Delivered-To: susanna@isiswomen.org
From: "Mastrangelo, Jean Gabriel" <jg.mastrangelo@unesco.org>
To: "knmg.nl" <maxwell@chiliad.co.ukeja>, jgirardot@internews.org,
        agathe@intern= ews.fr, susanna@isiswomen.org,
        lasocdig@mont= evideo.com.uy, info@penelopes.org,
        eddymark@medi= aaction.org, broadcasting@misa.org.na,
        laurence_djol= akian@mpaa.org, nct@wanadoo.fr, sean@nexus.ie,
        "noos.fr= " <didier.fass@loria.frlcadoux>,
        myriam.horngr= en@oneworld.net, ken@oridev.org, fsylla@sentoo.sn
Cc: "Plathe, Axel" <A.Plathe@unesco.org>
Subject: WSIS Online Discussion Forum for Civil Society
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2002 16:49:31 +0100
X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19)

For immediate release   (Version fran=E7aise ci-dessous)

UNESCO, 5/12/2002

Online Forum for Civil Society's Preparation of World Summit on the
Information Society

An online discussion forum for non-governmental organizations and civil
society to discuss their input in the Final Declarations of the World Summit
of the Information Society (WSIS; Geneva 2003, Tunis 2005) will be held on
UNESCO's website at http://wsisforum.unesco.org/" eudora=3D"autourl">http://wsisforum= .unesco.org from 9 December 2002 to 15
January 2003.
The Forum that will be chaired by Monique Fouilhoux, President of the
NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee, will discuss eight themes: General= Discussion,
Access, Development and Empowerment, Content Issues, Education, Training= and
Research, Rights, Future Developments of Information Technologies, Civil
Society in WSIS and Beyond.
The forum is open for all members of non-governmental organizations and
civil society.
Proposals to be included in the drafts of the WSIS Declaration of= Principles
and Plan of Action that result from the Forum will be transmitted to the
WSIS Executive Secretariat for submission   at Prepcom II (17-28= February
2003).
The decision to organize the Forum was taken by representatives of
non-governmental organizations and civil society at a preparatory meeting= at
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France, on 27 and 28 November 2002.

At the meeting, Adama Samass=E9kou, President of the WSIS Preparatory
Committee, highlighted the essential contributions that non-governmental
organizations and civil society can make to the Summit and its= follow-up.

Speaking at the Opening of the meeting, UNESCO Director-General Ko=EFchiro Matsuura said that UNESCO is well-positioned to bring quite diverse
constituencies into the Summit process and, indeed, to act as a bridge
linking civil society, governments, professional groups and users.

UNESCO, he stated, wishes to ensure that the Summit addresses questions= that
go beyond 'access' in technical or infrastructural terms: "After all,= the
access in question is really about full access to society; more than= this,
it is about the capacity to influence the kind of society being generated= by
large-scale technological and economic forces". The desire to enlarge= the
Summit's agenda to take account of important issues of intellectual and
ethical debate is something that UNESCO shares with civil society.= "The
narrowing of cultural as well as technological divides is something we= must
all strive for", said the Director-General.

A banner of the Discussion forum for placing on your website can be
downloaded at
<http://wsisforum.unesco.org/6/ubb.x?a=3Dtpc&s=3D5536002961&f=3D1= 526093371&m=3D22160
73371>

Related Links

*       World Summit on= the Information Society
http://www.itu.int/wsis/index.htm"= eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.itu.int/wsis/index.htm
*       UNESCO and the= World Summit on the Information Society
<http://www.unesco.org/wsis"= eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.unesco.org/wsis>

Contact

Jean Gabriel Mastrangelo, UNESCO, Information Society Division,
Tel: 01.45.68.44.13
E-mail: jg.mastrangelo@unesco.org