[Sigdl-l] IFAP Information Society Observatory successfully launched

[Puna Das]

IFAP Information Society Observatory successfully launched
15-09-2009 (Paris)

Further to the adoption by UNESCO's Executive Board, at its 180th session, of the Strategic Plan for the Information for All Programme (IFAP), UNESCO has assumed the task of assisting Member States in the formulation of national information policy frameworks, in particular within the framework of IFAP.

The need for such policy frameworks was repeatedly highlighted in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) outcome documents: the Geneva Declaration of Principles; the Geneva Plan of Action; the Tunis Commitment, and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society. The latter document specifically calls on governments that have not yet done so to elaborate comprehensive, forward-looking and sustainable national e-strategies, as an integral part of national development plans and poverty reduction strategies, as soon as possible and before 2010. 

The Information Society Observatory, created with the financial support of IFAP, aims to provide building blocks for the development of such policies and strategies, by making accessible up-to-date information grouped, in the first instance, around the IFAP five priority areas: 
* Information for development; 
* Information accessibility; 
* Information literacy; 
* Information ethics; and 
* Information preservation.

The Observatory will be continuously updated with new, relevant strategic documents, events, books and experiences, annotations and links, following the developments of the respective field. 

UNESCO's members and partners are invited to regularly consult, and comment on, the contents of this Observatory, and to provide new information on important developments in the area of national and international information policy frameworks and on their implementation. Comments and reports could be sent to: ifap-is-observatory at ittk.hu. 

The Information for All Programme was established by UNESCO in order to provide a framework for international co-operation and partnerships in "building an information society for all". IFAP's focus is on ensuring that all people have access to information they can use for enhancing their lives.

Source: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29125&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

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Anup Kumar Das
New Delhi, India
http://anupkumardas.blogspot.com/
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