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<p align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;font-weight:bold'>Commissioner
Lallana to Lead UNDPs Project to Promote Policies for Open Computing Standards
in Asia-Pacific Countries </span></font></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>Monday,
12 February 2007 <font color=blue><span style='color:blue'>.</span></font> Dr.
Emmanuel C. Lallana, former Commissioner of the Philippines Commission on
Information and Communications Technology joined UNDP Asia-Pacific Development
Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP) as Project Adviser of the Government
Interoperability Frameworks (GIFs) Project. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>The
GIFs Project is a joint initiative of UNDP-APDIP, IBM, Oracle and the
International Open Source Network. It aims to help Asia-Pacific countries share
and create strategies, blueprints and policies for adopting the right blend of
open standards and technology services. The goal will be for more countries to
develop universally compatible applications and networks to make internal and
external government services and transactions more automatic, affordable,
efficient and service-oriented. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>According
to Dr. Lallana; <i><span style='font-style:italic'>"The GIF Project meets
a growing global interest in interoperability using open standards, recently
demonstrated by the submission by 20 government's National Bodies to the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) expressing concerns on a
standard". </span></i>As Project Adviser, Dr. Lallana, in coordination
with UNDP-APDIPs Programme Coordinator, will manage the overall research work
and ensure the timely implementation of the project's activities. Specifically,
he will be responsible for leading the review of existing GIFs, the convening
of a study group on GIFs, and the writing and publication of a step-by-step
guide on GIF formulation and policy recommendations for countries interested in
developing their own GIFs. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>Dr.
Lallana has extensive government and research experience. At the Commission on
Information and Communications Technology (CICT) – the apex ICT body of
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Philippines</st1:country-region></st1:place>
government, he led the Human Capital Development Group and served as the
Chairman of the CICT Working Group on International Affairs from September 2004
to June 2006. Dr. Lallana is also widely published. He wrote the chapter on the
"<st1:country-region w:st="on">Philippines</st1:country-region>" and
co-wrote the chapter "Social, Political and Cultural Aspects of ICT"
in the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Digital Review of the <st1:place
w:st="on">Asia</st1:place> Pacific 2005/2006 </span></i>(in <a
href="http://www.digital-review.org/" target="_blank"
title="http://www.digital-review.org/">http://www.digital-review.org</a>).
Other recent publications include: <i><span style='font-style:italic'>An
Overview of ICT Policies and e-Strategies of Select Asian Economies</span></i>
(UNDP-APDIP and Elsevier, 2004); <i><span style='font-style:italic'>SMS in Business
and Government (</span></i>DOST/ICT4D.ph, 2004)<i><span style='font-style:italic'>;</span></i>
<i><span style='font-style:italic'>State of e-Government in the Philippines
2003-2004 </span></i>(Congressional Oversight Committee on eCommerce, 2004)<i><span
style='font-style:italic'>; </span></i>and </span></font><i><font size=2
face=Verdana><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
font-style:italic'>m-Government: Mobile/Wireless Applications in Government</span></font></i><font
size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'> (in <u><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><a
href="http://www.egov4dev.org.topic4.htm/" target="_blank"
title="http://www.egov4dev.org.topic4.htm/">http://www.egov4dev.org.topic4.htm</a></span></font>)</u>.
He was the Series Editor of <i><span style='font-style:italic'>e-Primers for
the Information Economy, Society and Polity, vols. 1-7 </span></i>(online
versions at: <u><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><a
href="http://www.apdip.net/elibrary#iesp" target="_blank"
title="http://www.apdip.net/elibrary#iesp">http://www.apdip.net/elibrary#iesp</a></span></font></u>),
which was jointly published by UNDP-APDIP and the e-ASEAN Task Force. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>For
more information on the GIFs Project, please visit <a
href="http://www.apdip.net/projects/gif" target="_blank"
title="http://www.apdip.net/projects/gif"><span
title="http://www.apdip.net/projects/gif"><span
title="http://www.apdip.net/projects/gif">http://www.apdip.net/projects/gif</span></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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