From March 12-16th, 2012, NIA organized and hosted a delegation of 21 government officials from 12 different developing countries in the first e-Government Leadership Program of 2012.



The delegates who came from Bangladesh, Mongolia, Bhutan, Fiji, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Panama, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Libya and a representative from the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). During their 6-day stay in Korea, they heard lectures on Korea' s e-government policy and coordination along with best practices and Korea' s global e-government cooperation.



The delegation also took part in on-site visits as they went down to Daejeon and visited one of the Information Villages (INVIL), National Computing & Information Agency (Government Integrated Data Center) and the Korea Minting & Security Printing Corporation.



The delegates were very interested in the onsite visits to the various Korean government organizations and took a particular interest in INVIL as it is something they could relate to and possibly bring back some knowledge in order to start a similar project or initiative in their own respective countries.



Towards the program end, they also had the opportunity to share their own countries' e-government status report. This included a country overview and an overview of the ICT sector as well as the roles of ICT-related organizations and the regulatory and administrative institutions in charge. They also discussed country-specific ICT policies, strategies, challenges and applicable cooperation areas that Korea and their country might able to focus on in the future.



At the end of the program, all the delegates received certificates of completion and they were thankful for the support and opportunity to take part in the program. They were also glad to take back some important lessons home as well as the chance to make good contacts with Korean organizations and personnel for possible future cooperation.