No Information Society Without Freedom of Expression
19-11-2002 ()
Discussions on the Information Society that will take place during the first meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva, Switzerland, December 2003) must include the theme "Freedom of expression". This is the main conclusion reached by the participants of the international symposium “Freedom of expression in the Information Society” that was organized last week by the French National Commission for UNESCO and the UNESCO Secretariat.
“The very rich debates that took place during these two days have shown the crucial importance of the issue of freedom of expression in the information society. They have also underlined how this principle was essential to creating a just and fair Information society, respectful of cultural diversity and of the pluralism of ideas” said Philippe Quéau, Director of UNESCO’s Information Society Division, in his final statement.
The purpose of the meeting is to provide experts, professionnals, representatives of non-governmental organisations and governmental and regulatory agencies from all regions of the world with an opportunity to identify all the issues posed by freedom of expression on a global basis and, further to open debates, to define key elements for the definition of basic principles and proposals for concrete actions which are the expected output of WSIS.
The symposium with some 150 participants including early twenty speakers coming from all over the world speaking to all questions related to freedom of expression: the technical and political obstacles, the legal issues or even the role of the different actors and their action.
All interventions can be consulted on the website of the colloquium. The final report will soon be available online.
The purpose of the meeting is to provide experts, professionnals, representatives of non-governmental organisations and governmental and regulatory agencies from all regions of the world with an opportunity to identify all the issues posed by freedom of expression on a global basis and, further to open debates, to define key elements for the definition of basic principles and proposals for concrete actions which are the expected output of WSIS.
The symposium with some 150 participants including early twenty speakers coming from all over the world speaking to all questions related to freedom of expression: the technical and political obstacles, the legal issues or even the role of the different actors and their action.
All interventions can be consulted on the website of the colloquium. The final report will soon be available online.
Related themes/countries
· News Archives 2002
· Freedom of Expression: News Archives 2002
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