[WSIS CS-Plenary] UN FORUM TO EXAMINE MEDIA'S ROLE IN INTERNET AGE (together with WSIS)

[Ralf Bendrath]

From: "UN News Service" <UNNews at un.org>
To: <news6 at list.un.org>
Subject: UN FORUM TO EXAMINE MEDIA'S ROLE IN INTERNET AGE
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 16:00:24 -0400

UN FORUM TO EXAMINE MEDIA’S ROLE IN INTERNET AGE
New York, Jul 29 2003  4:00PM
Media leaders and policy makers from around the globe will convene in a 
landmark meeting to be broadcast worldwide from Geneva this December to 
discuss the role of the media in the information society as well as in 
issues ranging from violence to development.

The “World Electronic Media Forum” is a special event organized by the
UN 
Department of Public Information (DPI) along with the European 
Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Switzerland in conjunction with the World 
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which will run from 10 to 12 
December. The Forum, scheduled for 9 to 11 December, will be seen live
by 
satellite around the world and include real-time contributions from 
several continents by television and over the internet.

Panels, workshops and keynote speeches will explore the enhanced role of 
media in the information society, and examine such key topics as
universal 
access to information, freedom of expression, cultural diversity,
economic 
development, social cohesion and education.

Using the resources of the EBU, NHK and the Swiss Broadcasting 
Corporation, the Forum will showcase the technological possibilities of 
modern media and be broadcast live by satellite and on the Internet.

Satellite video links will bring together participants from a variety of 
locations around the world to interact with those in Geneva. The Forum 
will also feature originally produced audiovisual materials and a web
site 
in nine languages, including the UN’s six official languages.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Swiss President Pascal Couchepin 
are scheduled to open the Forum, which will be an important opportunity 
for media professionals from the developing world to meet and exchange 
views with their counterparts from industrialized countries.

2003-07-29 00:00:00.000

________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news