15-05-2008 (Kabul) Kabul Weekly goes online
Kabul Weekly is a publishing phenomenon: it is the most widely distributed newspaper in Afghanistan, both in the centre and in the provinces. It is now also available online: http://www.kw.af/.
15-05-2008 (Quito) World Press Freedom Day celebration ended in Quito
Within the framework of its worldwide programme of activities to commemorate World Press Freedom Day this year, UNESCO, in collaboration with the Social Communication Faculty (FACSO) of the Central University of Ecuador, convened a forum-conference on “Press Freedom: Access, participation and alternative and public service media”, which closed last week in Quito, Ecuador.
14-05-2008 (New York) UN Secretary-General calls for research to develop universally accessible technology
UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon calls for research to develop universally accessible technology in a message addressed on the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, to be observed on 17 May.
13-05-2008 (Bangkok) UN launches new training course to help Asian developing countries use ICT
About sixty experts from around 30 countries in the Asia-Pacific region are taking part in a new initiative aimed at equipping government officials with the knowledge and skills they need to fully utilize the potential of ICTs to achieve national development goals.
07-05-2008 (Paris) UNESCO's Open Training Platform endorsed as a GAID Flagship Partnership Initiative
The Steering Committee of the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID) has decided to grant UNESCO's Open Training Platform (OTP) the Flagship Partnership Initiative status.
06-05-2008 (New Delhi) UNESCO helps measure information literacy among residents of an Indian metropolitan city
The Department of Library and Information Science, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India, in association with UNESCO, completed a research study to measure information literacy competency and reading habits amongst the urban and semi-urban habitants in a metropolitan city in India.
06-05-2008 (New York) UNESCO’s New York Office commemorates World Press Freedom Day
UNESCO’s New York Office commemorated World Press Freedom Day with a keynote speech by Justice Albie Sachs, a chief architect of South Africa’s post-apartheid Constitution, on "Access to information and the empowerment of people."
06-05-2008 (Paris) More power to people through freedom of information
Some 150 media professionals from around the world adopted a declaration emphasizing the importance of freedom of expression and free access to information to participatory democracy at the close of a two-day conference entitled “Freedom of Expression, Access to Information and the Empowerment of People” in Maputo.
05-05-2008 (New Delhi) UNESCO helps complete study on equitable access to documentary heritage in South Asian countries
The National Mission for Manuscripts of India, in association with UNESCO, completed a research study to assist in the development of legal and policy framework and protocols for promoting equitable access to documentary heritage, relevant to India and other South Asian countries.
30-04-2008 (Paris) IPDC Bureau approves financing for 70 media development projects in 50 developing countries
The IPDC Bureau decided to support 70 new media development projects in 50 developing countries at its 52nd annual meeting, which was held at UNESCO Headquarters from 23 to 25 April 2008. A total of almost two million US dollars was allocated to the projects, which aim to help local media organizations expand opportunities for free, independent and pluralistic media in their respective countries and regions.
25-04-2008 (Kingston) Media Archives in the Caribbean Receive Boost through IPDC Support
Four media archives in Barbados and St Kitts and Nevis are now undergoing face-lifts with the implementation of digitisation and preservation projects supported by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). The projects involve the training of media professionals and workers and upgrading of equipment.
24-04-2008 (Kingston) UNESCO/IPDC and the Container Project create the first Mobile CMC in the Caribbean
The Mobile CMC called iSt. Lab, which is abbreviation for “High Street Laboratory”, is a mini high-tech mobile unit configured in a garbage disposal wheeled bin consisting of laptop computers, radio transmitter, electronic community newspaper, wireless Internet access and other peripherals.
24-04-2008 (Paris) The UK National Commission for UNESCO debates “Is new media killing journalism?” for World Press Freedom Day 2008
The UK National Commission for UNESCO is organising several events across the United Kingdom to mark World Press Freedom Day 2008. The events aim to raise public awareness and understanding of the ideals that underline World Press Freedom Day. Central to the activities planned in the UK for 2008 is the topical question: “Is new media killing journalism?”
23-04-2008 (Paris) World Press Freedom Day celebration to focus on access to information and empowerment
Mexican freelance investigative journalist Lydia Cacho Ribeiro will receive this year’s UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize in a ceremony UNESCO is organizing in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to mark World Press Freedom Day, 3 May. The celebration of the Day will focus on access to information and empowerment, the subject of a conference entitled Freedom of Expression, Access to Information and the Empowerment of People, on 2 and 3 May.
22-04-2008 (Paris) Director-General condemns killing of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shanaa in Gaza and calls for improved safety of journalists
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, condemned the killing of Fadel Shanaa, a Palestinian cameraman working for the Reuters news agency in Gaza, and urged due regard to the safety of journalists.
21-04-2008 (Paris) UNESCO supported Photo Sudan Network website launched
Sudan’s first photo agency is now online. Photo Sudan Network launched its official website on 15 April 2008. UNESCO's support and financing for this unique project has brought together a group of highly talented independent photographers dealing with documentary, corporate, reportage, journalism, fine art and educational subjects.
18-04-2008 (Kingston) Prison community radio: FREE FM streams live online
On 15 April 2008, FREE FM, the first and only prison community radio in the Caribbean, moved its transmission beyond the walls of the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre to the world through the participation in the Caribbean Community Internet Radio Portal (CIRP).
17-04-2008 (Paris) IFAP Council has more time to revise new strategic plan
Delegates to the 179th session of UNESCO's Executive Board, which ends today at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, postponed the decision on the item concerning the Strategic Plan of the Information for All Programme (IFAP) to its next session.
16-04-2008 (Paris) UNESCO's IFAP to measure information literacy
UNESCO's Information for All Programme (IFAP) releases a paper providing a basic conceptual framework for measuring information literacy. Entitled Towards information literacy indicators, the publication includes a definition of information literacy; a model that links information literacy with other adult competences, such as ICT skills; and a description of information literacy standards in education.
15-04-2008 (Paris) Rabat children's hospital inaugurates an educational multimedia space
UNESCO and the French association Docteur Souris (Doctor Mouse) launch today an educational multimedia space at the Rabat children's hospital in Morocco. It took one year to prepare premises, install computer systems, adapt the interface to Arabic language and culture, and train a local team. The cyberspace offers 15 laptops, a wifi Internet connection, educational space dedicated to young patients, as well as an animated interface in Arabic for small children.
15-04-2008 (Paris) United Nations University joins UNESCO's Open Training Platform
The United Nations University (UNU) is the ninth UN agency to join the Open Training Platform (OTP). This UNESCO-powered hub offers free training resources on 21 development topics, fostering cooperation to provide free and open content for development.
14-04-2008 (Paris) Media as Partners in Education for Sustainable Development: UNESCO’s most recent training manual and resource kit
In the framework of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014), UNESCO and the Thomson Foundation have published a training manual and resource kit urging media practitioners to take a closer look at a few theme based priorities and inquire how best education can respond to related ongoing and future challenges.
14-04-2008 (Quito) Strengthening the automation of cultural heritage archives
Within the framework of UNESCO’s Project "An E-Government Model for World Heritage Cities - Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), Quito (Ecuador) and Cusco (Peru)," launched by the Information for All Programme (IFAP) in 2006, the Organization is convening a workshop on "Documenting Technologies for Cultural Heritage Collections" in Quito, from 16 to 18 April 2008.
11-04-2008 (Paris) Director-General condemns murder of Mexican journalists Felicitas Martínez Sánchez and Teresa Bautista Merino
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the murder of community radio announcers Felicitas Martínez Sánchez and Teresa Bautista Merino who were shot dead in an ambush in the state of Oaxaca, in southeast Mexico, on 7 April.
11-04-2008 (Paris) UNESCO's IPDC supports pioneering community radio in Nepal
UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) has released an information brochure containing excerpts from an external evaluation of the Programme's assistance to Nepal.
10-04-2008 (Paris) Public Service Podcasting: UNESCO releases a series of videos on human rights, peace and tolerance
UNESCO releases a series of 9 video podcasts on human rights, peace, tolerance and the fight against discrimination. The videos were selected out of more than one hundred proposals submitted under a project on ICT-enhanced Public Service Broadcasting.
09-04-2008 (Paris) 2008 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize awarded to Mexican reporter Lydia Cacho Ribeiro
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today designated Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, a freelance reporter based in Cancun, Mexico, as the laureate of the 2008 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, on the basis of the recommendation of the international jury of the Prize.
08-04-2008 (Montevideo) UNESCO promotes use of free software in Latin America and the Caribbean
UNESCO Office in Montevideo, Uruguay, in cooperation with the network of Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) in Latin America and the Caribbean, published the Guía práctica sobre software libre: su selección y aplicación local en América Latina y el Caribe (Guidelines on free software: how to choose it and apply it locally in Latin America and the Caribbean).
07-04-2008 (New Delhi) UNESCO publishes a book on Open Access to Knowledge in South Asia
UNESCO Office in New Delhi has released Open Access to Knowledge and Information: Scholarly Literature and Digital Library Initiatives – the South Asian Scenario. This book illustrates South Asian initiatives on open access to information and knowledge. It has its genesis in the recommendations and proceedings of UNESCO-supported international conferences and workshops.
04-04-2008 (New Delhi) UNESCO helps preserve Indian documentary heritage
A UNESCO-supported project “Preservation and Conservation of Rare Documents of St. Xavier’s College Library, Kolkata” has recently been completed. Several thousands of pages of rare documents from the College library have been recovered, preserved and digitised.
