It gives me great pleasure to welcome you, distinguished participants, to this International Conference and Exhibition on Knowledge Parks.

Building on the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (Geneva, 2003 and Tunis, 2005), UNESCO strives to build inclusive knowledge societies through harnessing the potential of communication and information for development. Regional and global partnerships around knowledge and innovation parks are powerful tools for UNESCO to operationalize its vision of knowledge societies.

We have designed this event around the three themes corresponding to (1) ICT Creativity and Entrepreneurship, (2) Digital Knowledge Management and (3) ICT for Development, inviting a wide spectrum of experts from around the world.

I invite you to engage in the interactive plenary discussions, to visit side events, to explore the various exhibitions and, most of all, to cultivate partnerships for development.

I am grateful to every one of you for contributing to the success of this event and I hope that you find this conference fruitful and inspiring.


Abdul Waheed Khan