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United Nations, Francophone countries jointly sponsor Internet seminar in Beirut

United Nations, Francophone countries jointly sponsor Internet seminar in Beirut

The United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) and the International Organization of La Francophonie are co-sponsoring a four-day training seminar on "Internet Use and the Media," now underway in Beirut.

Held at the headquarters of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the event, which began yesterday, is being conducted in Arabic and French and brings together some 30 media representatives working in the Lebanese capital.

The seminar is part of a global initiative aimed at promoting the use of the Internet as a tool to support the economic and social development efforts of the United Nations and the Organization of La Francophonie. It is also viewed as part of efforts to bridge what Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called the "digital divide" between developed and developing countries.