The Federated Sates of Micronesia released the first National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Telecommunications Policy in September 2012.
The Sasakawa Pacific Island Nations Fund made grant to the University of Hawaii from 2006 to 2008, to support telecommunication policy reform in Micronesian countries.
In 2008, the direction of fund was changed from "Telecommunication" to "Maritime". Our grant was finished, however with the decision of the President Mori, FSM has continued to develop their policy reform.
Document is open for public however, it has 20 megabits. Too heavy to upload this blog. So if you are interested in to read, please leave message at comment. Your comment will not show up on the blog until I will approve.
ICT and Telecommunication is key for small islands nations, especially for the islands nations which located vast of Pacific Ocean. Yet quite a few island nations launched National Telecommunication Policy. I would like to praise President Mori's initiative.
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ICT Policy Reform and Sustainability in the Micronesian Region
Grant recipient : University of Hawaii
Total Grant: 16,682,861yen
FY2006 5,651,800yen
Project contents
Intended to develop human resources in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia, this project provides support for distance education and training programs for ICT policy makers offered by the University of Hawaii. Also under the project, experts from Japan and the US provide support for the implementation of national ICT policies (including the establishment of telecommunications committees, drafting of legislation, legal system development, budget planning, and organizational restructuring planning).
A training plan was formulated this fiscal year, and the distance education and training program was launched in August 2006, for seven people involved in administering ICT policies, including the Director of the Ministry of Transportation and Communication for the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Director of Communications for the Ministry of Transportation, Communication and Infrastructure of the Federated States of Micronesia. The training program consisted of twice-weekly graduate-level lectures that exposed participants to everything from basic knowledge to practical applications of the topics covered, including history, policies, technologies, and management methods relating to ICT systems. Two information and communications experts from Japan and the US were sent to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau to provide consulting services on ICT policies. To improve the ICT policies in the region, policy consultation workshops were also conducted using a video conferencing system.
FY2007 5,471,120yen
Project contents
The project promotes reforms in the information and communications technology policies of the Marshall Islands and Micronesia by dispatching experts to these countries and provides training to local government officials through distance learning.
In fiscal 2007, staff of the University of Hawaii visited the Marshall Islands and Micronesia, where he provided advice on issues and measures regarding submarine fiber-optic cable projects. Issues addressed included competition policies for monopoly prevention, the establishment of regulatory authorities, the establishment of public bodies on optical communication, and the utilization of official development assistance.
Opportunities to enroll in a distance education and training program offered by the University of Hawaii using satellite communication were also provided to seven senior ICT administrators in Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Marshall Islands, and Palau, including a Micronesian senator and the director of the Ministry of Transportation and Communication of the Marshall Islands.
The program covered advanced information and communication technologies, ICT policies and regulations, administrative issues, local and international digital divides, and regulations in the United States and other countries. Officially accredited by the University of Hawaii, the program consisted of twice-weekly graduate-level lectures.
FY2008 5,559,941yen
Project contents
The objective of this project is to provide remote educational training to local information and communication technology (ICT) policy managers in an effort to foster human resources in the ICT field in the Micronesian region. At the same time, Japanese and American ICT experts are dispatched to the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia to support the reform of national policy in this area. In the final year of the project, staff of the University of Hawaii helped to establish the Micronesian Chief Executives’ Summit (MCES) Telecommunications Committee to arrange a regional conference regarding ICT, while also providing advice on the establishment of national ICT policy in the Marshall Islands.
The project provided seven trainees from government institutions, universities and telecommunications-related companies in Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa and the Marshall Islands with satellite-based distance education programs. These programs covered cutting-edge ICT, policy and regulations, along with operational issues as a part of a telecommunications resource management program at a level equivalent to that offered in postgraduate courses at the University of Hawaii. For distance educational training, the University of Hawaii and the University of Guam discussed the possibility of joint tuition options for the future as well as methods of transmitting information regarding training details.
Over the three years of the project, distance education was provided to 21 persons from governmental, corporate and educational organizations involved in the Pacific Island countries’ ICT policy, enhancing the participants’ knowledge of policymaking and management. Some participants were government officials including senators and senior officers of transportation and telecommunications-related ministries and agencies. In the Marshall Islands, participants made suggestions on their country’s ICT policy after finishing the program, proving that the project had succeeded in fostering personnel who can play a central role in ICT policymaking in each country. Furthermore, the launch of the MCES Communication Committee allowed participant countries, such as the Marshall Islands, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, to exchange information regarding ICT policy in the Micronesian region as well as to establish a system for ongoing discussion about ICT-based joint projects.
