ITU Secretary-General Opens First Global Information Summit :"Calls on World Leaders to Bring Benefits of Information to All"

Geneva, 10 December — ITU Secretary-General and Secretary-General of the Summit Yoshio Utsumi appealed to world leaders to share the bounty of powerful information and communication technologies (ICT) with the most impoverished economies, and to shape their use for a better world. more...

Geneva, 10 December — Following is the text of the email sent this morning by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to students participating in the World Summit Event for Schools. The email was sent from the original Web server at Palexpo in Geneva as a side event to the World Summit on the Information Society. more...

Geneva, 9 December—On the eve of the official opening of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 10-12 December 2003 at Geneva Palexpo, Pascal Couchepin, President of Switzerland, and Professor Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, co-chaired a high-level roundtable discussion. Forty people were convened to participate in this forum on the theme “Taking Responsibility in the Information Age”, with the aim of presenting concrete recommendations in the context of the WSIS. Participants included heads of state and government, corporate leaders, civil society representatives and experts on the new technologies. more....

THIS TUESDAY: Migration, labour, media and organizing -- The back side of the information society

08.Dec.03 - Everyone is an expert presents: Saskia Sassen, Chicago/London, Valery Alzaga, Mexico City/Denver, Myoingjoon Kim, Seoul, Shahidul Alam, Dhaka and many others

TUESDAY DECEMBER 9 2003 | Workshop starting at 1 pm | Presentations at 7 pm | Université Ouvriére de Genéve | Place des Grottes | Geneva (50 meters from the railway station)

What does migrant workers struggle have to do with the information society?

How can information and communication technologies empower social struggles on a global level?

What's the link between the campaigns for freedom of communication and the fight for freedom of movement?

On the eve of the UN summit on the information society the EVERYONE IS AN EXPERT association calls to a debate about issues that are not present on the agenda of neither govermental nor non-governmental organizations: migration, labour, and organizing more.....

Human Rights Caucus expresses concerns on WSIS Outcome

GENEVA, DECEMBER 7, 2003 -- The civil society Human Rights Caucus of the World Summit on the Information Society has many reasons to be concerned as thousands of delegates converge on Geneva for the World Summit. The Caucus, which includes more than 40 organisations, has been working since the first preparatory meetings 18 months ago to ensure that human rights are not left off the WSIS agenda.

Our first concern is about the lack of political will to address the effective implementation of human right standards and how ICTs can serve to enforce these. Rather than forward-looking strategies that address the new potential and challenges posed by ICTs for human rights, time and resources have been spent on defending principles that were agreed upon 55 years ago. Even banal references to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights have been debated and contested right up until the last hour.   This opportunity to bring the human rights agenda forward has been squandered. more.....

Youth Day’ Launched at the World Summit on the Information Society

December 10 to Focus on Youth

Geneva, December 3, 2003 — What is important to young people in the Information Society? How can ICTs be harnessed for development goals? These are the questions that will be answered in a series of workshops, roundtables, media activities and launches on "Youth Day," December 10, 2003.

Coinciding with the International Day of Human Rights celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, Youth Day will open with a high-level “Youth, Human Rights and the Information Society” workshop on the use of ICTs for peace-building in post-conflict areas.

Coordinated by the Youth Caucus of the World Summit on the Information Society, Youth Day workshops will cover such diverse themes as e-learning, labour issues, human rights, digital solidarity and cultural diversity. Also featured will be National Information Society Youth Campaigns, the launch of the Youth Creating Digital Opportunities (YCDO) Action Plan, the GKP Youth Awards Panel Showcase and a Youth Caucus Press Conference. more....