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Pacific Ministers should meet to discuss digital content issues says new Pacific IFAP Committee

26-05-2006 (Wellington)
Pacific Ministers should meet to discuss digital content issues says new Pacific IFAP Committee
Joan Yee representing the USP Library at the Inaugural Meeting of the Pacific IFAP Committee
The inaugural meeting of the IFAP Pacific Regional Committee which was held on 2 May 2006 in Wellington, New Zealand has called on Information and Communications Ministers from Pacific Islands’ countries to meet to discuss digital content issues.
At the Meeting of Pacific ICT Ministers in March 2006, the Ministers focused largely on the need to improve communications infrastructure in Pacific Island Countries. However, it is equally important that similar efforts be invested in developing the information skills of Pacific Islands’ communities as well as in the creation and preservation of digital content, said Laurence Zwimpfer, Chairperson of the IFAP Committee.

The Pacific IFAP Committee meeting was hosted by the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO. As efforts to establish national committees in Pacific Island countries proved challenging, given the limited resources of these countries, the UNESCO Office for the Pacific States in Apia approached the New Zealand National IFAP Committee to expand its terms of reference to encompass the Pacific sub-region.

Participants included representatives from New Zealand government and civil society agencies. The Apia office for UNESCO funded the participation of Sin Joan Yee, University Librarian at the University of the South Pacific (USP).

It was noted that the member countries of USP could be regarded a sub-region within the IFAP Pacific region. Joan also attended the meetings of the New Zealand Communication & Information Sub-Commission and Joint CI and Culture Sub-Commissions earlier that day.

The meeting endorsed the proposal to expand the scope of the NZ IFAP Committee to include all 17 UNESCO Pacific member states. Key information professionals in Pacific Island countries will be involved either in person or by teleconference in future meetings.

The Australian National Commission for UNESCO will also be approached to join this group at least until such time that they might wish to establish a National Committee. It was also agreed to link up with other groups working in the communications and information sectors in the Pacific including the University of the South Pacific (USP); International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council of Archives (PARBICA) and the Pacific Association of Libraries (PIALA)

The meeting discussed and agreed to adopt the three strategic priorities identified by IFAP, namely Information Preservation, Information Literacy; and Information Ethics. These priorities would help to guide the development of a workplan for the Committee.

The meeting focused on “Information Preservation in the Pacific” and endorsed a proposal to establish a Pacific Memory of the World register. A project to register the “founding documents” (e.g. treaties, instruments of Independence, etc.) of Pacific Island nations was discussed and also agreed to.

Another candidate for registration is the Pacific missionary archives. PARBICA and the National Library of New Zealand agreed to assist in carrying out the project.

The meeting also approved proposals for a WSIS Summit Awards Road Show and a series of virtual seminars across the Pacific region aimed at increasing the understanding and practice of information ethics (InfoEthics) among academics, journalists, publishers, government officials, information professionals, etc. Budgets for all these initiatives now need to be prepared and the necessary funding secured.

The meeting noted the Wellington Declaration and Summary Outcomes of the Pacific Islands’ Information and Communications Technologies Ministerial Meeting held on 30 March 2006.

Whilst commending the promulgation of The Pacific Plan and The Digital Strategy, the meeting noted that “information content” issues were noticeably absent or missing. The Ministers’ meeting appeared to focus mainly on “infrastructure” issues, and while there is no denying the urgent need to improve access to digital technologies and the Internet, parallel consideration must be given to capability and content issues.

It was suggested that these areas could become the focus of a future meeting of Pacific Island Ministers.

The meeting resolved to request the Pacific Forum Secretariat to convene such a Ministerial Meeting on “Information Content” issues; this could possibly be held when the Communications Ministers reconvene during the first quarter of 2007.

Below a photo representing Penny Carnaby (National Librarian of NZ), Judith Tizard (Minister Responsible for the National Library), and Joan Yee (University of the South Pacific Library) at the launch of the Public Libraries Strategic Framework 2006-2016 in the Grand Hall of the Parliament Buildings, 1 May 2006.
Pacific Ministers should meet to discuss digital content issues says new Pacific IFAP Committee
Related themes/countries

      · New Zealand
      · IFAP National/Regional Committees
      · IFAP: News Archives 2006
      · Asia and the Pacific: News Archive 2006
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