20-03-2009 (Paris) UNESCO supports workshop for journalists on water conflicts
Media coverage about sustainable development issues is at its best this week as twelve journalists team up to uncover pressing and challenging issues on trans-boundary water conflicts in Istanbul (Turkey) at the 5th World Water Forum.
19-03-2009 (Paris) Expert meeting in Beijing to discuss Cyber Network for Learning Languages
UNESCO and the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO are organizing an expert meeting in Beijing, from 26 to 27 March 2009, in order to study the feasibility of establishing a Cyber Network for Learning Languages.
18-03-2009 (Paris) UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize: nominations are sought before end of March
The deadline for submission of nominations for the third award of UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize is approaching. Individuals or institutions having made a significant contribution to the preservation and accessibility of documentary heritage should be nominated before 31 March 2009.
17-03-2009 (Phnom Penh) ‘Love and Relationships’: Film festival in Cambodia addresses HIV prevention
In the framework of ‘Love and Relationships’ film festival, UNESCO, in cooperation with the French Cultural Centre (CCF), is screening this month in selected Cambodian provinces the Khmer movie Palace of Dreams. This drama, produced in 2008 by BBC World Service Trust, aims at reducing the risk of HIV infection among young people.
16-03-2009 (Paris) Director-General condemns Iraqi suicide attack that left 33 people dead, including two journalists
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the suicide attack in Baghdad that killed 33 people, among them two journalists, on 10 March. The Director-General also called for measures to improve the safety of journalists in Iraq.
16-03-2009 (Paris) A sub-regional forum on Information for All to take place in Philippines
Universal access to the Internet and the implementation in UNESCO Member States of the Strategic Plan for the Information for All Programme (IFAP) will be the focus of the Sub-Regional Forum on Information for All, supported by UNESCO. It will take place from 19 to 20 March 2009 in Pasig City, the Philippines.
13-03-2009 (Abuja) A meeting in Nigeria to promote IFAP activities
The UNESCO Office in Abuja and the Nigerian National Committee for the Information for All Programme (IFAP) are organizing an Information Policy Review Retreat from 17 to 18 March 2009 in Abuja, Nigeria.
13-03-2009 (Tirana) UNESCO-supported media accountability project launched in South-East Europe
UNESCO has launched a two-year project to increase media accountability in South-East European countries. The main objectives of the project are to develop self-regulation tools and mechanisms, and to increase the awareness of self-regulation among media professionals and organizations in the region. The project also aims at speeding up the alignment with established international standards.
12-03-2009 (Paris) World Press Freedom Day 2009 to focus on media and dialogue
UNESCO is organizing World Press Freedom Day celebration, from 2 to 3 May 2009 in Doha, the capital of Qatar. This year’s Day, placed under the auspices of Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Missned, is organized jointly by UNESCO and the Doha Centre for Media Freedom. It will focus on the potential of media in fostering dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation.
12-03-2009 (New Delhi) UNESCO releases manual for community radio managers
UNESCO Office in New Delhi has published Digital archiving of audio content using WINISIS and Greenstone software: a manual for community radio managers. This self-instructional handbook is aimed at helping managers of community and FM radio stations, public service broadcasting agencies and any other organizations that deal with audio files create prototype archives of digital audio documents.
12-03-2009 (Washington) UN agencies gathered in Washington to discuss communication for development
The 11th UN Inter-Agency Round Table on Communication for Development continues its discussion today under the theme ‘Moving C4D up the International Development Agenda: Demonstrating Impact and Positioning Institutionally’. The Round Table is taking place from 11 to 13 March in Washington, United States of America.
11-03-2009 (Paris) UNESCO implements information ethics and e-government initiative in Africa
UNESCO, in cooperation with the International Centre for Information Ethics and the Government of South Africa, organized an Information Ethics and e-Government High Level Executive Seminar followed by a training workshop. The two events were held in the framework of UNESCO’s Information for All Programme (IFAP) in Pretoria, South Africa, from 23 to 26 February 2009.
05-03-2009 (Kingston) Caribbean information literacy programmes discussed at international conference
The impact of information literacy programmes on educational development in Bahamas, Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago was explored on 17 February 2009 in a panel discussion sponsored by UNESCO at the Jamaica Library Service 60th Anniversary International Conference. The Conference was held in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, under the theme ‘Public and School Libraries: Your Partners in National Development’.
04-03-2009 (Paris) Women Make the News – UNESCO launches campaign 2009
On this occasion of International Women’s Day (8 March), UNESCO launches the annual Women Make the News campaign and online forum. Under the theme, ‘Gender Equality Policies in Media Organizations’, this year’s campaign aims to emphasize the significance of developing and introducing policies in media organizations to prevent all forms of discrimination based on gender.
04-03-2009 (Geneva) New ITU ICT Development Index compares 154 countries
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) releases its new ICT Development Index (IDI), which compares developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) in 154 countries over a five-year period from 2002 to 2007.
03-03-2009 (New Delhi) Community radio training programme starts today in India
A training course on Community Radio: A Tool to Empower Communities is taking place from 3 to 5 March 2009 in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is organized by a local Indian NGO, Development Alternatives, in technical cooperation with UNESCO and its partner organization, Maraa - A Media Collective. This field-based training is being held at a recently launched community radio station, Radio Bundelkhand 90.4.
27-02-2009 (Paris) Director-General condemns killing of Philippines radio journalist Ernesto Rollin
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the killing of Philippines radio journalist Ernesto Rollin who was shot dead in Mindanao on 23 February.
27-02-2009 (Paris) Director-General condemns murder of photographer Jean Paul Ibarra Ramírez
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the murder of Mexican news photographer Jean Paul Ibarra Ramírez in an attack on 13 February that left another journalist, Yenni Yuliana Marchán Arroyo, seriously injured. Mr Matsuura called for the culprits to be brought to justice.
27-02-2009 (Paris) UNESCO recruits Chief of Universal Access and Preservation Section
The post of the Chief of the Section for Universal Access and Preservation (UAP) is presently open for recruitment at the Information Society Division of UNESCO's Communication and Information Sector. The major responsibility of this post consists in managing the Section and its staff by providing intellectual, strategic and operational leadership, and by planning and executing regular programme and extra-budgetary activities.
26-02-2009 (Paris) IPDC Bureau allocates nearly 2 million US dollars to foster independent and pluralistic media in developing countries
The Bureau of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), at its 53rd annual meeting, has decided to allocate a total of 1,95 million US dollars to support 63 new media development projects in developing countries and to facilitate evaluations of the media sector of selected pilot countries using the Media Development Indicators. The meeting was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, from 23 to 25 February 2009.
20-02-2009 (Paris) New edition of UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
UNESCO launched the electronic version of the new edition of its Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger on 19 February. This interactive digital tool provides updated data about approximately 2,500 endangered languages around the world and can be continually supplemented, corrected and updated, thanks to contributions from its users.
19-02-2009 (Paris) UNESCO publishes outcome of 2008 World Press Freedom Day
UNESCO launches Freedom of Expression, Access to Information and Empowerment of People, a compilation of contributions by the participants of the conference held in Maputo, Mozambique, in May 2008, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. A wide variety of authors, from journalists to academics and civil society, express their views on how freedom of information and freedom of expression can help people gain control over their lives.
18-02-2009 (Beijing) Media analyses lessons of Sichuan earthquake coverage
“When a catastrophe occurs, we are the first witnesses… We have to gather the facts, ensure a proper balance between emotion and perspective, provide headline material while avoiding sensationalism”, stated Ms Auberi Edler, the well-known French journalist, at the Media Response to the Disasters Seminar, held in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province of China.
17-02-2009 (Paris) Workshop on Asian-Pacific documentary heritage starts tomorrow
A three-day training workshop will be held at the Korean National Commission for UNESCO Peace Centre in Icheon, Republic of Korea, from 18 to 20 February 2009, to provide an in-depth overview of the criteria and other requirements necessary to complete a nomination form for the Memory of the World Register.
16-02-2009 (Paris) Call for nominations: UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize
UNESCO is inviting nominations for the third award of the UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize. This invitation is extended to all Member States, in consultation with their National Commissions, as well as to international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) maintaining official relations with UNESCO and whose work is in the field of preservation and conservation of documentary heritage.
16-02-2009 (Paris) Director-General condemns killing of Malagasy journalist Ando Ratovonirina
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has condemned the killing of Malagasy broadcast television journalist Ando Ratovonirina and called for improved safety of journalists.
16-02-2009 (Paris) Director-General deplores death of Congolese journalist Bruno Ossébi
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today deplored the death of Bruno Ossébi in the Republic of Congo and urged a full inquiry into the circumstances of this tragic event.
16-02-2009 (Paris) UNESCO launches Memory of the World online survey
A general survey on the state of awareness of the Memory of the World Programme has been launched in cooperation with InterPARES in Vancouver, Canada. This survey is intended for library, archives and museum specialists as well as anyone with an interest in preserving documentary heritage.
13-02-2009 (Paris) Information for All Programme expansion discussed this week at UNESCO
The fifteenth meeting of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme (IFAP) was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10-11 February 2009. The two-day event brought together representatives of 8 Member States elected to the Bureau, as well as observers from governments and civil society.
13-02-2009 (Paris) Memory of the World logo competition launched
Following the revision of UNESCO branding directives, a new requirement for ‘secondary logos’ relating to UNESCO programmes has been adopted, which regulates their use alongside the official UNESCO emblem.
