NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION LAUNCHES AUDIO-VISUAL WEB PAGE WITH FIRST WEBCAST ON WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATION

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION LAUNCHES AUDIO-VISUAL WEB PAGE WITH FIRST WEBCAST ON WOMEN'S DAY CELEBRATION

Statements by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and United States First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the panel discussion on the theme "Equality for Women" scheduled to take place today will be streamed live on the United Nations Web site at:

(http://www.un.org/events), or

(http://www.un.org/av/video/sidex.htm).

The event, organized by the Group on Equal Rights for Women, will be held in the Trusteeship Council from 10 a.m. to noon, in observance of the 1999 International Women's Day.

Marking another major milestone in the Organization's embrace of the Internet to directly reach potential audiences of many millions, this webcast is part of the 8 March launch by the Department of Public Information (DPI) of the first ever United Nations audio-visual Web site, a launch timed to coincide with the celebration of International Women's Day. The new Web page will include radio news and features, accompanied by pictures, as well as selections of video clips.

Many of the initial programmes available on this site relate to the advancement of women. Themes include teenage pregnancy, women and drugs, women's fight against poverty, women and mental health and a special two-part programme on domestic violence. The women's Web page is a joint initiative of DPI and Womenwatch, which is sponsored by the Division for the Advancement of Women, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

The Department's weekly radio feature and magazine programmes will be available on the Web site on a regular basis. All these programmes will continue to be disseminated via tape and other traditional methods.

- 2 - Press Release Note No. 5550 4 March 1999

Initially , programmes in English, French and Spanish will be available on the Web site; programmes in other official languages will follow.

To hear the radio programmes on your multi-media computer click on:

http://www.un.org/av/radio/programmes.htm.

A real audio player is also needed and can be accessed on:

www.un.org/av/radio/instruc.htm.

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