30-04-2002 Media Must Act Freely, Independently, Responsibly to Fight against Terrorism
"The greatest service that the media can perform in the fight against terrorism is to act freely, independently and responsibly" affirm Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mary Robinson UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Koïchiro Matsuura Director-General of UNESCO in their joint message for World Press Freedom Day 2002. The message stresses that "press freedom is an indispensable dimension of that wider freedom of expression that is each person’s birthright and one of the foundations for human progress".
29-04-2002 Global Support Network for Telecentres
From 22 to 24 April, sixteen telecentre practitioners and coordinators from Africa, Asia and Latin America joined a Workshop on an International Helpdesk and Clearing House for Telecentres hosted at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris organized jointly by theInternational Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs and UNESCO.
29-04-2002 Terrorism and the Media
Media professionals and the media in general have paid a heavy toll to terrorism in recent years. Dozens of journalists in Algeria, the Balkans, Colombia, Spain, the Philippines and elsewhere have been intimidated, kidnapped and assassinated so that they could be silenced. But another issue linking media and terrorism has of late received increasing attention: Do measures adopted to combat terrorism since September 11, 2001, represent a new threat to freedom of the press?
25-04-2002 Inauguration of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Postponed
The celebration of the inauguration of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, originally foreseen on International Book and Copyright Day (April 23) in the presence of many personalities from all over the world including UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, has been postponed. According to the Egyptian authorities, the decision to reschedule the official Inauguration was taken by Egypt's President Mubarak in view of the ongoing developments in the region. A new date will be fixed in the near future.
24-04-2002 Archival Training: New World Directory of Education Institutions
The establishment of a new and up-to-date Directory of Archival Education and Training Institutions was recently launched by the Section for Archival Educators and Trainers of the International Council on Archives (ICA). The project, implemented in cooperation with ICA's Committee for Professional Training, aims to provide information about archival education and training programmes for potential students and employers; and to promote communication and cooperation among archival educators and trainers in a
22-04-2002 UNESCO Celebrates World Book and Copyright Day Tomorrow
Historically books have been the most powerful factor in the dissemination of knowledge and the most effective means of preserving it. Consequently, all moves to promote their dissemination will serve not only greatly to enlighten all those who have access to them, but also to develop fuller collective awareness of cultural traditions throughout the world . Therefore, UNESCO has proclaimed 23 April of every year 'World Book and Copyright Day', as it was on that date in 1616 that Miguel de Cervantes, Willi
19-04-2002 International Telecentre Helpdesk and Clearinghouse to be Discussed at UNESCO HQ
The establishment of a global Telecentre Helpdesk in support of the telecentre movement in developing countries has been for some time on the agenda of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the International Institute for Communicationand Development (IICD). As part of this process, a consultative workshop will be convened in Paris April 22-24, 2002.
16-04-2002 Online Learning Center for Women in the Republic of Korea
A new hub for cyber learning entitled “Online Learning Center for Women (OLC)” has now been established in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The purpose of OLC is to promote gender equity by means of computer use in the knowledge-based information society. In its first phase of operations, OLC aims at facilitating the development of women and ICT communities.
15-04-2002 Involving Civil Society in the Preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society
The Latin American Network and Development Association (Fundación-Redes-y-Desarrollo - FUNREDES)), which is now associated to UNESCO in the preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society, is planning to launch a new project entitled “Bohio” aimed at creating a virtual meeting place, for cooperation and community action between Civil society organisations and the actors of development.
11-04-2002 UNESCO Member States Discuss Reform of International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC)
Over the last 20 years, UNESCO's International Programme for the Development of Communication has focused its projects on the most urgent priorities in communication development in developing countries. The efforts of the IPDC have had an important impact on a broad range of fields covering, among others, the promotion of press freedom, media independence and pluralism, community media, modernization of national and regional news agencies, radio as well as television organizations; and development of human
10-04-2002 IITE Looks at ICTs in Technical and Vocational Education and Training
UNESCO's Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) in Moscow has recently launched an international project entitled "ICTs in Technical and Vocational Education and Training" that deals with life-long learning, education for all, and information literacy in a world increasingly marked by convergence.
Putting ICTs in the Hands of the Poor
Information, knowledge and communication needs of the poor are equal to those of all other people, yet poor are often unable to address these needs. UNESCO is launching a new project in South Asia to test and demonstrate different models that effectively put ICTs and relevant content into the hands of people living in poverty in order to empower them to address their own information, knowledge and communication requirements.
17-02-2002 Online "Digital Opportunity Channel" Launched
- As World Telecommunication Day 2002 is celebrated today worldwide focusing on "ICT for all: empowering people to cross the Digital Divide", OneWorld and the Benton Foundation launch the Digital Opportunity Channel, an online community focusing on the use of ICTs for sustainable development. The web site places a special emphasis on promoting digital opportunity in developing countries.
