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WSIS E-FLASH #5
The Next 'Summit' Step
The Intersessional Period between PrepCom-2 and PrepCom-3 is dedicated to refining the working documents for the Draft Declaration of Principles and Draft Action Plan. To assist in doing this an Intersessional meeting is being convened from 15-18 July 2003 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. More information for participants is available here.G8 Welcomes the World Summit for the Information Society
In the Implementation Report on the G8 Africa Action Plan (paragraph 30), G8 leaders welcome WSIS and acknowledge the role of ICTs as a catalyst for sustainable social and economic development, especially for Africa. For full report click here.World Telecommunication Day focuses on World Summit
Secretary General of ITU Yoshio Utsumi and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan both remarked on the importance of the Summit in their World Telecommunication Day messages. The day marks the 138th anniversary of the founding of ITU, the world's oldest inter-governmental organization.European Commission Objectives for Information Society
The European Commission has issued the objectives it hopes WSIS will achieve in the form of a Communication. The Communication paves the way for concrete actions and proposals by the EU for the Plan of Action. For more detail, please click here.The Pan-Arab Regional Conference on WSIS
This conference will take place, at ministerial level, in Cairo (Egypt), under the auspices of the League of Arab States organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and in coordination with ITU. The results of the conference will be taken up to 22 Arab Ministers of Communications and Information Technology for endorsement on the action plan to be presented at Prep Com III as well as the Summit. For information click here.Fellowships Available for PrepCom-3
ITU has secured donations for a limited number of fellowships to individuals from the developing world to enable their participation in PrepCom-3. Information on the fellowships for Civil Society participation is available here. Private sector or government applicants click here.Note that priority is being given to participants from Least Developed Countries.
EVENTS
03 Jun 2003 - 06 Jun 2003
IADIS, International Conference: e-Society 2003, Lisbon, Portugal. The IADIS e-Society 2003 conference aims to address the main issues of concern within the Information Society: E-Commerce, E-Learning and E-Government.12 Jun 2003 - 17 Jun 2003
UNESCO, Pan-African Symposium on Community Multimedia Centres, Dakar, Senegal. UNESCO in collaboration with AMARC Africa is organizing a pan-African symposium on Community Multimedia Centres.30 June
"Building the Information Commonwealth: Informational Technologies and Prospects of Development of the Civil Society Institutions in CIS Countries", Saint Petersburg. The main purpose of this conference is to achieve a critical understanding of the current state and prospects for using modern Information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support the formation of civil society institutions within the CIS territories. The conference will also focus on planning common activities and positions within the frame of the WSIS preparatory process.
INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVES
Digital Opportunity Channel in partnership with Bytes for All is launching a discussion forum to help stakeholders from the developing world exchange ideas and debate issues about the emerging information society and the WSIS.
UNESCO Connects ICTs and People with Disabilities
An initiative to put ICTs in the service of persons with disabilities has been launched by UNESCO. It brings together global experts and institutions from the public, private and civil society sectors to develop a framework of policy initiatives in this field. The results will be included in UNESCO's contribution to the upcoming World Summit on the Information (WSIS).Welcome to ICT DevLibrary
The CTO (Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation) today announces the launch of ICT Development Digital Library (ICT Dev Library) as part of the global celebrations of World Telecommunications Day on 17 May 2003. The on-line library provides a unique collection of ICT-for-development reports and documents for policy-makers and practitioners in developing countries.World Forum on Communication Rights
The Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) campaign is planning on holding a one-day World Forum on Communication Rights alongside the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in December 2003. The forum focuses on information and communication rights issues that surround the emergence of an information society.
INFORMATION LINKS
31 June 2003: Deadline for submission of events proposals for the Summit to the Host Country Secretariat.
WSIS Secretariat
http://www.itu.int/wsis/