e-governance

When I began working with journalists, editors and civil society leaders- and the public they serve- in countries where media freedom is not a given, one of the first things I noticed was the low expectations that government should be accountable to its citizens. As a taxpayer and voter in the United States, I have a very vivid perception that I own a share of what government does and that I have a right to know in almost all cases how it goes about it. This is more often not the case in many of the countries in which we work where free elections, strong independent media, and basic individual rights are lacking.

Building on the momentum from the first day of IREX and IWPR's “Emerging Technologies, Emerging Democracies” conference in Erbil, Dr. Dr Adil Matloob, Advisor to Minister of Science and Technology, announced the details of Iraq's groundbreaking e-governance plan, saying that Iraq needs to address critical areas "to bring to light the transformational impact of information, communication and technology tools."