wealth of experience and knowledge that South Korea has accumulated in developing its ICT industry with partner countries. Such projects are also helping domestic companies to establish a beachhead in overseas markets by creating a friendly policy environment and networks in the partner countries.

Since 2003, KISDI has undertaken 93 projects in 28 countries in total. During the workshop, an overview of technology policy cooperation projects will be presented, together with the key project performance results in 2021, followed by an announcement of the plans for 2022. Also, during the panel discussions, the participants will talk about the future directions for ICT ODA projects in this new era of great transformations.