INTERNATIONAL UN RADIO, OPERATION OF UN INFORMATION CENTRES FOCUS OF DISCUSSION IN COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION

Press Release
PI/1248*

INTERNATIONAL UN RADIO, OPERATION OF UN INFORMATION CENTRES FOCUS OF DISCUSSION IN COMMITTEE ON INFORMATION

An improved international radio capacity for the United Nations was an example of efforts by the Department of Public Information to ensure that traditional means of communications were not only maintained, but strengthened, the Committee on Information was told this morning, as it continued its consideration of reports submitted by the Secretary-General.

Kensaku Hogen, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, said the Department would take a proactive approach to improving its services in the developing countries and strive to ensure that their needs were treated with utmost care. Responding to questions and comments raised by delegates, he agreed that there was a need to increase the Department's activities in the developing world.

Also responding to questions from delegations, Salim Lone, Director, News and Media Division, said that the pilot project for an international United Nations radio was a pioneering effort to produce news in six languages every day. People all over the world would be able to hear the voice of the Secretary-General and other officials. The ability to develop effective partnerships with radio stations and networks would be key to the project's success. If it succeeded and Member States wished to make it a regular feature, the project would cost $8 million per biennium.

He said 80 per cent of countries surveyed via questionnaire had indicated a strong interest in carrying news every day, if the radio programmes were produced according to their needs. A total of 117 radio stations from 69 countries had responded positively to the questionnaires. In addition, Radio France International, which had great reach in Africa, had also expressed a strong interest, and it was hoped that other major broadcast networks would be interested.

Leona Forman, Chief, Information Centres Service, told the Committee that the home pages of the 30 Web sites established by United Nations information centres reflected the centres' diversity, creativity and energy. New technology had a lot to do with the improved perception of partnerships and had brought Headquarters closer to the information centres. It provided the opportunity for the timely resolution of any problems that might arise and for closer communications.

* Reissued for technical reasons. Committee on Information - 1a - Press Release PI/1248 5th Meeting (AM) 5 May 2000

She said that 34 governments provided rent-free premises for the United Nations information centres. The sharing of premises with other United Nations agencies was determined on a case-by-case basis, although that was not always the best solution. Access to information centres was an important consideration and proximity to non-governmental organizations, the media and universities was a factor in the search for premises.

Yousef Hamdan, Chief, Centres Operation Section, said that the staffing of the information centres was below the desirable level. A 25 per cent retrenchment had occurred in the late 1980s and vacant posts had often been used in reducing the numbers of smaller duty stations. Where a post had to be cut, the Department had tried to restore it whenever possible. Resources were pooled where possible.

Delegations this morning welcomed the Department's efforts to develop an international radio capacity. They called for additional resources for the project, as well as for United Nations information centres in developing countries.

Elhassane Zahid (Morocco), Committee Chairman, took part in the question- and-answer session, as did the representatives of Egypt, Spain, Bangladesh, United Republic of Tanzania, Senegal, Liberia, Iran, India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Colombia.

The Committee will meet again at a date to be announced.

Committee on Information - 3 - Press Release PI/1248 5th Meeting (AM) 5 May 2000

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on Information met this morning to continue consideration of the reports submitted by the Secretary-General.

On the subject of United Nations Information Centres it was expected to consider reports on: Integration of United Nations information centres with field offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): a case-by-case review (document A/AC.198/2000/3, Guidelines for the functioning of United Nations information centres integrated with field offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (document A/AC.198/2000/4), and United Nations information centres in 1999: allocation of resources from the regular budget of the United Nations (document A/AC.198/2000/5).

The Committee was also expected to consider the report on development of an international radio broadcasting capacity for the United Nations: progress report on the pilot project (document A/AC.198/2000/6).

(For detailed background of the reports, see Press Releases PI/1242 of 28 April and PI/1243 of 1 May.)

Introduction of Reports

Before submitting the report on development of an international radio broadcasting capacity for the United Nations: progress report on the pilot project, the Director, News and Media Division, SALIM LONE, answered a question about journalist accreditation for the Millenium Summit. The Department would send out a note next week to all units about the arrangements for accreditation and would ask the correspondence office to send a note to delegations. For accreditation, journalists needed to fill out a form, accompanied by a letter from an established medium, stating that he/she is a correspondent of that medium. There was also an option for journalists accompanying delegates. They could submit an application directly through the Mission, without a letter from the medium.

On the radio project, he said that, contrary to media like the Internet, print and television, radio did get through to all places, all over the world. Radio was a key medium.

The pilot project was a pioneering effort to produce news in six languages every day. People all over the world would be able to hear the voice of the Secretary-General and other officials. It was also a major challenge, and he asked for support. Key to the success was the ability to develop effective partnerships with radio stations and networks. There had been exceptional interest from all those who had responded to the questionnaires. Eighty per cent had indicated a strong interest in carrying news every day. Of course, they would only continue if programmes were produces according to their needs.

As for constraints in resources, he said that $1.7 million had been redeployed from the budget to finance the pilot project. If the project succeeded and Member States wished to make it a regular feature, the cost would be $8 million per biennium.

Next week, he said, there would be five minute newscasts on the internal MX system and on the Time Warner channel in three languages -- English, French and Spanish -- because staffing for those languages was available. Strengthening staffing for other languages was ongoing. The pilot project would start at the Millennium Summit, if possible.

A total of 117 radio stations from 69 countries had responded positively to the questionnaires, he said. In addition, Radio France International, which had a great reach in Africa, also had expressed strong interest, and he hoped for interest from other major broadcast networks. Satellites were the preferred vehicle, but digital telephone lines and the Internet were also indicated as preferences. While that technology was not widely available in developing countries, their major medium did have access to it. There was a decreasing interest in tape transmission, as it took too long to reach the destination.

He mentioned that with the help of an international broadcaster, a two-week intensive training programme had been held. Concluding, he said the pilot project would help modernize United Nations radio.

WALID A. HAGGAG (Egypt) expressed appreciation for the efforts undertaken by the Department of Public Information in connection with the development of the international radio broadcasting capacity of the United Nations. His country had consistently expressed interest in the pilot project and was ready to participate in it. He was highly gratified by the results of survey questionnaires conducted to determine the readiness of radio networks and satellite distribution systems around the world.

His delegation welcomed the Department’s decision to redeploy resources to implement the pilot radio service. He emphasized that Egypt considered the implementation of the project a major step and hoped that it would become a major source of transmission of information about the United Nations. Efforts to put the project on a sound financial footing should continue. He asked for rough estimates about the distribution of programmes in the different languages, and the name of the major international broadcasting organization that helped with the survey.

AGUSTIN GALAN (Spain) wanted to know the language content of the information to be broadcast on the proposed radio service, and the link between it and the various other units. He also wanted to know the efforts being made to reduce costs. In some cases, Web sites were already being used to transmit information about the United Nations.

In response, Mr. LONE said the partnership with radio stations must be substantially widened. It was an ongoing effort and he hoped the results would be seen in the months to come. On the question of costs, the Department needed contributions from Member States. A communication had been sent to Member States soliciting additional funds. Any extrabudgetary contributions would make it possible for the Department to continue to do its job.

He also said that, as indicated in the Secretary-General’s report, 27 States in Africa and 17 from the Caribbean had expressed interest in the project. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had assisted the Department. In response to the question from the representative of Spain, he said it would be pointless to send English programmes to a Spanish-speaking listening area. The Department would very much be looking for content. The broadcasts would be undertaken in the traditional United Nations format using the six official languages to make the content meaningful to the audiences. The Department had managed to operate with meagre resources because of increased efficiency and use of modern technology.

Mr. GALAN (Spain) said his real concerns were about the content and language of the broadcasts. He wanted more details concerning the structural link between the different units of the Department in the preparation and transmission of material by radio. He suggested that a multi-media unit might have to be created for the project.

Mr. LONE said that at present there were about three or four separate operations in the news area, the most important being the press coverage. The other units were the radio service and the Internet. Those units had been operating individually and very well. There was still no expertise in the multi- media area.

SYED K. ALOM (Bangladesh) said that the response to the questionnaire had been very poor in South Asia, and asked for a copy of the survey in order to see what could be done about that

Mr. LONE said that the response, 13 per cent, had been very poor indeed. He would provide the representative with a copy and appreciated any support.

Submitting the reports on the United Nations information centres (documents A/AC.198/2000/3, 4 and 5), LEONA FORMAN, Chief, Information Centres Service, indicated some misprints in report A/AC.198/2000/5. On page 5, Lagos, fourth column, the amount should read $4,100 instead of $27,000. The fourth column under Tehran on page 6, the amount of $90,000 indicated the rent for the whole building. The information centre part of it was $14,400.

Ms. Forman underlined the importance of partnerships, both built at Headquarters and in the field. The Organization depended on partnerships for realizing its goals and garnering public support for the objectives of the United Nations. The first partnership was the one with the host government. Information centre staff worked with the host government, media and civil society.

The second partnership was the one with other United Nations members in the field, she said, and in particular with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). UNDP Resident Representatives had assumed leadership roles for the information centres, in many cases in times when an information centre was without a Director. In 1992, as resources became limited, integration between the information centres and UNDP had been introduced in 18 centres and Resident Representatives had taken on a leadership role. In 34 centres where the Department of Public Information had no Director, the centres had benefited from UNDP leadership.

It was important to have a clear definition of integration, she said. Resident Coordinators were entrusted with additional tasks to those of the UNDP job, among them to serve as information centre director. In the partnership with UNDP, the information centres maintained their status vis-a-vis their host country.

Contact with Headquarters was frequent and productive, she said. Training at the local level and briefings at Headquarters or in the regions were held as the budget would permit. The exchange of experiences that took place during those sessions was a strong boost for "doing more with less". At Headquarters, a workgroup of UNDP and the information centres had been established.

The guidelines in A/AC.198/2000/4 had been developed jointly with UNDP. It was a “living” document and could be fine-tuned with experience, she said. The report on resource allocation reflected the reality of the operations. Extrabudgetary resources, provided by a number of host countries, had been invaluable.

MUHAMMAD YUSSUF (United Republic of Tanzania) asked why more resources were allocated to centres in highly developed countries than to those in developing countries. Developing countries needed more resources, since access to media was not as readily available as in developed countries. He was interested to know what criteria were used in allocating resources.

Mr. HAGGAG (Egypt) expressed his appreciation for the questionnaires sent to host governments. He requested that the Secretariat faithfully implement the views expressed by the host governments, in consultation with those host governments, and see that those views were translated into tangible results in a timely manner.

Comparing the role of the Resident Representative, as described in Section C, paragraph D, of A/AC.198/2000/4 and the one of the National Information Officer in Section D, paragraph C, he said that such a situation would lead to friction and confusion. Clarification was necessary, he said. Further, the annex in the report on allocation of resources (A/AC.198/2000/5) did not show the exact amount of financial resources allocated from the budget to the centres, and he asked for such a specification.

ABDOUL DEMBA TALL (Senegal) asked what criteria were used in the selection of information centre directors. There should be room for candidates from the South to manage information centres all over the world.

JAMES Z. EESIAH (Liberia) asked for clarification about sharing premises with UNDP in Monrovia, where UNDP was now in a different location. The centre should be in a place accessible to students, because they were the main beneficiaries.

He said that his Government might not be able to provide rent-free space to the centre, and would appreciate it if the United Nations could include rental space, so that the centre could become functional.

Mr. ALOM (Bangladesh) said he would like to know why his country had been overlooked in the survey questionnaire sent to host governments of 14 integrated information centres.

Ms. FORMAN, responding to questions raised by delegations, said 34 governments provided rent-free premises for the centres, for which the Department was grateful. The sharing of premises with other United Nations agencies was determined on a case-by-case basis. It was not always the best solution. Access to information centres was an important consideration. It should be close to non- governmental organizations, the media and the universities. All those factors were taken into account in the search for premises. In the case of Liberia, she said that the Department would be discussing the question of premises with the country’s representative.

On the question of the qualifications of centre directors, she said the criteria required included competency in communications skills, and an understanding of the work of the United Nations. She told another questioner that 34 centres were headed by the UNDP Resident Representative. On matters relating directly to the affairs of the centres, those directors wore the “hat” of the centres. The centres informed Headquarters of their needs based on their experiences. Partnerships with local agencies were important, as they reinforced the meagre resources of the Department. The demands on the centres differed from country to country. In Burkina Faso, for example, three different United Nations agencies worked with the centre to develop information strategies, and it was the Department’s objective to build on such local initiatives.

MEDHI YOUSEFI (Iran) asked how decisions were made in the provision of Web sites to the information centres.

ATUL KHARE (India) said he was extremely distressed that the overall staffing of the information centres had been reduced by close to 40 per cent. He, however, commended the Department for doing more with less and less. Such a process of staffing reductions could not continue.

Mr. YUSSUF (United Republic of Tanzania) expressed dissatisfaction about the response to questions he had raised. He had no problem with the provision of resources to centres for educational purposes, but he did not think information centres in developed countries should be provided with more resources than those in developing States. He did not think the United States public really needed an information centre, compared with Mozambicans, Tanzanians or Bangladeshis. The United States population had all types of information about the United Nations. It was developing countries that needed more information about the Organization, and consequently centres in those countries should be given more resources.

The Chairman, ELHASSANE ZAHID (Morocco), echoed that comment, and added that the Department should concentrate on re-deploying resources to centres in developing countries.

BURHANUL ISLAM (Pakistan) said in the last two years many countries had questioned the concept of integrated centres. He requested an explanation on why Bangladesh had not been provided with the survey questionnaire on integrated centres. He said the imbalance in resource allocation to centres had to be examined.

TANKO SULEIMAN (Nigeria) also called for a review of the resource allocation to the centres. He wanted to know whether the Department was making efforts to relocate the centre in Lagos to the national capital of Abuja.

LESLIE GUZMAN (Colombia) wanted information about the operation of the centre in Bogota. There were many in her country who wanted to know more about the United Nations. She said she would like to know what strategies were planned to inform the public, other than students, on the work of the Organization.

Mr. TALL (Senegal) said his question about the qualifications of centre directors was important. He underscored the importance of using African specialists for centres in Africa. He noted that in most cases heads of the centres were not from regions they were assigned.

Ms. FORMAN, concerning the question from Bangladesh, said that the questionnaire had not been sent to that country, because the information centre in Dhaka was not an integrated one.

Addressing remarks by several delegates, she said that out of 14 questionnaires sent to host governments, only 7 responses had been returned. An on-site evaluation programme, in cooperation with UNDP, was being developed.

Answering the representative of Iran's question, she said that there were now 30 information centre Web sites. The home pages of those sites, displayed in the conference room, reflected each centre’s diversity, creativity and energy. Initiatives for those sites had been taken by the centres themselves. In some cases, interns had helped in their development. She offered help in the form of training or ideas if the centre in Tehran wanted to develop such a site.

She thanked the representative of India for recognizing the distressing overall staffing situation of the information centres. Working together with the Department, she hoped something could be done. The Committee should consider the situation, as well.

New technology had a lot to do with the improved perception of partnerships, she said. It had brought Headquarters closer to the information centres. The new technology provided the opportunity to resolve any problems that might arise in a timely manner and to have closer communications, all day long if necessary.

YOUSEF HAMDAN, Chief, Centres Operation Section, responded to the United Republic of Tanzania's request for a breakdown of allocations per information centre. He said that, unfortunately, work had to be carried out within the resources given by Member States. Staffing resources were below the level desirable. However, in the distribution of staffing resources, many factors had to be taken into account.

In the late 1980s, there had been a retrenchment exercise of 25 per cent. The staff of the information centres were part of the Secretariat and had been subject to those cuts. Vacant posts had often been used in reducing the numbers of smaller duty stations. Since then, there had been more of such retrenchment exercises. The Department had tried very hard to cope, and where a post had to be cut, it had tried to restore it whenever possible. Pooling of resources took place in other centres, whenever possible.

She said that providing figures reflecting allocation of resources for every centre might be misleading, if other factors had not been taken into account. Those figures would not include funding raised locally, for instance, or reflect that some projects, carried out by the information centre, were funded by other agencies.

Ms. FORMAN said that the question of relocating the information centre in Lagos, Nigeria, to the new capital of Abuja was being examined. Addressing the concerns of the representative of Colombia, she said that the information centre in Bogota covered information activities in Venezuela and Ecuador. Direct contact with the officers in those countries had been established and they would be working together in disseminating information and organizing seminars. Dissemination of United Nations documents was done by information centre staff through the Internet, at the centre's libraries and at depository libraries.

She was very conscious of the need to place people from the region in the post of information centre director, and efforts were made to place African nationals in African countries or other countries, as well as women, she said, in response to the question of the representative of Senegal. However, criteria for placement were more general, including communications and language abilities.

Mr. YUSSUF (United Republic of Tanzania) said that he did not believe that information regarding allocation of resources to centres could not be provided. That information was necessary. It would be simple to provide information about Department posts. He demanded that the information be given.

The CHAIRMAN said that the Secretariat's answer did not imply that the information could not be given, but that other factors should be kept in mind in context of the information.

The Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, KENSAKU HOGEN, said he appreciated the concern expressed by the United Republic of Tanzania and agreed that activities in developing countries should be increased. That had been his agenda, as well as to make sure that traditional means of communications were not only maintained, but also strengthened. The international radio capacity improvement was an example. The Committee had recognized that.

It would be a more proactive approach to improve services in developing areas, he added. Requirements in that regard were treated with the utmost care. He needed the Committee's help in providing the necessary resources and advice. The support of Member States was needed, he said, because the General Assembly would decide on the resources. He thanked the Committee for the tremendous support he had received.

Mr. ALOM (Bangladesh) said that the information centre in Dhaka had not been integrated officially, but in reality it was. There was, therefore, a need for a full-time director in Bangladesh

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