1.1 Progress of Disadvantaged Youth Projects
A. [US and Vietnam] “ICT4D and Disadvantaged Populations in Vietnam’s Northern Mountainous Area” implemented by Thainguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry and Cornell University
The contract and the 1st installment (30%) were made in September, and the project is in progress. The Secretariat visited Thainguyen University during the APEC SCE I in March in Vietnam. A consultation meeting was held to receive reports on the project’s recent and future activities during the Foundation’s visit. Following the visit, the project set its activity plans in detail after a meeting with the stakeholders of the project, and submitted it to the Secretariat.

B. [Peru] “Developing Capabilities to Use ICT in the Improvement of Educational Access and Quality for Young People in Disadvantaged Zones of Peru” implemented by Huascaran Program of Peruvian Ministry of Education
Specific activity plans are being discussed about the purchase of IT equipment, which is the first step of the project’s implementation, and therefore the contract is delayed. An unofficial meeting with a Peruvian Senior Official to discuss detailed activity plans was held when the APEC SCE I and HRD WG Meetings were held in March and May respectively.

C. [Philippines] “The Establishment of eSkwela Centers for Disadvantaged Youth in Urban Areas” implemented by Human Capital Development Group of Commission on Information and Communications Technology and Sandiwaan Center for Learning (SCL)
The contract and the 1st installment (65%) were made in August, and the project is in progress. A meeting between Commissioner Lallana, the Project Manager, and Dr. Sang-yirl Nam, the Executive Director, was held to discuss detailed plans for purchasing IT equipment in Seoul, Korea, during Commissioner Lallana’s visit to Seoul in June. Also, Dr. Sang-yirl Nam and Ms. Ye-Jun Chang visited the Commission on Information and Communications Technology in Manila on August 22 and discussed recent progress as well as future plans with staff involved in the project implementation and with government officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

D. [Korea and Canada] “Enhancing the ICT capacity of disadvantaged youth affected by social and economic factors such as low income, geographical isolation, and disability using APEC network of certified small business counselors” implemented by Soongsil University and Acadia Centre for Small Business & Entrepreneurship
The contract and the 1st installment (30%) were made in April, and the project is in progress. A training program for disadvantaged youth in the Philippines was held in Manila on August 22 to teach them how to use Microsoft programs such as MS Explorer, MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, MS Access, etc. Dr. Sang-yirl Nam and Ms. Ye-Jun Chang visited Manila to observe the training.

E. [Russia] “Creation of digital educational resources and network access to knowledge for young people living in the pacific ocean zone of the Russian far East” implemented by Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service Project
The contract and approval of the 1st installment (30%) were made in April, and the project is in progress. Dr. Robert Gard, the Governor and Dr. Sang-yirl Nam visited Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service to participate in the IT conference held on September 18-22.

F. [Korea] “APEC Cyber Vocational Education System on Environmental Technology” implemented by Environmental Management Corporation (EMC) and Mediopia Technology Co., Ltd. Project
The EMC asked for the Foundation’s approval to transfer the host organization from EMC to the Korea Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (KIEST) in August. The contract with KIEST and approval of the 1st installment (30%) were made in October, and the project is in progress.

1.2 Progress of ICT Capacity Building of SMEs Projects
A. Australian project and Canadian project
Final reports of the Australian project(“Human Capacity Building Project for Small and Micro Environmental Business” implemented by APEC Virtual Center for Environmental Technology Exchange (APEC-VC) Australia Inc.) and the Canadian project(“To create and deliver relevant programming intended to enhance the use of ICTs by new and existing small and micro businesses operating in the APEC region” implemented by The Acadia Centre for Small Business & Entrepreneurship in association with The Korea Management and Technology consulting Association on behalf of APEC Network of Small Business Counsellors) were submitted. Both projects were finalized successfully, and the final installment was made after project evaluation.

B. Mexican project
Mid-term report of the Mexican project(“Micro-business and Micro-banking information web site” implemented by University of Colima) was submitted. The Foundation is in the process of reviewing the mid-term report.

2. Participation in the APEC Activities

2.1 SOM Steering Committee on ECOTECH (SCE)
- SCE 1: February 2006(Hanoi, Vietnam)
- SCE 3: September 2005 (Da Nang, Vietnam)
AEF submitted its progress report and made a presentation at the SCE meetings on the recent progress. At the SCE I meeting held in February, an unofficial consultation meeting was held with the SOM Chair, SCE Chair, SCE government officials of the AEF Grantee economies, and Program Directors related to the SCE, and the HRD WG of the APEC Secretariat participated. At this consultation, the SOM Chair showed appreciation for the Foundation’s support to Vietnam’s Thainguyen University project. The Chair also expressed strong support for the Foundation, as the field that the Foundation covers is related to the 2006 APEC Vietnam agenda.

2.2 Working Group Meetings: HRD & SME
AEF participated in the 28th APEC HRD Working Group Meeting held in Hochimin City, Vietnam in May and made a presentation on the Foundation’s recent progress at the Education Network(EdNet) Meeting. EdNet appreciated the Foundation for its grant making and the Foundation requested positive cooperation and participation from them. While participating in the HRD WG Meeting and EdNet Meeting, a consultation meeting with the government officials in charge of EdNet from the AEF Grantee economies was made, and suggestions about the future activities and cooperation of the Foundation were discussed.

AEF also submitted its progress report on recent development of SME projects to the 23rd APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group Meeting held from September 26-27 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

3. Public Outreach

3.1 Publishing brochures
500 copies of brochures introducing the Foundation were published in February. Brochures were distributed when the relevant APEC Meetings were held.

3.2 Update of the website
The Foundation’s website was restructured and updated with new contents and photos in November.