The twelfth session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development will be held in Geneva from 25 to 29 May 2009.

The Commission will review the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) at the regional and international levels.

The Commission will also address the following topics:

• Development-oriented policies for a socio-economically inclusive information society, including policies relating to access, infrastructure and an enabling environment.
• Science, technology and engineering for innovation and capacity-building in education and research.

Participants will include representatives of Governments, civil society, the private sector and international organizations.

The session will open at 10 a.m. on Monday, 25 May, in Room XIX of the Palais des Nations. The first day will consist of an opening ceremony and a ministerial high-level segment.

The second day will consist of two multi-stakeholder panels on mobile telephony and on e-health. The panel on mobile telephony will be organized in close collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union and the Global Alliance of ICT for Development (GAID), and the panel on e-health will be organized jointly with the World Health Organization and GAID. Participants will be representatives of business entities, civil society, Governments, international and regional organizations and WSIS Action Line facilitators.

The text of the related note verbale dispatched from New York by the Secretary-General of the United Nations is attached for information.

A list of the States members of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development is also attached. Travel expenses (but not per diem) are paid by UNCTAD for one representative of each member of the Commission. International organizations and States members of UNCTAD that are not members of the Commission may attend the session as observers on the understanding that the cost of their attendance will be borne by their authorities. Please inform the secretariat before 30 April 2009 of the composition of your delegation and the name of the focal point for the session, so that the necessary arrangements for their participation can be made.

Any questions about the preparations for the twelfth session of the Commission should be addressed to Mr. Mongi Hamdi: tel.: +41 (0)22 917 5069; fax: +41 (0)22 917 0052; e-mail: mongi.hamdi@unctad.org.

(signed)

Supachai Panitchpakdi
Secretary-General of UNCTAD
14 April 2009

States members of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development