I just got word that the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) is having their ninth session from May 15-19 in Geneva. The unfortunately acronymed CSTD is a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council in 1992 to provide
high-level advice on relevant issues through analysis and appropriate policy recommendations or options in order to enable those organs to guide the future work of the United Nations, develop common policies and agree on appropriate actions.
I.e. a thinktank on science and technology issues that pertain to the work of the UN. The Commission is composed of 33 experts appointed by 33 member states.
This will be the first meeting of the CSTD after the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis last November. One important recommendation of the WSIS was that the CSTD be employed to oversee followup of the WSIS agenda. Specifically, the text says:
105. We request that ECOSOC oversees the system- wide follow-up of the Geneva and Tunis outcomes of WSIS. To this end, we request that ECOSOC, at its substantive session of 2006, reviews the mandate, agenda and composition of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), including considering the strengthening of the Commission, taking into account the multi-stakeholder approach.
It’s unclear on if the May session of the CSTD will discuss how it might convert itself into a more appropriate “multistakeholder” body to handle this. My guess is that the current 33 eggheads did not sign up for this.
More likely is that the July substantive session of the Economic and Social Council in Geneva will decide on the future of the CSTD. First item on the agenda should be changing the acronym.