[CITASA] Remote participation possible: Critical knowledge societies issues will be addressed during the upcoming World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 09

[Prof. Becky Lentz]

> 
Please excuse any cross‹postings due to multiple list subscription

> New WSIS Forum 09 format offers remote web-participation
> 15-05-2009 (Paris)
> 
> http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28624&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION
> =201.html
> 
> Critical knowledge societies issues will be addressed in six high-level panels
> and 35 sessions with the participation of experts, practitioners,
> representatives of governments, civil society and the private sector during
> the upcoming World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 09.
> 
> More than 850 participants have already registered for next-weeks event, which
> will be jointly organized by ITU, UNESCO and others in Geneva, Switzerland,
> from 18 to 22 May 2009.
> 
> ³It is good to see how the WSIS follow-up is evolving with the technological
> and related social developments,² says Mr Khan, UNESCO¹s Assistant
> Director-General for Communication and Information. ³Facebook, You Tube,
> Twitter and blogging provide entirely new tools for putting many of the WSIS
> visions into reality.²
> 
> At the Geneva Forum next week, UNESCO will launch its WSIS community platform,
> which includes blogging, Facebook-like features and the possibility to insert
> your Twitter in your personalized online platform dashboard, etc. ³This
> platform was requested by the WSIS community, has incredible potential and
> will also make the follow-up process more inclusive,² says Miriam Nisbet,
> Director of the Information Society Division. She adds: ³The platform will
> facilitate our WSIS related discussions, networking and information sharing.
> It is an Open Source product with great features and the possibility to evolve
> with the WSIS community.² (Readers are invited to explore and take a sneak
> preview at: www.wsis-community.org).
> 
> In spite of this and other tools, UNESCO is concerned that the vision of
> societies, in which the power of information and communication helps people
> access the knowledge they need to improve their daily lives and achieve their
> full potential, is still fare from being realized. ³This requires vision,
> political will, institutional and individual capacities, considerable
> resources, and of course good coordination among all actors,² says Mr Khan.
> 
> This WSIS Forum unites an unprecedented number of high-level participants and
> experts in a new format. It includes also a meeting of the representatives of
> 28 international organizations, all members of the United Nations Group on the
> Information Society (UNGIS), who will discuss ways to enhance coordination.
> 
> For the international community, the main challenge is now to mainstream the
> issue of information and communication for development in the agendas of the
> various stakeholders in the WSIS process, and to keep the spirit of Geneva and
> Tunis alive translating it into concrete actions.
> 
> For the first time, the WSIS Forum will also offer access to the meetings
> through remote web participation.


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