-----Original Message----- From: owner-ifip_ga@ifip.or.at [mailto:owner-ifip_ga@ifip.or.at]On Behalf Of Plamen Nedkov Sent: terca-feira, 15 de Janeiro de 2002 08:08 To: All Subject: Bridging the Digital Divide and more
Dear All -
1. United Nations adopts Resolution on the World Summit on the Information Society 2. Other IFIP business
1. United Nations adopts Resolution on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
The United Nations has taken a major step towards bridging the 'Digital Divide' with the adoption, by the General Assembly, of a resolution which welcomes the organization of the WSIS. The Summit is expected to promote access by all countries to information, knowledge and communications technologies for development and will be held in two phases, in Geneva in 2003 and in Tunisia in 2005. It will convene under the high patronage of the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.
The resolution calls on governments to actively participate in Summit preparations and to be represented at the highest possible level. It has also asked for the active participation in the Summit and its preparations by all relevant United Nations and intergovernmental organizations, international and regional institutions, non-governmental organizations, the civil society and the private sector. ITU will work to create synergies and develop cooperation among the various ICT initiatives at the regional and global level.
The full text of the Press Release is available at http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2002/01.html
UNESCO will hold a series of consultative meetings intended to formulate a set of proposals for inclusion in the Declaration of Principles and the plan of action that WSIS 2003 is expected to adopt. IFIP is invited to participate in one of these consultative meetings on "Infostructure in developing countries". Several other IFIP activities are geared towards WSIS, among them the organization of an IFIP-UNESCO Roundtable during IFIP's Congress in Montreal, 25-30 August 2002 and the First IFIP World Information Technology Forum, Vilnius, Lithuania 27-29 August 2003. [An internal IFIP GA note related to ICT for development was circulated last week and is posted at http://www.ifip.or.at/mail/msg00097.html ]
2. Other IFIP business
The "First Story for 2002" http://www.ifip.or.at/mail/msg00096.html showed that IFIP has achieved an important objective -- from the responses we note that many IFIP people are proud of being Silver Core Holders and included IFIP "SC Holder" in their signature line.
The other positive development is that people wish to re-establish their participation in IFIP and to maintain contact with each other. Sylvia Charp's note, which we shared with you, is an expression of this process and it triggered mails from several of you who wrote to find out how she is faring and to ask for her coordinates. Sylvia is obviously faring well and she is Editor-in-Chief of THE Journal (Technical Horizons in Education).
Finally, the lighter side is that the "Men's Camp" is split over JAN Lee's VERY LAST Story [5 stages of man's life]. An "anti-Lee" faction is not happy with it as they feel their manhood is tested while a "Leeist" [but not least] group fully supports JAN's observations which they confirm by another story [see Fun Lover's Zone below].
Greetings,
The Delivery Co. -------------------------------- Fun Lover's Zone Only!
Man is like a train:
At 20 he is like the local: He stops at every station.
At 30 he is like the special: He stops at large towns only.
At 40 he is like the express: He stops only in very big cities.
At 50 he is like the old locomotive: He stops often to water.
At 60 ..... He remains in the yard.