BAMAKO HOSTS PREPARATIONS FOR WORLD SUMMIT ON INFORMATION SOCIETY

Addis Ababa, 15 May 2002 (ECA) -- Representatives of African governments, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector will convene in Bamako, Mali from 26-30 May 2002 under the auspices of Mali's President Alpha Oumar Konare, for the African regional preparatory conference as part of preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

The Summit will take place in 2003 under the patronage of UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) taking the lead role in its preparation along with interested UN organizations and the host countries. A General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/56/183) endorsing the organization of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was adopted on 21 December 2001.

The Malian Government, the ITU, and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) are organizing the regional conference, dubbed Bamako 2002. Other similar regional preparatory conferences are expected to take place in Europe, Asia and Latin America before the 2003 Summit to assess the key challenges, opportunities and constraints relating to the Information Society, develop a common vision and understanding for the region, and prepare a plan to address the key issues and solve the problems identified.

The Bamako 2002 proceedings start from a common digital vision for Africa in the form of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), launched in May 1996 by the continent's Ministers of Economic Planning and Development, and later adopted by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit of Heads of State and Government in Yaounde, Cameroon.

ECA Executive Secretary, K.Y. Amoako, says the AISI framework "offers African stakeholders a very good basis for evaluating Africa's role in the Information Society and what the continent can consequently bring to the Information Age". Bamako 2002, he adds, "should encourage Africans to take greater ownership of the information revolution, adapting, adopting and replicating aspects that can enhance their own development and image".

The objective of the World Summit on the Information Society is to formulate a common vision and understanding of the global information society. It is expected to adopt a Declaration of Principles and an Action Plan to facilitate the effective growth of the Information Society and to help bridge the digital divide. It is also regarded as an effective means to assist the United Nations in fulfilling the goals of the Millennium Declaration. The Summit will be held in two phases: Geneva from 10 -12 December 2003, and Tunis in 2005, preceded by preparatory meetings the first of which will be held in Geneva from 1 - 5 July 2002.

ECA and a number of partners -- the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), UNDP, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and La Francophonie -- will be hosting a series of pre-conference workshops at Bamako 2002 from 26 -27th May, on the following themes:

• National Information & Communication Infrastructure (NICI) Strategies in Africa (ECA, La Francophonie and UNDP).

• African Languages and the Internet, organized by ECA and La Francophonie.

• The Media and ICT Forum, organized by GKP, ECA and the SDC.

• ICT Financing mechanisms, organized by GKP, ECA and the SDC.

• Free Software: The African Stake, organized by La Francophonie and ECA

• The ICT Business Forum organized by GKP, ECA and the SDC.

• Evaluation and analysis of ICT impact in Africa by organized by IDRC and ECA.

The aim of these workshops is to generate focused proposals and recommendations, to be transmitted to the main conference. Other pre-conference activities include a Civil Society Forum and a workshop on the Law and the Internet.

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To take part in these workshops and in Bamako 2002, visit http://www.geneva2003.org/bamako2002/

For more on AISI, go to www.uneca.org/aisi

For more on ECA's programme on ICTs for Development, contact:

Aida Opoku-Mensah
Team Leader, Promoting ICTs for Development
Development Information Services Division
Economic Commission for Africa
Phone: +251-1-511167
Fax: +251-1-510512
E-mail: aopoku-mensah@uneca.org

Issued by the Communication Team ECA United Nations
P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa
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