Created in 2003, this annual meeting of the web community of United Nations professionals aims to maximize the effectiveness and impact of Internet resources within the UN System. The community also includes representatives of NGOs and of countries with an interest in using new communication and information technologies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, such as development and human rights protection.

The community members regularly share information and experiences on the web and meet annually to exchange the best practices and discuss the key issues involved in the process.
Web4Dev 2010 will target UN agencies and development partners (enterprises, governments and NGOs) and highlight two main themes: Governance and Transparency and Opportunities and Challenges Posed by Internet 2.0 (social networks, blogs, Twitter and others).

The results of this conference may substantially contribute to the discussion on ways to ensure coherence and coordination among UN entities and agencies. Such challenges are shared by national governments and their wide-range of web initiatives from different administrative bodies.

Among the confirmed speakers are the representatives of the headquarters of UN agencies, Google, TV Globo, the Wikimedia Group, Save the Children NGO and of the Brazilian Government. Representatives from the UN Communications Group, Greenpeace and the World Bank are also attending the Conference.

This will be the first time that the meeting takes place in Latin America. As a complement to the meeting’s agenda, the members of the community may organize parallel workshops to discuss specific issues. A detailed agenda of the event is available at the community website, which has around 200 participants from various parts of the world.

On 24 February, UNESCO will host an additional workshop with the United Nations Communications Group. The registration for the Web4Dev Conference can be made through the website until 5 February.