-----Original Message----- From: owner-ifip_ga@ifip.or.at [mailto:owner-ifip_ga@ifip.or.at]On Behalf Of Plamen Nedkov Sent: sexta-feira, 21 de Junho de 2002 10:31 To: all Subject: [IFIP] Information Release: WSIS - A Digital Opportunity

Information Release

[Information poverty is a reality for much of the world. 83 countries still have a teledensity below 10 lines for every 100 inhabitants; 25 countries still have a teledensity below one per cent. The situation is worse for Internet access. Some 61 countries have less than one percent Internet use. The services are often prohibitive to use due to high prices. "A call from the United States to Switzerland costs less than five US cents a minute, whereas a call to many parts of Africa costs over one US Dollar per minute, or twenty times more. If the price came down, African citizens would better be able to join the international community".]

This is part of an ITU Press release entitled "World Leaders must shape the direction of the 'Information Society'" and available at http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2002/15.html It reports on the speech of the ITU Secretary General at the UN General Assembly in New York and outlines the objectives of The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) whose first phase will be in Geneva in December 2003 and the second phase in Tunis in 2005. WSIS will be the outcome of a wide variety of inputs, Action Plans and Preparatory Committees. PrepCom1 is scheduled for 1-5 July 2002 in Geneva.

The International Council for Science (ICSU -- http://www.icsu.org ) and IFIP agreed this week to join efforts for a Science and Technology session as part of PrepCom1 on 2 July which will address the Science & Technology contributions for the Information Society including public domain and digital divide issues. Dr. Chrisanthi Avgerou, IFIP TC 9 Vice Chair and WG 9.4 Chair, is scheduled to speak on the Social implications of information technologies in developing countries.

Another IFIP contribution for WSIS would be a Joint UNESCO-IFIP Declaration on Youth to be presented for endorsement at the 17th IFIP World Computer Congress in Montreal -- http://www.wcc2002.org

The Delivery Co.

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