WESTERN ASIA PREPARATORY CONFERENCE FOR INFORMATION SOCIETY WORLD SUMMIT TO BE HELD IN BEIRUT 4-6 FEBRUARY

                                                            PI/1456

                                                            REC/106

                                                            22 January 2003

WESTERN ASIA PREPARATORY CONFERENCE FOR INFORMATION SOCIETY WORLD SUMMIT

TO BE HELD IN BEIRUT 4-6 FEBRUARY

BEIRUT, 22 January, (UN Information Service) -- Ministers and high-level decision makers representing Arab States and engaged in building the information society will convene at the United Nations House in Beirut from 4 to 6 February 2003 to participate in the Western Asia Preparatory Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society.  Prominent experts in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), non-governmental organizations, civil society institutions, regional and international organizations as well as private establishments involved in the information society will also participate in the Conference.

Hosted by the Lebanese Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the Beirut Conference isheld in close collaboration with United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia(ESCWA), the Cairo regional office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), with support from the World Bank Information for Development Programme (infoDev) and the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force.  The Conference is intended to assess the current status of ESCWA member countries in relation to the information society; review ICT policies, infrastructure, applications and services at the national and regional levels; identify national and regional needs, priorities and key issues to tackle; forge an understanding among countries in the region on the information society; and develop a vision, strategies and plans to reach the knowledge-based society.

The Conference is also expected to establish a platform for dialogue between major stakeholders of the information society in the ESCWA region; identify initiatives leading to national and regional projects that aim at developing ICT infrastructure and services; and reach a consensus on the modalities of participation in the World Summit for countries of the region.

Consequently, the main themes that the Conference will focus on are:  infrastructure development for the information society; ICT applications for socio-economic development; capacity building in ICT; development of the ICT sector; policies and strategies for building the information society; partnership among stakeholders of the information society; the cultural identity and Arabic digital content in a knowledge-based society; and regional collaboration in building the information society.

Important issues to be tackled include the dissemination of the benefits of ICT; focusing on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, particularly on generating employment and alleviating poverty through ICT;

e-learning, e-health; e-government, e-commerce, and e-business; regulatory frameworks for the digital economy and international rules and agreements; as well as launching, implementing and financing information society projects.

The final document adopted by the Beirut Conference will include its main recommendations regarding policies, preliminary plans and initiatives that address the key issues and tackle the identified problems in building the

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information society.  The document will be presented at the Second Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee meeting to be held in Geneva from 17 to 28 February 2003.  The second preparatory meeting will discuss the agenda of the Summit and the elements to be incorporated into the final document for the World Summit. 

In its Resolution A/RES/56/183, adopted in 2001, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the ITU proposal to hold a World Summit on the Information Society at the highest possible level and under the patronage of the United Nations Secretary-General.  The main objective of the Summit is to develop acommon vision and understanding of the information society and the adoption of a declaration of principles and a plan of action for implementation by governments, international institutions and all sectors of civil society.

The Summit will be organized in two phases.  The first phase will be held in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003 and the second phase in Tunis in 2005.

The main issues the Summit will address are raised by the information society and related to policy formulation, socio-economic development as well as cultural, ethical and technological concerns.  They include building the ICT infrastructure; the universal and equitable access to the information society; the services and applications; the user needs; developing a framework for building the information society; as well as ICT in education.

The World Summit on the Information Society will offer a unique opportunity for the world community to discuss and give shape to the information society by bringing together key players:  governments; international organizations; private sector; and civil society, including non-governmental organizations.

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