[WSIS CS-Plenary] Invitation to a GKP Forum event at WSIS. Focus: Europe and Central Asia Region, Multi-stakeholder partnerships

[Tatiana V. Ershova]

Dear colleagues,

This is to inform you that the Global Knowledge Partnership / Cluster 
Central & Eastern Europe in partnership with the Institute of the 
Information Society, UN ICT Task Force Europe and Central Asia Regional 
Network and the Russian e-Development Partnership are organizing Regional 
Meeting “Information Society Development in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” 
within the Global Knowledge Partnership Forum at the World Summit on the 
Information Society. The event is scheduled for 17 November 2005 on 
12:00 -13:30 at ICT4All Exhibition, Expo Room 8.

The main goal of the meeting is to present the level of the information 
society development in Eastern European and Central Asian countries. 
Existing strategies and action plans of the information society development, 
as well as stocktaking activities and pilot projects implementation will be 
discussed.

Major focus will be on the multi-stakeholder partnerships in the region 
within the global initiatives such as Global Knowledge Partnership, UN ICT 
Task Force Europe and Central Asia Regional Network, Europe and Central Asia 
Country Gateways Network, etc. The aim of their cooperation is to create a 
necessary climate for development of information society in each country 
individually and in the region as a whole.

The following themes will be discussed:

- National e-strategies and action plans comparison for the region
- Analysis and evaluation of Eastern European and Central Asian countries 
readiness for the information society development
- Elaboration of tools and methods for monitoring of information society 
development in the region and some countries taken individually
- Coordination of activity and strengthening of partnership of different 
development-driven communities on regional level
- Forming of partnership for development of information society in Eastern 
Europe and Central Asia on the regional level as well as each country 
individually

We are happy to invite you to participate in the Regional Meeting 
“Information Society Development in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” and 
contribute to the discussions.

Contacts:
Yuri Hohlov
Chairman of the Board
Institute of the Information Society - Russia
Tel./Fax: +7 (095) 925-1727
E-mail: hohlov at iis.ru
Web: http://www.iis.ru/en/wsis/
________________________________________

Tatiana V. Ershova

Co-Coordinator
WSIS CS Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships Family

General Director
Institute of the Information Society
E-mail: info at iis.ru
URL: http://www.iis.ru

Chair of the Board
Russian e-Development Foundation
E-mail: info at russia-gateway.ru
URL: http://www.russia-gateway.ru

4, Makarenko str., 105062 Moscow
P.O. Box 716, Central Post Office, 101000 Moscow
Russian Federation
Tel./Fax: +7 (095) 925-42-03, 17-27
E-mail: ershova at iis.ru

----- Исходное сообщение ----- 
От: DeeDee Halleck
Кому: schock at riseup.net ; thought.thieves at lists.riseup.net ; 
plenary at wsis-cs.org ; Cris-active at comunica.org
Отправлено: 22 октября 2005 г. 16:16
Тема: [WSIS CS-Plenary] US stands alone over cultural diversity treaty


US stands alone over cultural diversity treaty

>By Frances Williams in Geneva

Financial Times

>Published: October 20 2005 03:00 | Last updated: October 20 2005 03:00

>>

A United Nations treaty to protect and promote cultural diversity is likely 
to be overwhelmingly approved today in the face of lonely opposition from 
the US, which fears the impact on exports of US films and television 
programmes.

In an emotional debate in Unesco (the UN Educational, Scientific and 
Cultural Organisation) that preceded today's vote, supporters of the treaty 
led by France and Canada said it would help countries defend domestic 
culture from the homogenising influence of globalisation.

In a preliminary vote this week, 151 countries backed the pact, with the US 
and Israel the sole opponents. Australia and the Pacific island of Kiribati 
abstained.

The treaty affirms the "sovereign right" of countries to protect and promote 
the diversity of cultural expressions and requires this to be taken into 
account in applying other accords, such as the rules of the World Trade 
Organisation.

France and Canada have backed the pact as a way of reinforcing their claim 
to keep the "cultural exception" they enjoy at the WTO.

Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, the French culture minister, said this week that 
the Unesco vote would vindicate France's position on the "cultural 
exception". Liza Frulla, minister of Canadian heritage, said it was "a tool 
to protect our own identities".

The European Union said the treaty "will give a lifeline to any communities 
who feel their cultural diversity is being threatened, particularly in 
developing countries".

However, the US says the treaty is couched in vague and ambiguous language 
that could be used to restrict cultural diversity and block trade in 
cultural goods and services.

Louise Oliver, the US ambassador to Paris-based Unesco, told the FT: "The 
foundation of cultural diversity is freedom. The main proponents of this 
convention seem more interested in control over international trade flows 
and the lives of their citizens than in promoting freedom and cultural 
diversity."