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UN panel set to focus on technology in education and development

UN panel set to focus on technology in education and development

Gearing-up for the first-ever world summit on the information society, a key United Nations task force on technology and development is set to discuss the role of information technology in education at its upcoming session in Geneva.

The fifth meeting of the UN Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force, will be held on 12 and 13 September at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.

Held just before the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the two-phase World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS) - to be held in Geneva from10 to 12 December 2002, and in Tunisia in 2003 - the meeting will allow participants to discuss the Task Force's contribution to the Summit and explore ways to harness the power of new communication technologies for achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Recognizing that education is a key component in achieving the Goals, the Task Force will hear a special presentation on its Global e-School and Community Initiative.

On Friday, the meeting will include a Global Forum, which will help to identify strategies and modalities for ensuring an effective involvement of the private sector and civil society in the preparatory process of the Summit.

After an opening session with a video statement by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Forum participants are expected to discuss how to define success for the Summit, what is the role and impact of each sector towards an information society for all and what are the challenges and opportunities facing Summit stakeholders.

The morning session will then address the impact of ICT on achieving the Millennium Development Goals, focusing especially on e-education and featuring top e-communications and resources Ministers from Ireland, Canada, Africa and Switzerland, among others. Recent developments in the Global e-Schools Initiative, spearheaded by Ireland and Sweden, will be the topic of a working luncheon.