20. July 2016

Shahid AKHTAR has worked in international development for over 40 years, focusing on the significance of policy and technology enabling environments for national and regional socio-economic development.

He has recently worked with the United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (UN-APCICT) in Seoul, Korea to create an Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders. Prior to that he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Digital Review of Asia Pacific. He has also served as the Chief Technical Adviser and Program Coordinator for UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Development Information Program (UNDP-APDIP) in Bangkok, Thailand, where he assisted Member States in formulating and implementing effective policies to harness the potential of ICTs for social, economic, political, and cultural development at the national level.

Before that he worked with an international NGO in Kathmandu, Nepal to support and conduct applied and problem-solving research on mountain habitats, including environmental conservation, poverty alleviation and food security. Prior to that he served in various capacities at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, both at its headquarters in Ottawa, Canada and in its offices in the Middle East (Beirut) and Southeast Asia (Singapore).

Mr. Akhtar serves on the Board of several organizations and he has published widely in numerous professional publications, as well as served on the advisory/editorial boards of several academic journals.