10-06-2011 (London) Major conference aims to lead the fight against impunity of those who mistreat journalists
City University London hosted last week a major international working conference aimed at ending the impunity of those who murder, assault or threaten journalists around the world, and at developing new global initiatives intended to protect journalists from violence.
09-06-2011 (Paris) Shashi Tharoor gives a lecture on Social Media at UNESCO Headquarters
Shashi Tharoor, member of the Indian Parliament, former Minister of State for External Affairs of India, who previously served as Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information and Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, spoke about communication and social media in a changing global landscape at UNESCO Headquarters on 7 June 2011.
07-06-2011 (Paris) New Broadband Commission report seeks to bring high-speed connectivity to world’s poorest communities
Governments around the world need to rapidly formulate and implement national multi-sectoral broadband plans – or risk being seriously disadvantaged in today’s increasingly high-speed digital environment, according to a new report released by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development during its third meeting at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
06-06-2011 (Santo Domingo) Inauguration of Memorial Museum of Dominican Resistance
Under the auspices of the President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernandez, and in the presence of a large number of dignitaries and invited guests, the Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana was opened on 29 May 2011, the eve of the 50th anniversary of the overthrow of the Trujillo regime and the ending of the dictatorship period in the country.
03-06-2011 (Paris) Public Service Broadcasting at the heart of discussions at the Paris International Conference in Support of Tunisian and Egyptian Broadcast Media
A major international conference was held on Tuesday at UNESCO HQ to support the development of public service media in Tunisia and Egypt, in the presence of the new executives of Tunisian and Egyptian public television and radio.
01-06-2011 (Paris) UNESCO released its new publication of freedom of expression on Internet
“While the Internet is empowering individuals more than ever, there is an increase globally in content filtering and censorship,” this is one of key messages from the launching ceremony of the UNESCO publication, Freedom of Connection – Freedom of Expression: The Changing Legal and Regulatory Ecology Shaping the Internet.
01-06-2011 (Paris) UNESCO launches Americas and Caribbean databases for professional journalistic standards
UNESCO launches the new regional sections, dedicated to the Americas and the Caribbean, on its Professional Journalistic Standards and Code of Ethics website. UNESCO expects to increase the awareness of self-regulation among media professionals and organizations in the region, while also encouraging the alignment of local practice with established international standards.
31-05-2011 (Kingston) UNESCO’s IPDC funds radio facilities for University of Guyana
Students of the University of Guyana Center for Communication Studies (UGCCS) now have a learning laboratory to develop their skills in radio writing and production. UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) funded the installation of radio studio facilities at UGCCS.
30-05-2011 (Paris) UNESCO hosts international conference in support of Tunisian and Egyptian broadcast media
Following the tremendous social and political changes that have swept across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, UNESCO has teamed up with France Télévisions and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to host an international conference in support of broadcast media in Tunisia and Egypt.
30-05-2011 (Paris) National Archives of Australia to receive UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize
The Director-General of UNESCO has designated National Archives of Australia (NAA) as the laureate of the 2011 UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize for its work, which includes publications, and innovative initiatives in the preservation of digital records.
26-05-2011 (Rabat) UNESCO launches second version of Miftaah, set of FOSS in Arabic
Miftaah is a USB key comprising a set of free and open source software (FOSS) for Arabic users. Its second version contains applications frequently used in technical and science education, such as physics, chemistry, computer science, as well as tools for image processing and entertainment.
25-05-2011 (Paris) New collections come to enrich the Memory of the World
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova today endorsed recommendations by the International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World Committee to inscribe 45 new documents and documentary collections from all over the world on the Memory of the World Register, which now numbers a total of 238 items.
25-05-2011 (Paris) Freedom of Connection, Freedom of Expression: UNESCO launches new publication
As a follow up to the 185th session of UNESCO’s Executive Board, which called upon the Organization to reflect on the Internet, UNESCO launches its new publication, Freedom of Connection – Freedom of Expression: The Changing Legal and Regulatory Ecology Shaping the Internet. The launching event will take place at UNESCO Headquarters (Room XI) in Paris, France, on 30 May 2011.
24-05-2011 (Warsaw) Culture, memory, identities: 4th Memory of the World Conference ended in Warsaw
The 4th International Conference of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, which took place in Warsaw (Poland) last week, provided an opportunity to look at the Programme and its fields of competence in a broader context of interrelations between culture, memory and identities.
24-05-2011 (Paris) Towards UNESCO guidelines on language policies
UNESCO organizes a joint expert group meeting, entitled “Towards UNESCO Guidelines on Language Policies: a Tool for Language Assessment and Planning”, from 30 May to 1 June 2011, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
23-05-2011 (Geneva) WSIS Forum 2011: UNESCO’s Janis Karklins reiterates importance of ICT for knowledge societies
At the opening of the WSIS Forum 2011, Janis Karklins, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, underlined that UNESCO attaches great importance to the WSIS follow-up process and is determined to continue playing an active role in pursuit of a successful implementation of WSIS outcomes towards 2015, and beyond.
19-05-2011 (Moscow) Workshop on Open Educational Resources to take place in Moscow
UNESCO and the Russian State University – Higher School of Economics (HSE, Moscow) are organizing the Joint Workshop on Open Educational Resources and Intellectual Property Rights to bring together experts in these fields. The event will be held at the State University – Higher School of Economics, in Moscow (Russia) from 31 May to 1 June 2011.
19-05-2011 (Paris) Nominations are sought for UNESCO-IPDC Prize for Rural Communication
UNESCO invites its Member States, in consultation with their National Commissions or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) maintaining official relations with it, to nominate candidates for the UNESCO-IPDC Prize for Rural Communication 2012. The deadline for submitting nominations is 30 September 2011.
18-05-2011 (Geneva) UNESCO launches second edition of legal survey on public service broadcasting
UNESCO has launched the second, updated and revised, edition of the publication Public Service Broadcasting: a Comparative Legal Survey. The launch took place today at the World Summit on the Information Society Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, during the the meeting on Media Regulation: Broadcasters and Social Media.
17-05-2011 (Paris) Director-General condemns killing of Pakistani journalist Nasrullah Afridi
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today condemned the killing of Khyber news agency journalist Nasrullah Afridi when his car exploded in Peshawar on 10 May.
17-05-2011 (Geneva) UNESCO hosts High Level Debate on Right to Communication at WSIS Forum 2011
“Right to Communication: New Social Media and Social Transformations” is the theme of the High Level Debate, organized by UNESCO on 18 May at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2011 (16-20 May; Geneva, Switzerland). The Debate brings together stakeholders from all over the world to provide insight into the right to communication and its ethical, legal and policy implications.
16-05-2011 (Paris) Tolstoy’s personal library and oldest Iranian mathematics and astrology book amongst new nominations
More than 80 remarkable documentary items and collections from all parts of the world will be considered for inscription on the Memory of the World Register during a meeting of the 14 experts of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) of UNESCO’S Memory of the World Programme in Manchester (UK) from 22 to 25 May.
16-05-2011 (Geneva) Briefing session on World Press Freedom Day at WSIS Forum 2011
UNESCO organizes a briefing session on World Press Freedom Day at WSIS Forum 2011, which is taking place from 16 to 20 May 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland. UNESCO takes this initiative to inform WSIS communities on its flagship activity and to take stock of its strategy of promoting freedom of expression in the digital age.
16-05-2011 (Geneva) UNESCO organizes meeting on media regulation at WSIS Forum 2011
On 18 May 2011 UNESCO convenes a facilitation meeting on Action Line C9: Media at WSIS Forum 2011, which is taking place from 16 to 20 May 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland. Organized by UNESCO the sixth time, this year’s meeting will focus on media regulation frameworks of broadcasters, particularly public service broadcasting, and the emerging social network platforms.
13-05-2011 (Apia) Media Alliance for the Pacific established with UNESCO support
The UNESCO Office in Apia (Samoa) and Australia's Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) funded the creation of a unique co-operative framework at a meeting in Apia on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2011. The meeting was held at the Le Papaigalagala Campus of the National University of Samoa, from 2 to 4 May. It was supported by the Asia Pacific Office of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
12-05-2011 (Paris) Harnessing ICTs to alleviate poverty
Overcoming the challenges and seizing the opportunities offered by ICTs is be the main subject of discussion at a special session of the United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS), which is being held today at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), in Istanbul (Turkey).
11-05-2011 (Paris) UNESCO supports efforts to make office documents accessible
UNESCO has partnered with the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD University) in Toronto, Canada, and the Government of Ontario to develop consolidated and publicly-reviewed guidance on how to create accessible office documents, using many of the most popular office suites.
10-05-2011 (Windhoek) Using multi-purpose community access centres for youth involvement in new technologies and media
Training on information and communication technologies (ICT) and the media took place from 30 April to 1 May in Aroab (Karas region, Namibia), with UNESCO’s support. It was organized by the Namibian Ministry of Information and Communication Technology in cooperation with the New Era newspaper in order to develop “win-win” partnerships for rural communities and the media in Namibia.
09-05-2011 (Paris) Director-General condemns murder of Peruvian journalist Julio Castillo Narváez
Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, today condemned the murder of radio journalist Julio Castillo Narváez in the northern Peruvian city of Virú on 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, as UNESCO and many of its Member States all over the world were celebrating the right of journalists to practice their profession freely.
09-05-2011 (Paris) Director-General condemns murder of Brazilian journalist Valério Nascimento
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today condemned the murder of Brazilian journalist Valério Nascimento, owner of the Panorama Geral newspaper on 3 May.
