Note to Correspondents

CONFERENCE AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS ON 9 FEBRUARY TO ASSESS

HOW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES OUR LIVES

 

The way information technology can improve the lives of all generations will be the theme of an international conference to be held at the United Nations (Conference Room 3) on Friday, 9 February.

The meeting, on “Age of Connectivity: Cities, Magnets of Hope”, will showcase how virtual communities and social networking can enhance the quality of life in cities.  It will explore the way information and communication technology can boost economic development and permit lifelong learning and employment in our “age of longevity”.  Participants include experts on urban planning and development, information and communication technology, finance, government, business and health.

The morning keynote speaker, Liston D. Bochette, Secretary-General of the World Olympians Association and five-time Olympic athlete, will examine how information and communication technology tools can address the complexities of city environments.  Motto Kusakabe of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will speak about the Open City Portal -- the online tool on information about the services provided by a city or municipality.  Peter Mathias, Managing Director of the United-Kingdom-based organization Bridge Research and Development, will examine online self-evaluation as a human development tool.  Wojciech Zablocki, professor of architecture, President of Poland’s National Olympians Association and three-time Olympic medallist, will address the impact of the Olympic Games on urban planning.

The afternoon keynote speaker, Sheikh Mohamed bin Issa al Jaber, will examine how connectivity can promote human capacity building.  Mr. Al Jaber is UNESCO Special Envoy for Education, Human Rights, Tolerance and Cultures, as well as founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the London-based conglomerate MBI International.  Ralph Schonenback, Chief Executive Officer of the Swiss global sourcing Trestle Group, will illustrate the pilot project “Empower Women Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries”, carried out by the Trestle Foundation in cooperation with Microsoft.

Other participants include Andrew Young, former Mayor of Atlanta and co-Chairman of the 1996 Olympic Games; Solomon Boit, Permanent Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Local Government; Economic and Social Council President DaliusČekuolis (Lithuania); Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT); and Dianne Davis, Founding President of the International Council for Caring Communities.

The co-Chairs of the meeting are Professor Dennis Anderson, School of Computer Science and Information Systems, Pace University, and Ramu Damodaran, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information.

The event, held during the annual session of the Commission on Social Development, is part of a series of congresses addressing the “Age of Longevity” held in cities around the globe.  It is organized by the International Council for Caring Communities with participants from the World Olympians Association, UN-HABITAT, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Department of Public Information, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

For further information, please visit www.un.org/events/agingcf.htm, or contact Edoardo Bellando at the Department of Public Information, tel. (212) 963 8275, e-mail bellando@un.org.

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For information media • not an official record