NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS SECOND UNITED NATIONS WORLD TELEVISION FORUM, 19-21 NOVEMBER, TO DISCUSS 'TELEVISION IN THE NEW MULTIMEDIA ENVIRONMENT'

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS SECOND UNITED NATIONS WORLD TELEVISION FORUM, 19-21 NOVEMBER, TO DISCUSS 'TELEVISION IN THE NEW MULTIMEDIA ENVIRONMENT'

Dan Rather, Rupert Murdoch among Speakers

The second United Nations World Television Forum, with the theme "Television in the New Multimedia Environment", will take place from 19 to 21 November in the Economic and Social Council Chamber. The Forum provides a venue for an ongoing professional dialogue between the United Nations and the television industry, to highlight themes of common interest and identify specific areas for cooperation.

Organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI), the World Television Forum is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), and Mediaset. RAI is the sole public-service television network in Italy, and Mediaset is Italy's leading commercial television network.

The Forum will open at 11 a.m. on 19 November with addresses by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Lamberto Dini. The Chairman of RAI, Enzo Siciliano, and the Chairman of Mediaset, Fedele Confalonieri, will also address the Forum.

The first panel, "Visions for the Future", to be held from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will feature a presentation by Dan Rather, Managing Editor, CBS News, United States. Rupert Murdoch, Chairman, The News Corporation; and Zwelakhe Sisulu, Group Chief Executive, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), will also speak. The second panel, "The New Multimedia Environment", to be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., will be moderated by Jan Mojto, President, Association of Commercial Television (ACT) of Europe.

On 20 November, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the third panel, "New Scenarios in Television: Quality, Quantity and Access", will be moderated by Jean- Bernard Muench, Secretary-General, European Broadcasting Union (EBU). This session will feature a two-way video link with Michael Bloomberg, President

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and CEO, Bloomberg Information TV, United States, in Asia; and a two-way video link with Renato Ruggiero, Director-General, World Trade Organization, in Geneva. The fourth panel, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., "Programming for People", will be moderated by Larry Loeb, President, North American National Broadcasters Association (NANBA).

On 21 November, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the fifth and final panel, "New Challenges for International Cooperation", will be moderated by Hassan Hamed, President, Union des Radiodiffusions et Télévisions Nationales d'Afrique (URTNA). Approximately at noon, in observance of World Television Day, there will be a video link with opera star Luciano Pavarotti in Italy. Closing remarks will be made by the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, Ambassador Francesco Paolo Fulci, and by the Assistant Secretary- General for Public Information, Samir Sanbar.

In conjunction with the United Nations World Television Forum, the DPI and SONY Electronics, Inc. are installing a video-wall exhibit to be on display for the duration of the Forum in two locations, the North Delegates' Lounge and the General Assembly Visitors' Lobby. A total of 49 television monitors will continuously show television programmes produced by the United Nations, its agencies, and broadcast organizations participating in the Forum, relating to themes such as peace and security, development and international cooperation.

World Television Day, 21 November, was established by the General Assembly in 1996 following the first United Nations World Television Forum. As stated by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his annual report on the work of the Organization, "The power of information, clearly recognized by the founders of the United Nations, has been elevated to a higher plane in recent years with rapid advances in information and communications technology. High- tech or not, information is a dynamic force for education and cross-cultural understanding and for promoting freedom, democratization and broader participation by people in the decisions affecting their lives. Its great potential must be harnessed by, and for, the United Nations."

For further information, please call (212) 963-4890; for media accreditation, (212) 963-6934; for United Nations television coverage, (212) 963-7650.

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