SEMINAR ON POLICY AWARENESS, SECURITY ISSUES IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO BE HELD AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS ON 29 JULY

SEMINAR ON POLICY AWARENESS, SECURITY ISSUES IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

TO BE HELD AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS ON 29 JULY

NEW YORK, 24 July (Department of Economic and Social Affairs) -- The second high-level seminar on “Policy Awareness and Security Issues on Information Technology”, organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), will be held on Monday 29 July from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.

The seminar’s presenters will include the former Director of the International Computer Center, an expert in corporate as well as individual computer security.  A unique case study on a developing country’s experience in incorporating new technologies into the curriculum of mainstream school systems will be presented by the former Minister of Education of Costa Rica, who is currently the Special Representative of the World Bank to the United Nations in New York.  The programme for the second seminar will also include a presentation by an expert from MIT Media Lab, who will address the issue of new technologies that can be used as viable and affordable solutions for developing countries.

Held under the auspices of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force and the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on Informatics, the seminar is part of the series on “Policy Awareness and Training in Information Technology," conducted with the participation and sponsorship of Intel Corporation.  Targeted at senior and mid-level delegates from United Nations Member States based in New York, the series consists of a set of four progressive modules and one interactive seminar presented as a cycle, which is repeated four times a year.  The first four modules, geared toward all diplomats, focus on computers and software, e-mail and web surfing, web-page design and maintenance. 

The seminar is open to the media, all interested staff members and representatives of non-governmental organizations.

Another unique feature of this programme is the active and hands-on participation of Intel Corporation.  Unlike the usual sponsorship relationship, Intel is in the forefront of designing and delivering the training programme with the United Nations, and has ensured the quality of training by providing the latest computers for the training process.

There has been an overwhelming response to this initiative in the form of participant registrations for training.  The sponsors are also encouraged that

85 per cent of the registrations are from developing countries, which perceive a high value attached to this training.  It also indicates a high level of commitment by all nations to harnessing this technology.

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