PI/1571
22 April 2004
NEW YORK, 21 April (UN Headquarters) -- The first 2004 high-level seminar on “Policy and security issues in information technology” and the official launching ceremony for the 2004 series of seminars will be held at United Nations Headquarters, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber, on Friday, 23 April, at 3 p.m. Part of the seminar series entitled “Policy awareness and training in information technology”, the event is organized by the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
This is the third year of the seminar series, presented under the auspices of the ECOSOC Ad Hoc Open-end Working Group on Informatics and supported by Intel Corporation.
The programme is aimed primarily at ambassadors and other diplomats to the United Nations in New York. Its objective is to enable diplomats to acquire specific computer skills and be exposed to the workings of the Internet; to raise awareness and understanding of policy and security issues related to the information society; and to continue providing input in preparation for the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held in Tunis in 2005.
Opening remarks will be delivered by Ambassador Ahmad Kamal, Chairman of the series of seminars; Ambassador Stafford O'Neil, ECOSOC Vice-President and Permanent Representative of Jamaica; Marta Mauras, Chief, Office of the Deputy Secretary-General; Thérèse Gastaut, Director, Strategic Communications Division, Department of Public Information; Sarbuland Khan, Executive Coordinator, Secretariat of the United Nations ICT Task Force, and Director, Division for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, Department of Economic and Social Affairs; and Sharon Silverman, Intel Corporation, Inc.
Other presenters include Cindy Morrow, Intel Corporation; Michael Foley, Lead Distance Learning Specialist, World Bank Institute; and Dimo Calovski, Electronic Commerce Branch, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Issues will include the policy opportunities in the use of ICTs in distance learning; the role of e-learning in development; alternative technologies for development; and Free and Open Source Software and its policy implications for government and development.
For information, please contact Enrica Murmura at the Secretariat of the United Nations ICT Task Force, tel.: (212) 963 5913, or Humaira Kamal, Special Fellow, UNITAR, tel.: (480) 361 3672.
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