27-05-2004 (Paris) UNESCO Publishes Policy Guidelines Related to Governmental Public Domain Information
Guidelines to advise countries on policies for the development and promotion of governmental public domain information, taking account of both national needs and international practices have now been published by UNESCO as the role and value of public domain information, especially of information produced by the public sector, is generally poorly understood.
26-05-2004 (New Delhi) New Radio Equipment Donated by UNESCO to a Papua New Guinea University under an IPDC Project
The students in communication arts and journalism from Divine Word University (Papua New Guinea) have greatly benefited from the use of the new digital radio equipment donated by UNESCO, under an IPDC project, in 2003. The equipment has been installed in University’s specially built and secure Electronic Media Training Facility.
25-05-2004 (Paris) UNESCO's IIEP Organizes Virtual Forum on Free and Open Source Software for E-Learning
An internet discussion on "Virtual Forum on Free and Open Source Software" (FOSS) is being organized by the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in response to the interest expressed during the first discussion forum Virtual universities and e-learning Policy issues – What are they? and Whose are they? associated with the IIEP study on the virtual university and e-learning.
24-05-2004 (Paris) Pastel World Association organizes an international strip-cartoon contest
Pastel World, a Geneva-based association, launches a strip-cartoon contest for all young artists, schools of art and drawing of all the countries in the world, proposing the First World Summit on the Information Society as its platform. This is an innovative project aiming at reducing the digital divide.
21-05-2004 (Geneva) 'Global' Support for Information Society Targets
Cyberspace is seen as a shared resource for the global public good by an overwhelming majority of the participants of a global ITU survey that also stressed the strong support for the targets set for improving access and connectivity to ICT by 2015 at the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
19-05-2004 (Paris) Media, Violence and Terrorism - A UNESCO Publication
UNESCO has just published a report on Media, Violence and Terrorism, designed to contribute to on-going discussions and reflections on global security and human rights and to reveal how fundamental liberties such as freedom of expression and press freedom have been affected by terrorism.
18-05-2004 (Paris) Media Education on Agenda of Barcelona Seminar
“Media Education: communicators and educators” is the title of a Seminar that UNESCO and the Universidad Autonoma of Barcelona, in collaboration with the European Commission and the Universidad Catolica of Chile is organizing from 27 to 30 May 2004 on the occasion of the International Forum of Cultures 2004 in Barcelona, Spain.
17-05-2004 (New Delhi) Youth Win Prizes in Contest Organized by Nepalese Community Multimedia Centre
Ram, a young man from Tansen, a hill station in the western part of Nepal, is the winner of the first computer drawing competition that was recently held in the Community Multimedia Centre there, that houses a pilot project for marginalised people under UNESCO’s programme “Putting ICTs in the Hands of the Poor”.
14-05-2004 (Paris) Inclusion of Library Ets Haim in Memory of the World Register Celebrated in Amsterdam
The Library Ets Haim, a unique collection of Judaica held in the Portuguese Synagogue complex in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, became officially part of UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, when the Memory of the World Certificate was handed over by UNESCO's Elisabeth Longworth to the President of the Board of Governors of the Library during a ceremony yesterday evening in Amsterdam.
13-05-2004 (Kingston) Community Media, Media of the Future
The genre of "community media" was hailed as the "new media" of the future at the Commonwealth-Caribbean Media Conference, a three-day activity held last week on the University of the West Indies St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago to mark World Press Freedom Day 2004.
13-05-2004 (Paris) UNESCO and Minister of Science of Brazil Launch Virtual Library of Portuguese Language Books
More than 20,000 Portuguese-language book titles will be made available in Portuguese-speaking countries, thanks to an initiative announced by Brazil’s Science and Technology Minister, Eduardo Campos. It was announced at UNESCO on May 11 in the presence of UNESCO Deputy Director-General Marcio Barbosa and the permanent delegates of the countries concerned.
12-05-2004 (Djakarta) Discussion on Press Freedom and Law in Indonesia
A Declaration to uphold press freedom in Indonesia was issued by the participants of a one-day discussion on "The Press Freedom and the Laws: Building a New Dialogue”, organised by the UNESCO Office in Djakarta in cooperation with the Indonesian Press Council on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day 2004.
11-05-2004 (Maputo) National Community Radio Network Established in Mozambique
42 Mozambican community radios and community multimedia centres (CMCs) confirmed their commitment to join hands through the formation of a National Community Radio Network in Mozambique's capital Maputo on Friday last week as the culmination of a one-week constitutive conference and festival.
10-05-2004 (Paris) Audiovisual E-Platform, an Online Catalogue for Independent Producers and Broadcasters, to be Launched Today
UNESCO's Audiovisual E-platform, a new initiative seeking to stimulate the distribution of television content from Africa, Asia/Pacific and Latin America/Caribbean at national, regional and international levels is being launched today within the framework of UNESCO’s Programme for Creative Content, aimed at promoting the expression of cultural and linguistic diversity through the media,
09-05-2004 (Paris) Director-General of UNESCO Closes Third Session of the Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme
On 6 May 2004, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, closed the 3rd session of the Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme (IFAP). Created in 2000, the Information for All Programme provides a platform for international policy discussions and guidelines for action on information issues, universal participation in the emerging global information society and ethical, legal and societal consequences of ICT developments.
07-05-2004 (Kabul) Kabul University On-Air
Kabul University’s new campus FM radio station, media library and computer training and Internet centre for journalism students have been inaugurated as the highlight of UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day activities in Afghanistan.
Samoa's Leaders Receive World Press Freedom Day 2004 Awards
Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi and Deputy Prime Minister Misa Telefoni were presented World Press Freedom Day 2004 awards in Apia this week. The awards by JAWS (Journalists Association of Western Samoa) were in recognition of the two leaders' strong support of media freedom, said JAWS president Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia.
05-05-2004 (Paris) UNESCO Publishes Guide on Community Multimedia Centres
UNESCO has just released a handbook on Community Multimedia Centres entitled: “How To Get Started And Keep Going: A Guide to Community Multimedia Centres”. Written by reputed practitioners and researchers working on CMCs or ICT for development, it is available in hard copy, CD Rom and on WebWorld.
04-05-2004 (Paris) Intergovernmental Council for UNESCO's Information for All Programme Meets in Paris
The presentation of the "Policy Guidelines for the Development and Promotion of Governmental Public Domain Information" will be one of the highlights on the agenda of the 3rd session of the Intergovernmental Council for UNESCO's Information for All Programme that starts today in Paris, France.
03-05-2004 (Paris) World Press Freedom Day in Belgrade
UNESCO marked World Press Freedom Day on May 3, with an international conference on Media in Conflict Areas and in Countries in Transition - which ended with the adoption of the Belgrade Declaration on support to the media in conflict and post-conflict situations, and the award ceremony of the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize won this year by Cuban journalist and poet Raul Rivero.
03-05-2004 (Paris) Today is World Press Freedom Day
Media in conflict areas and in countries in transition is the focus of the World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated worldwide today to highlight the importance of press freedom and its crucial importance for democracy. UNESCO's main celebration will take place in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia and Montenegro.
30-04-2004 (Paris) UNESCO/Jikji Memory of the World Prize Created
UNESCO's Executive Board this week approved the establishment of a Memory of the World Prize to further promote the objectives of the Memory of the World Programme and to commemorate the inscription of the Jikji, the oldest known book of movable metal print in the world.
29-04-2004 (New Delhi) Fourth “Journalism Asia” Issue Released for Press Freedom Day
The Manila based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) has released the fourth issue of its annual publication Journalism Asia (JA) in time for this year’s celebration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3. An annual review of press performance in Asia, JA reports on current issues, developments and problems in the Asian press.
28-04-2004 (Paris) Learning to Report on HIV/AIDS
Participants in a regional workshop on The use of ICTs to improve reporting on HIV/AIDS say it sharpened their research and Internet browsing skills and also built their personal confidence in setting up electronic networks and discussion forums about HIV/AIDS. UNESCO evaluated the impact of the training five months after the workshop in Chennai, India.
27-04-2004 (Paris) Filming the Peace Process in Sri Lanka: Tamil and Singhalese Productions Now Available on DVD
Films on the peace process in Sri Lanka, produced under ScriptNet's “Reel Peace” project are now available on DVD. UNESCO supported the production of these locally written, directed and produced short films responding to the lack of dramatised work about the war and peace process in Sri Lanka.
26-04-2004 (Beirut) UNESCO Beirut Distributes PCs to Lebanese Schools
As part of its "Bridging the Digital Divide" project, the UNESCO Office in Beirut in cooperation with the Safadi Foundation recently distributed more than 130 refurbished personal computers to 21 schools in the Northern Lebanon. Each school received 8 to 12 computers depending on the number of students and teachers were trained in how to use the new equipment.
23-04-2004 (New Delhi) Seelampur Community ICT Centre in India Celebrates First Anniversary
The Seelampur Community ICT Centre, an ICT learning centre for girls and women located in a high-density, low-income area in India's capital New Delhi, recently celebrated its first anniversary. The UNESCO/Datamation Foundation supported project aims at training girls and women in the use of ICT to improve their life conditions.
22-04-2004 (Paris) Reel Intercultural Dialogue Films Now Available on DVD and Online
Reel Intercultural Dialogue, a series of five short fiction films, has just been released on DVD and on-line and is now ready for international broadcasting and public exhibitions. Produced by UNESCO in collaboration with the cinema and television schools of Burkina Faso, India, Israel, Mexico and Romania, the films aim to increase intercultural understanding and to sensitise young people to tolerance, dialogue and peace.
21-04-2004 (Paris) 2004 Gender in Journalism Awards
The Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) sponsored jointly with UNESCO the 2004 Gender in Journalism Awards ceremony for best reporting by female journalists, recognizing the competence of women journalists as role models for other women in journalism, and gender sensitive reporting, in recognition of excellence in coverage of gender related issues.
20-04-2004 (Paris) Another CMC in Mozambique Opens its Doors
A community radio turned into a fully-fledged community multimedia centre when it opened its doors last week in Dondo, Central Mozambique. The addition of a telecentre, which offers the community access to computers and email, IT training and basic office services, will help the radio to move even closer to the community and will ensure that it becomes a multifaceted centre for access to and generation of local knowledge.
