-----Original Message----- From: owner-ifip_ga@ifip.or.at [mailto:owner-ifip_ga@ifip.or.at]On Behalf Of Plamen Nedkov Sent: quinta-feira, 23 de Janeiro de 2003 09:07 To: All Subject: [IFIP] WITFOR: Commission 4 Empowerment Importance: High

Dear All,

Re: The World Information Technology Forum and Commission 4 on Empowerment and Participation

Since September 2001, IFIP and our Lithuanian colleagues are busy in putting the WITFOR organization in place: At UNESCO's 31st General Conference in (October 2001) there were consultations with a number of national delegates, NGOs and UNESCO officials to solicit their support. In 2002, the conference organizers and hosts and IFIP centrally worked hard to build a coalition of partners, solicit UNESCO's active engagement including its auspices for WITFOR, produce and distribute an excellent brochure... In December ' 02, a meeting of the Co-chairs of the 8 program Commissions (Streams) was held in Vilnius. This launched the most important stage of preparations of the program, themes, specific topics, recommendations and projects of the 8 Commissions comprising WITFOR.

Commission 4 on "Empowerment and Participation" reflects WITFOR's drive, objectives and efforts. For this commission we have put together an alliance of partners -- representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Science Council (ICSU), the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee and its Commission on New Technologies, and the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) -- whose mandate, representation and recognition makes it indispensable for getting across policy statements, recommendations and projects of major professional and societal significance and impact. The partners in this alliance have the past experience of close interactions on which we intend to build for further results.

We have structured our work in a way allowing coordinators of specific projects to develop their part on the basis of their organization's experience and also accounting for the input of other members and the ICT community. To augment this activity and the finalized Commission report we intend to organize a panel during WITFOR with the participation of 4 distinguished personalities whose experience and wisdom transcend the boundaries of leading national and international institutions.

This is just the tip of the concept. For the fine print and who are the members and distinguished panelists click on http://www.ifip.or.at/comm4.htm .

With this introduction may I invite you to visit the WITFOR website and the brand new site of Commission 4 on Empowerment and Participation at http://www.ifip.or.at/comm4.htm . The link to WITFOR gives you access to the broader picture and the scope of activities of all 8 commissions.

We hope you would contribute to the work of Commission 4 with your comments, ideas, recommendations via our online Forum or by writing directly to the project coordinators and the Commission co-chairs. We hope you would also contribute to the work of the other commissions.

The commission 4 website is shiningly new and I count on your tolerance for any errors or omissions.

We look forward to your contributions and participation.

Greetings,

Plamen Nedkov Executive Director, IFIP Hofstrasse 3, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria Tel: +43 2236 73616 Fax: +43 2236 736169 http://www.ifip.org/