Introduction
Welcome to the Electronic Tools Online Discussion Board.
All interested members of the Internet community are invited
to express their views, share their experiences, and raise
topical issues and questions related to the use of information
and communication technologies Comment is sought at the interactive
online discussion
board regarding the provision of public access to environmental
information, and promotion of citizen participation in decisionmaking.
As a basis for discussion, we invite you to consider the
following priority areas outlined by the Electronic Tools
Task Force during its recent meeting
in Arendal, Norway, March 8-9, 2001:
- Building the capacities of public authorities in the
use of electronic tools;
- Developing common approaches and tools for disseminating
environmental information via the Internet;
- Establishing environmental gateways as user-friendly
access mechanisms;
- Using electronic media to raise awareness about the
Convention and the opportunities it offers to citizens;
- Working together with NGOs, the mass media and other
users to improve the quality of environmental information
and access to it; and
- Promoting public access centres in countries with inadequate
electronic infrastructures.
These issues were identified following discussions in Arendal
on priority electronic tools and the challenges to their
implementation within the UNECE region.
Online discussions will be automatically copied to the
e-aarhus virtual community and will feed into the work of
the Electronic Tools Task Force as it addresses these issues
over the coming months. Based on your feedback and comments,
you may be invited to participate and present your proposals
in future Task Force meetings.
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