UNISIST newsletter, vol. 31, no. 1; UNISIST newsletter...

UNISIST Newsletter

INFO

RMAT

ION,

INFO

RMAT

ICS,

TEL

EMAT

ICS

Vol. 31 No. 12 0 0 3

United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization

CONTENTS

INFORMATION FOR ALL PROGRAMME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3IFAP INTERGOVERNMENTAL COUNCIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3WSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3ASIAN REGIONAL PRE-CONFERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

LIBRARIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5SEMINAR ON IFLA/UNESCO’S PUBLIC

AND SCHOOL LIBRARY MANIFESTOS AND GUIDELINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

MEMORY OF THE WORLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6MEMORY OF THE WORLD PROGRAMME, REGISTER SUB-COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6CENTRAL ASIAN INITIATIVES FOR SAFEGUARDING DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE . . . . . . . . 6AUSTRALIAN MEMORY OF THE WORLD COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7SLAVE TRADE ARCHIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

DIGITAL HERITAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8REGIONAL EXPERT MEETING ON THE PRESERVATION

OF DIGITAL HERITAGE FOR CENTRAL EUROPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8CULTURAL HERITAGE IN IRAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

ARCHIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR ARCHIVISTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

AUDIOVISUAL ARCHIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11SECOND NATIONAL MEXICAN SEMINAR ON SOUND AND VISUAL ARCHIVES . . . . . . . . . . 11JTS 2004: PRESERVING THE AUDIOVISUAL HERITAGE - TRANSITION AND ACCESS . . . . . . 11XV INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES CONGRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TELEMATICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12ICT AND EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12OPEN COURSEWARE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13ACADEMY FOR COMPUTER-ASSISTED TRAINING

AND LEARNING FOR EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13ICTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14ELECTRONIC THESES AND DISSERTATIONS WORLDWIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

INFOYOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15NEW INFOYOUTH MEMBER IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

STAFF MOVEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

REGIONAL OFFICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16ASIA AND THE PACIFIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

NEW PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

UNISIST Newsletter Vol. 31, No. 1, 2003

Information Society DivisionCommunication and Information Sector

THE second session of the Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Pro-

gramme was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 22 to 24 April 2003. The meeting was opened by the Director-Generalwho welcomed the representatives of 24 of the 26 Member States sitting on the councilalong with observers from international non-governmental organizations, intergovernmentalorganizations and from other UNESCOMember States.

Among the items discussed was the issue ofsafeguarding of the documentary heritage inIraq. The Council expressed its support for theposition taken by the Executive Board and thedeclarations of the Director-General concern-ing the situation in Iraq. It urged the Director-General that any UNESCO assistance shouldpay particular attention to libraries and archivesas custodians of the Iraqi heritage and govern-mental records vital to the functioning of publicadministration and the protection of the rightsof Iraqi citizens. UNESCO’s efforts in this area

should be implemented in close cooperationwith the competent non-governmental organ-izations such as the International Federation ofLibrary Associations and Institutions (IFLA),the International Council on Archives (ICA)and the International Association of Sound andAudiovisual Archives (IASA) which maintainformal relations with the Organization.

The Council also acknowledged the work ofUNESCO so far in ensuring that its keypriorities relating to freedom of expression,cultural diversity, equal access to education anduniversal access to information are included onthe Agenda for the World Summit on theInformation Society (WSIS).

All documents of the Council and its Bureauare also available on-line for consultation at:http://www.unesco.org/webworld/ifap

☞ For additional information please contact Mr Axel Plathe, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rueMiollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331)45.68.44.67. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83. E-mail:[email protected]

3

INFORMATION FOR ALLPROGRAMME

IFAP Intergovernmental Council

UNISIST Newsletter Vol. 31, No. 1, 2003

THE second meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom II) of the World

Summit on the Information Society held inFebruary 2003 in Geneva was intended toprepare the drafts of the Declaration ofPrinciples and the Plan of Action, and through aworking group open to all states, began work onthe structure and basic elements of the WSISDraft Declaration of Principles and Action Plan.The draft was posted on the WSIS website inMarch 2003, and will serve as basic working

documents for the further deliberation of thePrepCom, particularly during the negotiationprocess.

UNESCO's concerns, namely freedom ofexpression, cultural and linguistic diversity,universal access to information and equitableaccess to education, received strong support andare so far adequately reflected in the workingdocuments, but the Organization should furtherstrive to ensure that Member States confirmthese elements as part of the WSIS outcomes.

WSIS

http://www.unesco.org/webworld/ifap

4 UNISIST Newsletter Vol. 31, No. 1, 2003

Asian Regional Pre-Conference Tokyo, Japan

THE three-day Asian Regional Pre-confe-rence was held in January 2003 and brought

together representatives of governments, privatecompanies and nongovernmental organizations(NGOs) from all sectors.

UNESCO organized the debate on“Cultural and Linguistic Diversity”, one of sixpanel discussions. Its results can be summarizedas follows:

• Cultural Diversity, including multilingualismis a key principle.

• There must be a balance between IntellectualProperty Rights and the rights of access,especially for information in the publicdomain.

• Public domain information should beavailable to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

• The creation of local contents must befostered.

• Pacific Island States face special challengesand need different solutions from countrieswith large populations.

• Linguistic diversity on the Internet will onlybe achieved with explicit support.

• ICTs must be used to foster oral cultures.

• ICTs must be used more effectively for thepreservation of the environment.

The issue of cultural and linguistic diversityin the Information Society was largely coveredin the Final Declaration of the Conference aswere two others of UNESCO's main concerns,namely the issue of equitable access (includ-ing a strong reference to the needs of ensuring a strong public domain of information, anequitable balance between intellectual propertyrights and the needs of the users, as well as thedevelopment of open source solutions) andeducation in the information society (both theuse of ICTs for education and ICT literacy).

Although the concerns of Pacific IslandStates were well covered, both at side eventsand the conference itself, in order to furtherdevelop their positions for the Summit meetingin December, UNESCO also organized a WSISPacific preparatory meeting for its stakeholdersin Suva, Fiji in April with the goals of preparingPacific Island countries and organizations toparticipate effectively in the World Summit onthe Information Society (WSIS). [Developedunder Regional Office].

To this end, UNESCO will host a formal,open-ended intergovernmental drafting group atits Headquarters in Paris in July 2003. Thus,WSIS Intersessional Meeting is being convenedby the President of the WSIS Preparatory Com-mittee from 15 to 18 July 2003 at UNESCOHeadquarters in Paris. The meeting organizedby the WSIS Executive Secretariat and hosted by UNESCO is intended to review the work-ing documents for the Draft Declaration ofPrinciples and Draft Action Plan and to advancethe negotiations on the Summit on the basis ofthe documents generated by the PrepCom-2 andthe results achieved during the intersessionalperiod.

UNESCO is also organizing High LevelColloquium bringing together eminent thinkersincluding Nobel prize-winners, leading academicsand philosophers having an interest in the

information society, in order to consider thelong-term implications and challenges of thedigital revolution and share their vision withWSIS participants.

The Colloquium, with Heads of States andNobel Prize Winners as interveners and WSISparticipants will be held in Geneva, on 9 December 2003.

UNESCO’s participation was also requestedin future events such as meeting of NGOs andcivil society groups of the Arab Region held inconnection with the Arab Regional MinisterialPre-Conference and organized by the EgyptianMinistry of Communications and InformationTechnology in cooperation with the ArabLeague in June 2003. This regional conferenceaimed at reaching a unified Arab stance on theaction plan to be presented at the Intersessionalmeeting, at Prep Com III as well as the Summit.

SOME 150 experts from 16 Caribbean countries and territories, as well as Brazil,

France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, theUnited Kingdom and Venezuela, met in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in May 2003.

The primary objective of the seminar was topresent the IFLA/UNESCO Public and SchoolLibrary Manifestos and respective Guidelines,to Caribbean librarians who work or areexperienced in policy formulation or trainingfor public and school librarianship. Theseminar provided the opportunity for a reviewof the state of public and school libraries in the various countries through the presentationof country reports. Participants identifiedspecific issues, which need to be addressed if the Manifestos and Guidelines are to beimplemented in public and school librarysystems in the Caribbean. Participants focusedon how best to meet the needs of the Caribbeancommunities. The seminar also provided an opportunity for discussion and guidance on the formulation of policies and trainingprogrammes in libraries in the region.

The Seminar revealed that IFLA/UNESCOManifestos and Guidelines for public andschool libraries have had a limited impact onthe operations of libraries in the Caribbean.Exposure to the guidelines and measuresrecommended in these documents can have apositive effect on the future direction of libraryservices to the public and to schools, and on theorientation and performance of personnel at all levels in these libraries.

The meeting provided a good opportunityfor participants to exchange experiences andgain a better understanding of the latestdevelopments in public and school librarian-ship in the new information era, and for thepromotion of the IFLA/UNESCO Public andSchool Library Manifestos and Guidelines andthe Information for All Programme.

Participants discussed in group sessions fourtopical public and school librarianship issues andformulated recommendations that were pre-sented in plenary. These are summarized below:

Information as the Core Business of LibrariesPartnerships between the public and schoollibraries are essential if communities’ needs forinformation are to be met seamlessly andeffectively. Librarians need to utilize allopportunities to put the library at the centre of the world of information and knowledge.

Development of Library AssociationsThe establishment and/or strengthening ofLibrary Associations as efficient and effectiveorganizations will facilitate sensitizing andraising awareness of governments and com-munities that the school library is fundamentalto national economic development, and shouldtherefore be afforded access to digital resourcesat reasonable costs in order to facilitateindependent learning and democratization ofinformation.

Human Resource Development The application of expert information andknowledge organization skills of librarianswithin sectoral applications and in support of the rural areas must become a central area of professional practice and enable them to develop excellent research capabilities tofacilitate needs analysis, strategic planning anditerative evaluation of services and exploitationof factual data for enhancement of informationservices and advocacy activities.

Cooperation and NetworksCooperation should be enhanced through theuse of ICTs for networking of sectoral inform-ation sources through list serves which arelinked to existing regional infrastructures, andlibrarians should commit themselves to market-ing the UNESCO Manifestos for the Public andSchool Libraries and the respective Guidelinesto librarians as well as to stakeholders.

☞ For additional information please contact Mr A. Abid, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis,75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331)45.68.44.96. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83. E-mail:[email protected]

5UNISIST Newsletter Vol. 31, No. 1, 2003

LIBRARIESSeminar on IFLA/UNESCO’s

Public and School Library Manifestos and Guidelines

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 5-7 May 2003


THE inaugural meeting of the Register Sub-Committee of the International Advisory

Committee (IAC) of the Memory of the Worldprogramme took place at UNESCO’s Head-quarters in March 2003. The Sub-committee,which comprises international archives, libraryand heritage experts, convened for a two-daysession.

This new body was established by the IACat its fifth meeting in the Republic of Korea in 2001 and its main task is to recommendinscription on the International Register ofdocuments which have had a wide influence on peoples and events. Its role include themonitoring of the various Registers (national,regional and international) to ensure that theyremained in good order and it can recommendthe removal of an entry on a Register shouldconditions such as major deterioration ofstorage conditions, decay and loss of materialor refusal of access without good reason befound to occur.

The Sub-committee examined over 40 newnominations that have been proposed for

inscription on the International Register and itsrecommendations will be discussed during theIAC meeting to be held in Gdansk, Poland from28-30 August 2003. The decision of the IAC willbe transmitted to UNESCO’s Director-Generalfor endorsement. All registers contain materialof world significance and a document mayappear on more than one Register.

The list of nominations as well as collectionson the international register can be consulted at: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm. Atpresent, the Register lists 68 collections of worldsignificance.

The impact of the Memory of the WorldProgramme can be seen through the number ofnominations received from Member States suchas Croatia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Uruguay, whichhave submitted proposals for the first time.

☞ For additional information please contact Mrs Joie Springer, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rueMiollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331)45.68.44.97. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83. E-mail: j. [email protected]

MEMORY OF THE WORLD

Memory of the World Programme, Register Sub-Committee

MEASURES to improve the preservation of the documentary heritage were

the focus of discussions during a meet-ing of National Committees of the Memory of the World Programme in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan at the Kazakh National Library in Almaty inApril 2003.

Discussion also focussed on strengtheningregional networking to foster cooperation inpreservation and access to documentary heritageamong the four countries and to preparenominations from each country for inclusion inMemory of the World Register.

Participants agreed to implement four-yearprogrammes for training of documentary

Central Asian Initiatives for Safeguarding Documentary Heritage

http://www.unesco.org/webworld/mdm


IN the National Library of Australia on Wednesday 30 April 2003, the Australian

representative on UNESCO’s Executive Boardpresented certificates marking the first inscrip-tions on the Australian Memory of the WorldRegister.

Outstanding collections and documentswhich have been deemed by UNESCO tocomprise precious and irreplaceable parts ofAustralia’s national memory have been addedto the recently launched Australian Memory ofthe World Register. They are:

• The Walter Burley Griffin and MarionMahony Griffin Plan of Canberra

• The archival records of the AustralianAgricultural Company, the nation’s oldestsurviving commercial entity

• The Cinesound Movietone collection ofweekly cinema newsreels from 1931 to1975: a living record of Australia’s life andtimes

• Constitutional documents: an assembly ofkey items charting the development ofAustralian democracy

• The Endeavour Journal of Captain JamesCook

• The Mabo Case Manuscripts.The Cook journal and the Mabo manus-

cripts are also inscribed on the InternationalMemory of the World Register and so are auto-matically included on the National register. The other items were assessed by the AustralianMemory of the World Committee, through a rigorous process, to meet the criteria forinclusion on the National Register.

Inscription certificates will be presented to the institutions responsible for safekeeping

of this heritage. They include the NationalArchives of Australia, National Library ofAustralia, National Screen and Sound Archive(ScreenSound Australia), the High Court,Parliament House and the Noel Butlin ArchivesCentre, Australian National University.

☞ Further information please contact:Jan Lyall: [email protected]

Roslyn Russell: [email protected] Website www.amw.org.au

Australian Memoryof the World Committee

heritage professionals as well as for collectionspreservation and access assessment.

It was also decided to develop a website thatwould support the proposed Memory of theWorld network and facilitate the programme in Central Asia. The integration of multi-lingualism within the Central Asian regional

development of the Programme was alsorecommended.

☞ For additional information please contact Mr Sergey Karpov, UNESCO Office inAlmaty, 67, Tole Bi Street, 4th floor, Almaty480091, Kazakhstan. Tel: 7 3272 58 26 37/38.E-mail: [email protected]

National Archives of Argentina

Within the framework of this project,UNESCO is undertaking a number of projectsto safeguard the memory of the centuries-longtrans-Atlantic trade in human beings. In LatinAmerica and the Caribbean significant progresshas been achieved to date.

Reconstructing one of the darkest pages ofArgentina’s history, that of the African slavetrade to the Rio de La Plata, is the aim of thecontribution of the National Archives (ArchivoGeneral de la Nación) of Argentina to the SlaveTrade Archives project. More than 500 docu-ments have been digitized with UNESCO’sfinancial support by the institution.

These documents have been chosen fromamong 5,000 documents collected by theNational Archives on the Slave trade forpublication in the near future on the Internet.This initiative forms part of the overall SlaveRoute Project launched by UNESCO in 1994. A Committee created with the mandate ofexamining the global question of the slave tradeand its impact on the economic and politicalsituation in a number of countries, concludedthat it was essential to preserve archival materialsand to digitize the original documentary sourcesfor greater access and awareness.

Barbados Museum and Historical Society

A similar project is being undertaken by theBarbados Museum and Historical Society

which seeks to determine the extant knowledgeof the location, quantity and conservation of original documents related to the slave trade and the heritage of the enslaved in theCaribbean region. Through a research surveyform designed to assist Caribbean herit-age institutions in identifying historic docu-ments encompassing the documentary heritageof enslaved peoples of the Caribbean, the project has revealed an interesting aspect of one of the defining moments in worldhistory.

It also provides details of the conservationand collections management problems facingslave trade archives in the region includingmanpower and financial constraints. In add-ition, it has highlighted the fact that somecountries have no original documents relatingto slavery within their archives, but rely insteadon copies or microfilm. This results in limitedaccess for the local researcher, professional or amateur, whereas for the people of eachcountry, documentation that might enable themto better understand their past is largely lost tothem. Projects such as this will go some waytowards enabling greater awareness of identityand access to information with which to shape,understand and engender that identity builtfrom societies created out of 500 years ofenslavement in the Americas.


Slave Trade Archives


THE Expert Meeting held in Budapest, Hungary in March 2003 formed part of

UNESCO's campaign to preserve the world'sdigital heritage. The meeting was attended by

DIGITAL HERITAGERegional Expert Meeting

on the Preservation of Digital Heritage for Central Europe


22 experts from six Central European countriesand included representatives from Ministries,National Commissions for UNESCO, NationalLibraries and Archives, Museums, Universities,producers, preservers and users of digitalheritage materials.

Participants discussed digital preservationchallenges in Central Europe where, similar toother regions, an increasingly large proportionof information is being produced in digitalform accessible only through machines.

The Meeting examined two key draft docu-ments: a revised draft Charter on the Pre-servation of the Digital Heritage currently beingprepared by UNESCO, and the UNESCOdraft technical guidelines on the preservation ofdigital heritage.

There was strong support for theseinitiatives to prepare a Charter and Guidelineson the Preservation of Digital Heritage. TheCharter was seen as an important means of

focusing global attention on a key issue andencouraging problem-solving measures. TheDraft was found to be well-balanced, reflectingthe interests of Central European countries,and was supported, with a few modificationsproposed.

The meeting was deemed a success asparticipants gained a better understanding of digital preservation, including the nature of the problems and the limitations of solu-tions proposed as well as current efforts toaddress the problem. It provided an excellentopportunity at first hand to learn about thedigital environment in Central Europe, toexchange views and experience and learn fromeach other.


SOME 30 leading experts met at UNESCO Headquarters in April 2003 to attempt a

preliminary evaluation of the state of thecountry’s heritage. The meeting sought todetermine the urgent measures required tosafeguard this heritage, which dates backthousands of years.

The Director-General of UNESCO, KoïchiroMatsuura, in his address to the internationalexperts, appealed to all States to adopt legal and administrative measures to prevent theimportation of cultural, archaeological orbibliographical objects from Iraq and alsocalled upon museums, art dealers and privatecollectors to exclude these objects fromcommercial transactions.

Mr Matsuura also intends to request theSecretary-General of the United Nations tosubmit the question of illicit traffic to theSecurity Council for the adoption of aresolution imposing an embargo, for a limitedperiod, on the acquisition of all Iraqi culturalobjects and the return of any goods to Iraq thathad already been acquired or exported.

UNESCO called for the urgent establish-ment of a database combining all of thearchives, lists and inventories relating to theIraqi heritage, which would enable customs andpolice authorities, as well as art dealers and allconcerned parties, to identify and check thestatus of a particular object, noting that thedatabase could only become operational after aprecise appraisal of the objects that had beenstolen or destroyed.

The Director-General thanked the num-erous States that expressed their readiness tocontribute to emergency measures taken byUNESCO by means of expert help or financialsupport. He welcomed the initiatives of Italy,which was the first to offer a contribution of $400,000 for the protection of the Iraqiheritage. This initiative was followed by manyothers, growing daily in number, from Statesincluding Qatar, France, Germany, the UnitedKingdom and Egypt, from institutions such asthe United Nations Foundation and the ArabLeague Educational, Cultural and ScientificOrganization (ALECSO), from scientific

Cultural Heritage in Iraq

networks and from individuals. The Director-General expressed his delight with suchinitiatives, which will boost the Special Fundfor the Iraqi Cultural Heritage that he hasrecently established.

The experts issued the following statement:

The meeting deplores and is deeply shocked bythe extensive damage to, and looting of thecultural heritage of Iraq caused by the recentconflict. It calls on the coalition forces toobserve the principles of the 1954 HagueConvention for the Protection of CulturalProperty in the Event of Armed Conflict and itstwo Protocols.

The meeting agreed on the following recom-mendations to those responsible for civil orderin Iraq:

• That all museums, libraries, archives monu-ments and sites in Iraq be guarded andsecured immediately by the forces inplace.

• That an immediate prohibition be placedon the export of all antiques, antiquities,works of art, books and archives fromIraq.

• That an immediate ban be placed on theinternational trade in objects of Iraqicultural heritage.

• That a call be made for the voluntary andimmediate return of cultural objects stolenor illicitly exported from Iraq.

• That there be an immediate fact-findingmission under UNESCO coordination toassess the extent of damage and loss tocultural property in Iraq.

• That there be the facilitation of inter-national efforts in assisting culturalinstitutions in Iraq.


UNESCO is funding the development of an open-source software to create “finding

aids”, (a term used by archivists to describecatalogues). Being developed in cooperationwith the International Council on Archives(ICA), efforts are concentrating on furtheranalysis the functional, application and tech-nical requirements of the tool and provide ananalysis of the needs of archives users and ofarchivists.

A feasibility study for the project was madeearlier by ICA experts who found that it wouldbe highly desirable to develop a modular, open-source software tool that could be used byarchives worldwide to manage the intellectualcontrol of their holdings through the recordingof standardized descriptive data.

The expert group assigned to undertake thistask will also analyse existing archival softwaresolutions and establish cost models for either

use, customization or development of a tool, ifpossible, using software development expertisein developing countries.

The group is also requested to make recom-mendations for sponsorships, partnerships andmaintenance with the public and private sectorand to make recommendations as to require-ments for distribution, maintenance, updating,improvement, support, training and communi-cations with users.

The report with recommendations onfeasibility of either adoption of an existingsoftware tool or the development of a new toolis expected to be available in the second half of 2003.


ARCHIVESOpen-Source Software for Archivists


THE Second National Seminar on Sound and Visual Archives organized by ‘Radio-

educacción’ and the ‘Centro Nacional de lasArtes’ was held in Mexico City from 19 to 23 May. The objective of the seminar was to raise awareness of the endangered audiovisualheritage, which runs the risk of disappearingwithout leaving a trace. With inputs frominternational and national experts from radioand television, archivists were encouraged toreflect, in plenary sessions and workshops, onissues concerning the safeguard of heritagecollections, their preservation and transfer fromanalogue to digital media.

UNESCO was invited to deliver the keynoteaddress. The event evoked a great deal of interestamong archivists and the press. It is evident thatthe press was unaware of the extent of thepotential danger to the audiovisual heritage.

Judging from the issues that were high-lighted and the response of the audience, therewill obviously be a growing demand forworkshops of this type as they allow not onlyinteraction with international experts –severalrepresentatives of the CCAAA NGOs (current-ly seven NGOs meeting under the umbrella

of UNESCO) were also invited– but also the opportunity to discuss problems withcolleagues to find appropriate solutions.

This seminar itself was a follow-up to the 1stInternational Conference on Sound and VisualArchives in Latin America, which took place in2001 to examine technical issues of concern toaudiovisual archivists.

A similar seminar is planned for Jamaica in November 2003 for the English-speakingCaribbean and other seminars are also beingdiscussed. It is essential to develop a mechanismthat corresponds to needs of developing countrieswithout being too financially imposing and thedevelopment of a common training strategy foraudiovisual archivists in developing countries isbeing discussed. It is hoped that the long-termresult will be a blueprint containing a practicalcurriculum, a register of experts and training kitsavailable in different formats that can be appliedin developing country situations.

☞ For additional information please contact Mrs Joie Springer, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rueMiollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331)45.68.44.97. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83. E-mail: j. [email protected]

AUDIOVISUAL ARCHIVESSecond National Mexican Seminar

on Sound and Visual Archives

THE sixth technical symposium to examine issues of concern to audiovisual archivists

will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from24 to 26 June 2004. The symposium will beorganized jointly by the participating membersof the CCAAA (Co-ordinating Council ofAudiovisual Archives Associations) with AMIA(Association of Moving Image Archivists)coordinating the event.

The three-day event will be held at the IsabelBader Theatre (See: http://vicu.utoronto.ca/bader/index.htm) on the theme Preservingthe Audiovisual Heritage – Transition and

Access which was developed by the JTS 2004Programme Committee.

Each of the preceding conferences devel-oped themes relating to conservation andpreservation from the viewpoints of the major types of collections: film, television and sound. More details can be found on the website: http://www.jts2004.org/ (underconstruction at the time of printing) with alaunch date scheduled for later in 2003.

☞ For additional information please contact Mrs Joie Springer at the above address.

JTS 2004: Preserving the Audiovisual Heritage - Transition and Access

http://vicu.utoronto.ca/

http://www.jts2004.org/

THE International Council on Archives is pleased to announce the XVth International

Congress in Archives scheduled to take placefrom 23-29 August 2004 organized in collabor-ation with the Austrian State Archives. Heldevery four years, the conference provides atimely opportunity for archivists from all overthe world to exchange ideas and find solutions tocommon problems.

The 15th session will have a new look asICA and the organizers will run concurrentsessions providing a forum for more interactiveparticipation, workshops, round tables andformal presentations. The theme of the up-coming conference is “Archives, Memory andKnowledge” and will further examine issuessuch as advocacy in support of archives,evolving legal frameworks for archives, edu-cation and training, standards and best practicesas well as preservation.

The detailed conference programme isexpected to be online from September 2003.


XV International Archives Congress


UNESCO and FAO are currently exploring methods for closer cooperation in the

development of Distance Education Modules(DEM) on Information Management.

This is regarded as an excellent opportunityto share know-how in distance education toolswhile avoiding a duplication of efforts. FAOhas considerable experience in the design ofDEM, which UNESCO particularly wishes to further expand for librarians and inform-ation specialists as it is interested in gainingexperience in distance education tool while

making LDCs education stakeholders bene-fit from open access distance learning tools.The FAO module has a fairly simple inter-face and requires a very basic configuration.The whole software and learning is charge-free. The resource kit will be designed as areusable learning content managing system,which will be further exploited as a tool kit.FAO has agreed to the design of a nutshelltoolkit from a UNESCO/FAO joint DEMpilot for librarians and be applied to any othergeneral matters.

TELEMATICSICT and Education


UNESCO is providing free software(Greenstone and CDS/ISIS) and referencedocuments. FAO is promoting the use anddissemination of these tools to agricultureinformation specialist worldwide as part of theresource kit.

The core product will include software,methodological, and a reusable pedagogical

framework for use among educational bodiesin LDCs as well as within UNESCO as atraining tool on UNESCO's priorities.

☞ For additional information please contact Mrs Armelle Arrou, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rueMiollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel:(331) 45.68.42.08. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83. E-mail: [email protected]

WHILE the digital educational dividefurther widens, UNESCO and its

partners are launching a new project to fosteraccess to open educational knowledge in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Theproject is a follow-up to UNESCO expertforum on the impact of open courseware forhigher education in developing countries heldin July 2002.

The project consists in establishing an online repository of existing educational non-commercial resources –Open EducationalResources (OERs) and Open CourseWare(OCW)– available for free consultation, use and adaptation by any educational institutionor individual learner, anywhere in the world,with a special focus on the LDCs and SmallIsland States.

The project is intended for educationalexperts to share and efficiently use teachers’expertise and contributions by building onprevious experiences, thus establishing acontinuing dialogue concerning the creationand use of open courseware. Support servicessuch as specialized software and methodology,localization (including translation) and on-lineassistance will also be available.

The project will encourage the participationof users through feedback, comments andtranslations. The on-line community will serveto ensure interactivity and cooperation betweenproviders and users. Priority will initially begiven to higher education educational materialsbut the repository will be extended as soon aspossible to other types of education, especiallythose relating to basic and vocational educationas these have a significant impact on development.

In addition to offering experts from LDCsthe opportunity to take part in the global-ization of education, the project is designed toboost international cooperation by develop-ing and using OERs and to encourage theirdevelopment so as to improve efficiency, impactand to share innovation.

The project is supported by UNESCO, theCommonwealth of Learning and an expertteam including several international educationalassociations as well as universities and existingOERs.

☞ For additional information please contact Mr René Cluzel CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rueMiollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331)45.68.38.85. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83. E-mail:[email protected]

Open Courseware for Higher Education

TRAINING of university teachers in preparing distance online educational materials will

be provided by the new “Regional Academy forComputer-Assisted Training and Learning”(RACATAL) to be established in Kiev under

a $258,000 UNDP/UNESCO project. Theproject was launched in January 2003 with thesigning of a letter of agreement by represent-atives of the Kiev National Taras SchevchenkoUniversity and UNESCO.

Academy for Computer-Assisted Training and Learning for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Initially, the Academy will benefit universities andtraining centres in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan and Ukraine in the framework ofUNESCO’s ACCESS-net (Association of Com-puter Centres for Exploiting Sustainable Synergy)through training of teachers and trainers in newtechnologies such as Learning ManagementSystems and Electronic Content Building in supportof computer-aided preparation of online coursematerials. It is also expected that the Academy willproduce guidelines for the preparation of e-learninguniversity courses such as History, Mathematics,Electronics, Optics and Molecular Physics.

Later, the Academy will expand its activitiesto other countries in the region. It will addressthe growing demand for university teachers,specialists and experts and provide a basis forbetter meeting challenges of emerging ICT-enhanced education in the region.

In addition to research activities to respond to specific regional needs, the Academy will

organize regional IT events, such as workshops,seminars and conferences to promote theexchange of information and expertise.

The Kiev National Taras ShevchenkoUniversity will play a leading role in operatingthe Academy and managing its activities,particularly in maintaining its sustainability inthe long run, having conducted the ‘RegionalAcademy for Advanced Network Admi-nistration and Design’ (RAANAD) since 2000,which was set up by UNESCO in collaborationwith KNTSU and UNDP. The RACATAL hasbeen playing a leading role in networkingcapacity building in the region. The universitywill participate in the project with a financialsupport of US$ 198,000, in addition to in-kindcontributions.

☞ For additional information please contact Mr Yong Nam Kim, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rueMiollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331) 45.68.40.55. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83.E-mail: [email protected]


Anew UNESCO initiative aimed at promoting the use of ICTs by people

with disabilities was inaugurated in May 2003after a two-day expert meeting entitled “ICTs inthe service of persons with disabilities”, held atUNESCO’s Paris Headquarters.

The meeting involved global experts andinstitutions from the public and private sectoras well as from civil society to elaborate aconcept paper and plan of action. Thesedocuments will serve to develop a frame-work of policy initiatives and pilot projects in this field to be supported by UNESCO inconjunction with key partners.

The resulting recommendations are beingfinalized for inclusion in UNESCO’s con-tribution to the upcoming World Summit onthe Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva,Switzerland in December 2003.

ICTs offer individuals the ability to com-pensate for physical or functional limitations,to access knowledge by adapting digital mediato the nature of their disabilities, and toenhance their social and economic integrationin communities by enlarging the scope ofactivities available to them. The actions being

initiated by UNESCO are expected to con-tribute to improving the standard of living ofover 600 million persons around the world;two-thirds of who live in developing countries,and who suffer from a range of disabilities.

A website to provide a forum for discussion,highlighting news, policies, technologies andother information related to ICTs and dis-abilities is also being launched. In developingthis website, UNESCO has endeavoured tofollow the latest guidelines for the creation ofuser-friendly websites facilitating access by allsectors of the population.

The forum has a huge potential to offergreater visibility to the role of ICTs inaddressing disability challenges and it is hopedthat it will help foster the necessary inter-national commitment to supporting measuresthat enhance the lives of disabled persons andensure their inclusion in all aspects of theinformation society.

☞ For additional information please contact Mr Paul Hector, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rueMiollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331)45.68.42.40. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83. E-mail:[email protected]

ICTs and People with Disabilities


IMPROVING graduate education by allowing students to produce electronic documents,

use digital libraries and understand issues inpublishing is one of the main objectives of thesixth international conference of the ElectronicTheses and Dissertations movement held inBerlin, Germany in May 2003.

Organized by the Networked DigitalLibrary of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD),ETD2003 was co-sponsored by UNESCOwithin the framework of its efforts tointernationalize methods and techniques for theelectronic production and publication ofdoctoral theses and dissertations.

The NDLTD initiative, born in the USA, isan open federation of currently 130 memberuniversities and supporting organizations,including research institutions and privatecompanies. Its activities are focused on uni-versities, libraries, faculties and graduatestudents in order to support authoring, index-ing, archiving, dissemination and retrieval ofelectronic theses and dissertations world-wide, with the ultimate goal of increasing the

availability of student research documents for scholars and preserving them electronicallyto empower students through the use ofmultimedia and hypermedia technologies.

Within the programme, UNESCO is financ-ing the organization of tutorials based on itsETD Guide and is covering the costs ofparticipation of trainees from developingcountries and/or countries in transition fromEastern Europe and Africa who are mainlymembers of university administration includinguniversity librarians likely to be involved in the introduction of ETD projects in theirinstitutions.

NDLTD encourages and supports theefforts of universities to unlock their inform-ation resources and to advance digital librarytechnology by sharing of experiences, tools,technology and knowledge.


Electronic Theses and Dissertations Worldwide

Anational youth information centre is being created in the Democratic Republic of

Congo with support from UNESCO and itsINFOYOUTH network. Under funding pro-vided by UNESCO, the National Commissionfor UNESCO of the Democratic Republic ofCongo will carry out the preparatory workincluding creating the centre's website.

The youth information centre, which will beestablished by the General Secretariat for Youthin Kinshasa, will also provide access to theInternet and operate its own web site. The sitewill provide information on youth-relatedissues and facilitate information exchanges bothat national and international levels. The site will also serve as a link with the INFOYOUTH

Network and will allow the regular updating ofdata in the field of youth.

UNESCO will also provide support for two workshops for training youth leaders inICT skills, taking into consideration thespecific needs of the Ministry of Youth, Leisureand Sports. The participation of the DemocraticRepublic of Congo in INFOYOUTH activitiesis intended to help Congolese youth face thechallenges of globalization and sustainabledevelopment.

☞ For additional information please contact Mr Boyan Radoykov, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rueMiollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331)45.68.36.66. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83. E-mail:[email protected]

INFOYOUTHNew INFOYOUTH Member in Democratic Republic of Congo

WITH effect from 1 July 2003, Mr Philippe Quéau has transferred to the UNESCO

Moscow Office as its Director after seven yearsat the Paris Headquarters, first as Director of theDivision of Information and Informatics andthen of the Information Society Division follow-ing the later restructuring of the Communicationand Information Sector.

Mr Quéau is the author of several works on the development of communication andinformation technology. He has contributed to

collective works and has written many articleson subjects within his field of specialization.He began his career in 1977 at the InstitutNational de l’Audiovisuel (INA) where he wasresearch engineer, head engineer and, from1993, director of research.

As Director of the Moscow Office, he willbe in charge of activities being implemented inthe Cluster Offices of Armenia, Azerbaijan,Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and theRussian Federation.

STAFF MOVEMENTS

Mr Philippe Quéau


Consultative Meeting on TrainingProgramme for Local e-Governance in Africa

This consultation meeting was organized by the African Training and Research Centre inAdministration for Development (CAFRAD) in order to plan the African component of aproject on training for local e-governance. Themeeting brought together seven experts on localgovernance and e-governance from six African

countries (Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, SouthAfrica, Uganda and Zambia) and representativesof six potential European and internationalpartners (CAFRAD, IICD, Instituto Inter-nacional de Gobernabilidad, UNDP, UNESCOand University of Rome).

The launch of recent high-profile, pan-African development initiatives such as theNew Partnership for Africa's Development(NEPAD) has brought significant global

REGIONAL OFFICES AFRICA


attention to the concept and execution of goodgovernance, transparency of policies andgovernment processes, both at the centralisedand decentralised level.

In view of the overall commitment of theNEPAD Heads of State to stimulate the use ofICT as a driving force to foster social andeconomic development of the continent, the “e-Africa initiative for good governance: buildinge-governance capacity in Africa”, launched inOctober 2002 at the “e-Africa First RegionalWorkshop on Building e-Governance Capacityin Africa” (Johannesburg, 28-31 October 2002),to address these issues at the level of policy anddecision makers, stressing the significantdevelopment role and crosscutting impact thatICTs can have on all aspects of society.

To this end, the promoters of the e-Africaconference, in consultation with other partici-pants and partners, have recognized the need to mobilize the African and global publicadministration and ICT communities for e-governance in Africa and have agreed on anoverall “Framework for Action on e-govern-ance for Africa”. The framework identifies the vision for e-government, the mission thatneeds to be engaged by partners, strategic goals, the impacts expected, a set of strategicintervention areas and examples of outcomesexpected. The Framework for Action wasfurther presented to the “4th Global Forum onReinventing Government: Citizens, Businessesand Government: Dialogue and Partnershipsfor the Promotion of Democracy and Develop-ment” (Marrakech, 10-14 December 2002).

At the sub-national level, it is recognizedthat the appropriate use and integration of ICTs in the community can enhance andsupport social and economical development.The objectives of this focus would be theenhancement of good governance and dem-ocracy by ensuring linkages, networking andcommunity cohesion, providing timely, effi-cient, transparent and accountable services,improving the management of operations and the reengineering of local governmentsystems, facilitating planning and policymaking processes, monitoring implementationpolicies and recording physical and socialchanges in the community, and consequentlyimproving the quality of life of citizens. Theintegration of ICTs into municipalities andother local government contributes to informedpopulations, which are the basis for effectiveparticipatory governance.

The challenge remains, however, on how theuse of ICTs in local government can bebeneficial to all stakeholders, taking intoconsideration real factors such as the digitaldivide (infrastructural, hierarchical andeconomic restrictions) and the importance ofcreating an “e-inclusive” society.

The proposal of programme of “Training forLocal e-governance in Africa”, output of the“Consultative Meeting on Training for Local e-Governance” (Tangier, 15-18 January 2003),jointly organized by CAFRAD, IICD andUNESCO, is intended to be an inter-agencyAfrican initiative to promote the building ofcapacities for local governments through thetraining on the effective integration of ICTs inthe governance process.

The first phase of the proposal, agreed bythe promoters of the Consultative Meeting andother partners and participants, consists of apreliminary training programme for e-govern-ance capacity in municipalities and other localgovernment in Africa.

The On-line Training Programme may bealso integrated in the framework of theactivities of the UNPAN On-line RegionalCentre CAFRAD in order to be promoted anddisseminated to all African stakeholdersthrough the United Nations Global On-lineNetwork in Public Administration and Finance(UNPAN).

A second phase, that may be integrated intothe “Framework for Action of the e-Africainitiative” aims to develop and design tools toprovide learning opportunities for municipaland local governments Africa-wide, includingnecessary infrastructure and institutional sup-port. It will be developed taking into account the results of the first phase. In view of tech-nology constraints, the first phase will focus on municipalities with sufficient ICT infra-structure and experience to benefit. Support to the full range of government, includ-ing disadvantaged and rural communities, willbe considered in the second phase. Con-sultations with respective international andregional partners will be undertaken in thiscontext.

In order to measure the effectiveness of theProject activities and the outcome produced, aspecific set of monitoring, output and impactindicators will be designed, to control andevaluate continuously the performance of theProject activities. A demand-driven semiquantitative monitoring and evaluation system

will be established, including a quality controlof activities undertaken.

Training will concentrate on a limited numberof local governments which are supported bynational development and training programmes.In the countries concerned, face-to-face motiv-ation and preparatory seminars will be organ-ized. The progress of the trainees and their use of the acquired knowledge will be regularlyfollowed in collaboration with local, nationaland regional support networks.

The basic virtual course will be open toother African local governments meetingprerequisites within the limitations of re-sources, and the course materials will be made

freely available without charge (Open Edu-cational Resources).

A participatory methodology for monitor-ing and impact evaluation will be developed for the project including in-course correction.

☞ For more information please contact Mr John Rose, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis,75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331)45.68.45.29. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83. Email:[email protected] or

Mr Hezekiel Dlamini, Advisor for Communic-ation and Information in Africa, UNESCOOffice Accra, 32 Nortei Ababio Street, AirportResidential Area, Accra, Ghana. Fax: (233-21) 21765 498. Email: [email protected]


Regional Training Programme on Greenstone Digital Library Software

In May 2003, UNESCO conducted a trainingof trainers' workshop to promote the develop-ment and sharing of digital library collectionsin Asia using the freely available GreenstoneDigital Library software (GSDL). Participantswere provided with the capacity to undertakesimilar programmes in their countries andpromote digital library collection development.The training programme was organized andconducted by the National Centre for ScienceInformation (NCSI), Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore, India.

Greenstone is a suite of software for build-ing and distributing digital library collections.It provides a new way of organizing inform-ation and publishing it on the Internet or onCD-ROM. It integrates functions such asmetadata, full text search and retrieval, multi-lingual support, support for multiple docu-ment formats and administration. Greenstone is produced by the New Zealand DigitalLibrary Project at the University of Waikato,and developed and distributed in cooper-ation with UNESCO and the Human InfoNGO.

It is open-source software, issued under theterms of the GNU General Public License. Theaim of the software is to empower users,particularly in universities, libraries, and otherpublic service institutions, to build their owndigital libraries.

☞ For more details of the training programme,including programme content and delivery,please visit the website: http://www.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/greenstone.htm

Ten Steps for Establishing Multipurpose Community Telecentres

“Ten Steps” is the title of a new UNESCOpublication to assist communities in establish-ing sustainable Multipurpose CommunityTelecentres (MCT). The Guide available onlinesince April on the website of the UNESCOBangkok Office, is a contribution to providingand strengthening communication and inform-ation facilities at the level of local communities.

In the form of ten booklets, “Ten Steps”covers aspects of establishing, operating andmanaging a Multipurpose Community Tele-centres. Each booklet presents a step towardsestablishing a sustainable MCT in simple andeasy-to-understand terms. It looks at issuessuch as holding community meetings, manage-ment, staff appointments, services and pro-grammes, building and equipment, the planningprocess, financial management, operatingprocedures as well as customer service andpromotional issues.

The colourful on-line version will befollowed soon by a two-colour version in hardcopy. The first two steps will each include a setof transparencies that can be used as is orcopied onto large sheets of paper for display at

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

http://www.ncsi.iisc


public meetings where an overhead projector is not available. Case studies found through-out the ten steps provide interesting storiesaiming at enhancing understanding of certainpoints.

UNESCO gives high priority to providingand strengthening communication and inform-ation facilities at the level of local communities.Such facilities offer basic tools for introducingand managing community-centred develop-ment and change.

Online Observatory of Information Society in Asia-Pacific

An online “Regional Observatory of theInformation Society in Asia and the Pacific”(ROISAP), based on national observatoriesestablished by members of UNESCO's Asiaand Pacific Information Network (APIN), wasrecently launched by the Ministry of Researchand Technology of Indonesia and WidyatamaUniversity in Bandung, Indonesia.

The main goal of ROISAP is to raiseawareness of the ethical, legal and societalchallenges brought about by ICTs. As a publicservice readily accessible to all, it will provideupdated information on the evolution of theinformation society at the national and regionallevels, and to foster debates on related issues.

The Observatory was supported by theUNESCO Office in New Delhi which regardsinformation and knowledge as the mostimportant factor in production and wealthcreation. How well an individual, an organ-ization, and an entire society can harness,access, share, and make use of availableinformation and knowledge will ultimatelydecide their ability to generate economicgrowth and to enhance their quality of life.

The new regional Observatory complementsthe UNESCO “Observatory on the Inform-ation Society”, an international gateway to webresources related to the development of theInformation Society worldwide.

☞ For additional information please contact Ms Susanne Ornager, Adviser for Communic-ation and Information in Asia and the Pacificregion, 8 Poorvi Marg, Vasan Vihar, New Delhi110057, India. Email: [email protected] or Ms Dana Ziyasheva, CI/INF, UNESCO, 1 rue Miollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (331) 45.68.42.41. Fax: (331) 45.68.55.83.Email: [email protected]

Pacific Islands Regional ICT Consultation

The Pacific Islands Regional ICT Consultationon the World Summit on the InformationSociety (WSIS) was held in Suva, Fiji, in Aprilwith co-sponsorship provided by UNESCO.

The consultation was attended by approxi-mately 100 representatives of Pacific Islandgovernments, communication and informationservice providers, media organizations, NGOsand civil society entities actively involved in awide range of Information Society issues from14 countries and territories.

The objective of the consultation was toensure that the unique contributions and needsof Pacific Island countries and peoples includ-ing groups with special needs are fullyrecognized and represented throughout theWSIS process and ultimately reflected in theDeclaration and Action Plan to be adopted atthe Summit.

Participants considered presentations onnational and organizational policies, strategiesand action plans relating to ICTs. Other inputsincluded the Pacific regional frameworkdocuments (the Forum Communication ActionPlan and the Pacific ICT Policy and StrategicPlan), documentation from the Asia-PacificRegional Conference held in Tokyo in January2003, the draft WSIS framework, and papersprovided by NGOs and other participants on awide range of ICT-related issues.

The consultation featured analyses bynational and sectoral working groups of theWSIS draft Declaration of Principles andAction Plan. Priority issues identified includedthe special circumstances faced by small islanddeveloping states in becoming knowledgesocieties, the focus on information rather thantechnology, the need for improvements inhuman resources and infrastructure, theimportance of traditional media, recognition of diversity and special needs, and the role ofnon-governmental organizations.

The meeting enabled participants to betterunderstand opportunities and priorities forderiving optimum benefits from ICTs asdevelopmental tools. Attention focused on awide variety of critical issues, including theoften high costs of ICT development, humanresource constraints, and the need to ensurethat ICT access is made as universal as possibleand that women are able to participate fully inICT activities.

Recommendations were formulated on ICTdevelopment issues and were included in aregional guidance document to be used bynational governments and relevant regionalorganizations in preparing their participation inthe Summit.

☞ For further information please contact Ms Tarja Virtanen, Adviser for Communicationand Information in Asia and the Pacific region,8 Poorvi Marg, Vasan Vihar, New Delhi 110057, India. Email: [email protected] ornewdelhi @unesco.org


Quito: Digital Inheritance of Humanity

In April, the Municipality of Quito launched aproject entitled “Quito: Digital Inheritance ofHumanity”.

The main objective of this proposal is toensure that the Metropolitan District of Quitois integrated into a fair, democratic and modernsociety, with an efficient and transparent localgovernment that can interact with citizens andin this way, provide quality services based onInformation and Communication Technologies(ICTs).

This initiative seeks to ensure the inclusion ofall social sectors in the digital environment inorder to improve the quality of life and topromote a sustainable, harmonic, and competi-tive development of both people and business.

UNESCO’s Regional Office for Communi-cation and Information in Quito, supports theproject, which comprises five key components:

• E-GOVERNMENT to improve Munici-pality services on-line.

• EDUCANET whose goals are the incor-poration of ICTs in primary and secondaryschools of the Municipality.

• INTERNET FOR ALL, which consists ofcredit facilities to enable the acquisition ofcomputers by citizens;

• CYBERNARIOS to establish public train-ing centres on ICTs.

• PRESERVATION OF DIGITAL HERIT-AGE whose objective is the safeguardingof the vast documentary heritage, and thedigital information being produced as a result of the massive introduction of ICTs.

It is important to emphasize that severalhigher education centres, public and privatesectors bodies and entities, and NGOs willcontinue their efforts with the Municipality ofQuito and UNESCO to achieve this importantand contemporary project.

Young People, Telework and Teletraining

In a joint venture with UTN (ArgentinianNational Technological University), closelyinvolved in the social use of ICTs, UNESCOQuito has developed a pilot project entitled“Young people, Telework and Teletraining”. Three courses were designed in this project:

• Distance working Introduction: the use of ICTs and their application in tele-working.

• How to create a personal project andTelework Tools: the course guides youthin finding customers or employers usingthe Internet.

• Telework for business: this course aims toshow little and medium business how todevelop a plan for Teleworking and howto implement it.

All courses are provided free of charge, and it isexpected that 250 youth will take advantage ofthis initiative which has raised great interest inthe region.

☞ Mr Isidro Fernandez-Aballí, Adviser forCommunication and Information in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean region, UNESCOOffice Quito, Foch #265 y de Diciembre, piso 2, Quito, Ecuador. Tel: (593-2) 252 90 85,256 23 27. Fax : (593-2) 250 44 35. Email:[email protected] or E-mail: [email protected]

Regional Virtual Universities Seminar forLatin American and Caribbean Universities

A seminar on distance education was held inQuito, Ecuador on 14 February 2003 as a jointventure involving UNESCO’s Regional Bureaufor Communication and Information for LatinAmerica and the Caribbean (ORCILAC),UNESCO’s International Institute for Higher

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN


Education in Latin America and the Caribbean(IESALC) and UNIVERSIA, an IberoAmericanportal of Higher Education Institutions,sponsored by the Banco Santander, Spain.

The seminar, which included 15 nationalreports, was intended to foster better know-ledge of best practices for the development of Distance University Learning in LatinAmerican and the Caribbean. Its objectives alsoincluded the establishment of permanentinternational cooperation and dialogue for thedevelopment of Distance University Learningprogrammes through a working group cons-tituted by different institutions and specialists.A CD-ROM containing reports of the situationwith respect to Distance Education in theregion, along with other documents preparedby ORCILAC, was distributed to participantswho came from Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia,Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico,Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Distance University Learning in LatinAmerican and the Caribbean is in an embryonicstage. The use of ICTs in distance education andlearning is limited to a few higher educationinstitutions in the region despite an adequatecomputer and telecommunications infra-structure that would easily lend itself tocontemporary education techniques. Greateruse of the Internet would allow the creation of so-called “virtual universities”, in which,based on cooperation agreements, universitiesremoved from each other could share teaching,research and academic activities. Many uni-versities from developed countries make anextended use of distance learning techniques,and have established several “virtual university”agreements.

Recommendations formulated by the semi-nar included:

• Development of Distance UniversityLearning to upgrade Higher Education.

• Reduction of the costs of technology tofacilitate the transfer of benefits to thestudent as the active stakeholder in theeducational process.

• Creation of common criteria andstandards for the accreditation of virtualor traditional Higher Education.

• Identification of reform processes in theeducational models and development ofresearch in the application of ICTs andDistance University Learning.

☞ For further information please contactIsidro Fernadez-Aballí at the above address.

Cooperation between INFOLAC and the UN ICT Task Force

In May, experts from Latin America and theCaribbean met in Cuba in a joint meeting ofINFOLAC, UNESCO's Information SocietyProgramme for Latin America and the Caribbean,and LACNET, the Regional Network of the UNICT Task Force, in order to initiate cooperationbetween INFOLAC and the UN ICT TaskForce and to join forces for the WSIS preparationin Latin American and the Caribbean Region.

INFOLAC has been involved in all theregional consultative activities undertaken by UNESCO in preparation for WSIS, such asthe consultations that took place in Itacuruçá(Brazil), Isla Margarita (Venezuela), Rio deJaneiro (Brazil) and the Regional MinisterialPreparatory Conference for WSIS that took placein January 2003 in Bavaro (Dominican Republic)organized in association with ECLAC.

INFOLAC was established in 1986 by aresolution of UNESCO's General Conference.As a forum for the exchange of expertise andexperiences in the area of information services,it is open to all public, private or professionalinstitutions that are involved in the provision ofinformation services in the region.

Since the creation of INFOLAC, UNESCOhas assumed the role of Permanent Secretariatand has sustained, together with MembersStates, this mechanism for regional cooperationin recognition of its potential for promotingICT development and an information societyfor all. The UNESCO Office in Quito alsoprovides the LACNET secretariat.

☞ For further information please contactIsidro Fernadez-Aballí at the above address.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

UNESCO is continuing to develop its Elec-tronic Theses and Dissertations project which itpresented to participants of the Workshop.

The meeting has led to the identification ofpartners for three new ETD-Net courses, whoare expected to play a major role in developingETD within Latin America.

☞ For further information please contact Mr Claudio Menezes, Adviser for Communic-ation and Information in Latin America and theCaribbean region, UNESCO Office, AvenidaBrasil 2697, P. O. Box 859, 11300 Montevideo,Uruguay. Tel: (59-82) 707 20 23. Fax: (59-82) 70721 40. E-mail: [email protected]


NEW PUBLICATIONS

ARGENTINASr. Coordinador Nacional, RENBUUniversidad de Buenos AiresAzcuenaga 280.1029Capital Federal, Argentina

BRAZILDirectorED.CNPQ/IBICT/UNESCO9° Andar, SAS-Quadra 5-Bl.H-Lote 670070-914 Brasilia DF, Brazil

MEXICOSr. DirectorConsejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaCentro de Servicios de Información

y DocumentaciónCircuito Cultural UniversitarioCiudad Universitaria04515 Mexico DF

PORTUGALSra. Gabriela Lopes da Silva, DirectoraServicio de Informação e Documentação (SID)Fundação para Ciencia e Tecnologica (FCT)Av. D. Carlos 1, 1261200 Lisboa, Portugal

SPAINSra. DirectoraConsejo Superior de Investigaciones

CientíficasCentro de Información y Documentación

Científica, C.I.N.D.O.C.Calle Joaquin Costa, 2228002 Madrid, Spain

UNITED STATES OF AMERICADirectorWest Virginia Library CommissionCultural CentreCharleston, West Virginia 25305, U.S.A.

ASIA/PACIFIC REGIONUNESCO/INFDocuments Supply Servicec/o The National Library of ThailandSamsen RoadBangkok 10300, Thailand

Requests from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,Portugal, Spain, United States of America, and the Asia and Pacific Region should be sent directly to our documents resource centres whose addresses are indicated below.

Document requests from Africa, Arab States,Europe, Latin America and the Caribbeanshould continue to be sent to: InformationSociety Division, UNESCO, 1, rue Miollis,75732, Paris Cedex 15, France.


All documents may be consulted at thepremises of each of the institutions mentionedabove. Copies may be obtained on a costrecovery basis at prices set out by thedistributing institutions. UNESCO is in theprocess of digitizing its documents and a fulltext selection of these can be consulted at:http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ulis/index.html

Below is a list of new publications:

• La Cybergouvernance: Profils nationaux.French version of the Country profiles of E-Governance by the Commonwealth Net-work of Information Technology for Develop-ment Foundation (COMNET-IT). Paris,UNESCO, 2002. 87 p. (CI.2002/WS/1). This isa joint UNESCO and COMNET-IT study of E-Governance. Also available in English andSpanish. Website: http://dit-fs1.hq.int.unesco.org/ulis/docs/0012/001276/127601e.pdf

• UHLIR, Paul. Draft Policy Guidelines for theDevelopment and Promotion of Public DomainInformation. Paris: UNESCO, 2003. 35 p.(CI.2003/WS/2). Also available in French.

• Fifth Meeting of the International AdvisoryCommittee of the Memory of the WorldProgramme. Final Report. Cheongju City,Republic of Korea, 27-29 June 2001.(CI/INF/2001/3). Also available in French.

CD-ROMS

• Memory of the World. Documentary heritageof the peoples of the World. Paris: UNESCO,2003.

• ALMA – African Language Materials Archive.(Afiriki tilijii kanolu elektronik safoolukafunoomoo). Paris: UNESCO, March 2003.

The Newsletter provides information on the activities of the Information Society Division andother related issues. Published twice a year in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish, theNewsletter is distributed free of charge by the Division.

Assistant Editor: Mrs Joie Springer;Editorial Assistant: Mrs Grace Mensah

Readers are invited to send their comments, suggestions or relevant information to: UNISIST Newsletter, Information Society Division, UNESCO, 1, rue Miollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France. Tel: (33-1) 45.68.44.97. Fax: (33-1) 45.68.55.83. E-mail: [email protected] for copies of the Newsletter may be directly sent to: [email protected]

The UNISIST Newsletter is accessible on the Internet at:http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ulis/index.html

When notifying us of your change of address, please enclose your old address label.

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ulis/index.html

http://dit-fs1.hq.int.unesco

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ulis/index.html

UNISIST newsletter, vol. 31, no. 1; UNISIST newsletter...

Documents

Transcript of UNISIST newsletter, vol. 31, no. 1; UNISIST newsletter...