The INIT was invited to participate in the Regional Consultation on Technology and Innovation Policies by UNESCAP. The event was conducted on the sidelines of the 2nd Session of the Committee on ICT and STI to which INIT was also invited.

The aim was to facilitate the UNESCAP’s new Inclusive Technology and Innovation Policies program that will support governments across the region to design and implement inclusive innovation policies by conducting policy research, building policy making capacities and supporting knowledge exchange.

A total of 42 participants, including government officials of 18 member states, academics, the regional civil society organizations and practitioners from international organizations were part of the consultation. The Regional Consultation on Inclusive Technology and Innovation Policy mainly focused on the following:

· Sharing experiences and lessons learnt regarding inclusive innovation policy;

· Identifying emerging challenges and opportunities to encourage, enable and emulate more inclusive innovation; and

· dentifying inclusive innovation policy issues that require further exploration.

The outcomes of the regional consultation were presented at the 2nd session of the Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation. The presentation given by INIT at the regional consultation focused on the use of technology by the disabled.