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 WSIS E-FLASH #6

· Paris Preparations Underway
The working documents for the WSIS intersessional meeting to be held at UNESCO in Paris, July 15 -18 are now available on the WSIS website. These documents consist of the Draft Declaration of Principles and Draft Action Plan with comments received from governments. A reference document, which includes all comments received from other stakeholders, is also available here on the WSIS website.

· Engaging the Business Community in the World Summit on the Information Society
At a session hosted by the Business Council for the United Nations in New York (18-19 June) entitled, "The Net World Order: Bridging the Global Digital Divide" the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan encouraged business leaders to create models and initiatives that can help to improve the lives of under-privileged people. The session sought to create links between the private sector and the work of the United Nations on ICT for development, with the goal of turning the digital divide into digital opportunities.

· Challenge Posed to Delegates at Pan-Arab Regional Conference on WSIS
The Secretary-General of ITU Yoshio Utsumi posed a challenge to delegates at the Cairo Conference to develop new partnerships between government, the private sector and civil society in order to shape the future of the information society.

· Other Summit Events
The Host Government of Switzerland has published a list of selected events, available here, which will take place at the World Summit on the Information Society.

· CERN opens on-line forum for RSIS
In preparation for their conference on the Role of Science in the Information Society (RSIS), CERN has opened an on-line forum where people are invited to contribute to any of the five subject areas to be covered by the conference. For more information on this event, to be held on 8 - 9 December, click here.

· WSIS Poster Competition
The World Summit on the Information Society in collaboration with the United Nations Cyberschoolbus announces the WSIS Poster Contest 2003, which gives students from around the world an opportunity to convey their vision on how ICTs can create an Information Society for all. Deadline for submission: 31 October 2003.

 EVENTS

· 07 - 08 July 2003
European Commission/Italian Government, High-Level Conference on e-Government, Villa Erba, Como, Italy. The event is organized by the European Commission and the Italian government and includes an exhibition and award ceremony honouring accomplishments in e-governance.

· 15 - 18 July 2003
WSIS, Intersessional Meeting, Paris, France. The meeting is dedicated to refining the working documents for the Draft Declaration and Draft Action Plan.

· 20 - 21 July 2003
High-level European Union-Latin America and Caribbean Information Society Forum - Lima (Peru), organized by the European Commission and the Peruvian Government. This forum will discuss strategies required for the development of the Information Society and opportunities for partnerships between organizations from both regions that will fulfill the Summit objectives.

· 21 - 23 July 2003
APT, 3rd Meeting on Asia-Pacific Initiatives for the Information Society (AIIS), Bangalore, India.

 INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVES

· Launch of the Francophonie WSIS website
The Agence Intergouvernementale de la Francophonie (intergovernmental agency for French-speaking countries) has set up its Website dedicated to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). It provides information on their preparation for the Summit.

· Celebrating Women's ICT Achievements
GKP and the Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP) are initiating "The Gender and ICT Awards" These awards recognize community-based or small-scale ICT initiatives designed and implemented by women. The winners will be celebrated at an award ceremony held in conjunction with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

· Join the Stockholm Challenge Competition
More than 150 ICT projects have already entered the 2003/2004 competition aimed at creating the networks of experience and knowledge needed to diminish the digital divide. Deadline for all submissions is 1 November 2003.

INFORMATION LINKS

· A publication "Information and Communication Technologies for African Development - An Assessment of Progress and Challenges Ahead" by The UN ICT Task Force suggests a way forward for the deployment of information and communication technology for development in Africa. (PDF appx. 2.5 Mb )

· 1 August 2003: Deadline for requesting accreditation for prepCom-3 and Geneva Phase of the Summit.

· 4 August 2003: Deadline for requesting ITU fellowships for government and business participants from the developing world for participation in PrepCom-3. Note that priority is being given to participants from Least Developed Countries. Information on the fellowships for Civil Society participation is available here.

· Other important deadlines, key dates and events of the Summit process.

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With best regards,

WSIS EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
HTTP://WWW.ITU.INT/WSIS/

Clemencia Rodriguez

Associate Professor

Department of Communication

University of Oklahoma

610 Elm Avenue

Norman OK 73019 USA

405 325 1570

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