UN forum to examine media’s role in Internet age

Media leaders and policy makers from around the globe will convene in a landmark meeting to be broadcast worldwide from Geneva this December to discuss the role of the media in the information society as well as in issues ranging from violence to development.

The “World Electronic Media Forum” is a special event organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) along with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Switzerland in conjunction with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which will run from 10 to 12 December. The Forum, scheduled for 9 to 11 December, will be seen live by satellite around the world and include real-time contributions from several continents by television and over the internet.

Panels, workshops and keynote speeches will explore the enhanced role of media in the information society, and examine such key topics as universal access to information, freedom of expression, cultural diversity, economic development, social cohesion and education.

Using the resources of the EBU, NHK and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, the Forum will showcase the technological possibilities of modern media and be broadcast live by satellite and on the Internet.

Satellite video links will bring together participants from a variety of locations around the world to interact with those in Geneva. The Forum will also feature originally produced audiovisual materials and a web site in nine languages, including the UN’s six official languages.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Swiss President Pascal Couchepin are scheduled to open the Forum, which will be an important opportunity for media professionals from the developing world to meet and exchange views with their counterparts from industrialized countries.