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Spring 2002 Archive
A European
Regional Expert Meeting of the United Nations ICT
(Information and Communications Technologies) Task
Force Regional Network, will take place on the 29th
April 2002, in Geneva. This meeting is organised by the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
A provisional agenda is available
from the Task Force Web site. The meeting is intended
to help define the focus of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), scheduled
for November 2002 in Bucharest.
New mandate for the Task Force
Following the Aarhus Convention's Working Group Meeting
for the preparation of the first Meeting of Parties in Geneva,
November 2001, the Electronic Tools Task Force is currently
seeking a new mandate. According to the Meeting
Report: "The working group welcomed the work undertaken
by the Task Force and agreed that it had fulfilled its mandate...Austria
was invited to support the secretariat in preparing a draft
decision for the Meeting of Parties [in Rome, October 14-16]
identifying possible future actions and a possible new mandate
for the Task Force." Work to this end continues within the
secretariat.
Bridging the Digital Divide
In January 2002, the United Nations has taken a major
step toward bridging the 'Digital Divide' with the adoption,
by the General Assembly, of a resolution which welcomes
the organization of the World Summit on the Information
Society. The Summit, which is expected to promote access
by all countries to information, knowledge and communications
technologies for development, is to be held in two phases,
the first in Geneva in 2003 and the second in Tunisia
in 2005. The full announcement is now online
besides the UN
resolution.
Internet and Local Government
Italy will also host a conference in Cagliari, 27-29
May 2002 intended to examine the role of the Internet
in local government. The event is co-sponsored by the
EC's DG
Information Society and the region of Sardegna. It
will examine the issues of e-government, e- democracy
and technological innovation for local economies.
More news relating to Information
Society Technologies is also available.
A Sustainable e-Europe: Can ICT Create
Economic, Social and Environmental Value?
International workshop hosted in London, May 22, 2002.
SustainIT
organised a major conference on behalf of the European
Commission's Directorate for Enterprise on May 22. The
aim of this event was to obtain the views of business,
NGOs and others on the relationship between sustainable
development and ICT. The final report is now
available and the speakers’ presentations may
be viewed on the SustainIT
website.
European Regional Expert Meeting on Information
and Communication Technologies, Geneva, April 29, 2002
During the preparatory process for the World Summit
on the Information Society, on April 29, 2002, UNECE helped
organise the European Regional Expert Meeting on Information
and Communication Technologies in preparation for the
Pan-European
Conference (November 7-9, 2002, Bucharest, Romania).
One of the panel discussions focused on democracy and
participation in the information society, and a presentation
on the potential of the Aarhus Convention to use electronic
tools to promote environmental democracy was delivered
by Jeremy Wates on behalf of Kaj Barlund.
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News
archive, Autumn 2001
News
archive, Spring 2001
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