INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL INFORMATICS PROGRAMME

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1 CII-98/CONF.204/RI PARIS, 4 September 1998 Original: English INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL INFORMATICS PROGRAMME FINAL REPORT Fourteenth session of the Bureau Paris, June 1998 United Nations Educational, Scientifíc and Cultural Organization CII-98KONF.204KLD. 1

2 INTRODUCTION The Bureau of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme (IIP) held its fourteenth session at UNESCO Headquarters on 22 and 23 June The participants of the fourteenth session of the IIP Bureau were as follows: President Mr Momar Ali Ndiaye (Senegal) Vice-Presidents Africa Mr Sikhutumani Mangena (Zimbabwe) Arab States MS Ferial Al-Freih (Kuwait) Asia and the Pacific H.E. Mr Dong Chil Yang (Republic of Korea) Eastern Europe Mr Ludovit Molnar (Slovakia) Latin America and the Caribbean Mr Mauricio Montalvo (Ecuador) Westem Europe Mr Jaako Kivinen (Finland) Rapporteur Mr Vanniarachchige Kitshri Samaranayake (Sri Lanka) Mr Henrikas Yushkiavitshus, Assistant Director-General for Communication, Information and Informatics (ADGCII), represented the Director-General of UNESCO, and Mr Philippe Quéau, Director of the Information and Informatics Division and Mr Pal Vasarhelyi represented the Secretariat. 1. Opening of the session The Bureau of IIP and the Bureau of the General Information Programme had a joint opening. The opening address of the representative of the Director-General, Mr Henrikas Yushkiavitshus, ADG/CII, is presented in Annex Adoption of the agenda The agenda of the meeting was adopted as proposed. 3. Report by the IIP Secretariat The Secretariat presented a report covering activities under both the regular programme and the extrabudgetary projects. 3.1 Activities of general interest (a) Complete modular framework for training on informatics A contract has been established with IFIP with a view to elaborating a complete modular framework for the training on informatics, covering the undergraduate, and postgraduate programmes and courses to be provided on applications in the specific tields of responsibility of UNESCO: education, science, culture and mass communication, specifying for each module the requirements in terms of the modules to be completed before undertaking the study.

3 - page 2 The work will be based on the framework proposed by Professor Molnar, Vice- President of the Intergovemmental Informatics Programme, adding modules as required, structuring it according to levels of study, and further elaborating its details. Both the aspects of application development and those of making use of applications will be covered. Special attention will be paid to the studies required for promoting the production of software in developing countries, to courses to be offered regarding applications in UNESCO s fields of responsibility: education, science, culture and communication. (b) Supporting the development of national informatics policies and strategies A contract was established with FID (which earlier prepared successfully the guidelines on national information policies), for an in-depth study on the ways in which national informatics policies and strategies have been and should be established and updated, paying special attention to the impact of the convergence of information, informatics and telecommunication technologies, and focusing on the main tasks of the govemment regarding the development and use of the new information and communication technologies. (c) Training on informatics UNESCO and the Govemment of Israel shared the costs of a joint training course entitled Integrated 120-hour course on building off-line and on-line resources for the use of computer technology in various tields of education and training. The course was intended for trainers who will be in charge of both preparing computerbased methodological resources for teachers and trainers and train them on how to build and use computer and networked resources in various educational and training fields. The three weeks course took place in Israel, in May The language of the course was English. The 20 participants carne from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The representatives of the African Institute for Informatics (regional institution located in Gabon) and the Teacher Training Institute of Senegal were also invited, in preparation for adapting the training package to the requirements of training in French, with software tools and referentes, etc. (d) Providing access to free software tools Due to the difficulties of the developing countries in identifying and downloading free software tools, UNESCO wishes to provide selected downloaded programmes to universities through its websites available in the regions and by the means of preparing CD-ROMS. Downloaded software is now being integrated in the UNESCO Headquarters Website, along with short descriptions and links to sources of freeware available via the Intemet for downloading by counterpart institutions wishing to contribute to this effort. Co-operation is being developed with the Free Software Foundation (Mr Stallman) with a view to combining software catalogue information and software collected by the two parties and joining dissemination efforts. This work is being implemented without financia1 investment on the part of UNESCO, making use of the contribution of consultants having a symbolic US $1 contract and other individual and institutional volunteers.

4 - page Activities in the regions In Africa the informatics activities have four main orientations: (a) In harmony with the overa11 priorities of the Intergovemmental Informatics Programme, the majority of the projects aim at developing training on informatics, in particular by creating training packages to support trainers in the design and running of their courses, and by organizing regional workshops, in the framework of which such training packages are evaluated and disseminated among trainers, who are expected to train both students and other trainers in their countries. (b) A special priority for Africa is the support to be extended to the development of local software production. This is done through the development of relevant training packages and by supporting meetings with private companies with a view to analysing their needs in knowledge, publicity, etc. (c) The development of telematics applications is supported by assisting regional networking efforts and co-operation. The Regional Informatics Network for Africa (RINAF) was initiated in 1992 as a framework for UNESCO support for African co-operation to promote academic and public sector computer networking. Thirty-one African Member States participate in this effort. (d) Telematics infrastructure development is being supported in co-operation with ITU, through the implementation of Multipurpose Community Telecentres in five African countries, which aim at providing African villages with effective means of accessing and sharing development information, catering for lifelong leaming, environmental protection, preventive and children s health, participation of women in society and community development. MCTs contribute to hamessing ICTs for development by combining traditional outreach media such as rural radio with the latest telecommunication technology and specially designed telematics applications to enhance public services. In Asia, informatics activities are oriented, in harmony with the main donor s (Republic of Korea) priority, towards developing informatics infrastructure for use by training institutions, paying special attention to applications in business. Extrabudgetary co-operation in this region is characterized by the interest of UNDP in co-funding such projects, which it considers as contributing to its major socio-economic objectives. In the Arab States, informatics activities aim at developing training on informatics and the access to computerized information in Arabic. A field of special interest is the development of access to computerized information by handicapped persons, in particular Arabic-speaking visually handicapped users, with a view to involving them in educational, cultural and economic activities. In Europe, informatics activities are focusing on the development of training material on informatics, with the understanding that al1 material developed will serve trainers and students worldwide. Ln Latin America, pipeline extrabudgetary informatics activities are awaiting the decision of the major donor, Spain, on their funding. These projects are focusing on the development of training on and practica1 use of the Intemet and Intranet applications for diplomatic services ,, 7

5 - page 4 4. Comments and communications by the members of the Bureau During the discussion which followed, members of the Bureau: expressed their satisfaction with the richness and variety of the activities undertaken by UNESCO in the field of informatics, under both the regular programme and extrabudgetary funding, compensating the decrease of extrabudgetary funding with increased efficiency and innovative approaches; stressed the great importance of the efforts aiming at supporting the development of national informatics policies; recommended to use the valuable experience gained in the framework of the course organized jointly with Israel to organize similar courses in other languages and regions; recommended to develop a strategy for the regular updating of the collection of freeware, to rely on links to the sources of freeware tools, checking their validity periodically, to develop training material on the use of such tools (in particular on those to be made available directly through UNESCO channels), and to involve IIP focal points and professional institutions in the countries in the distribution of the freeware material; called the attention to the impact of the Year 2000 problem, recommending UNESCO action in the field of sensitization and training related to this matter; pointed out the importance of orienting the networking projects, such as RINAF, towards the development of national content and exchanges among developing countries and recommended in particular: to organize a meeting of reorientation of the RINAF network and project in the framework of the CARI/98 Conference to be held in October 1998 in Dakar (Senegal); and to relaunch and upgrade networking efforts in Asia via the organization of a meeting to be held in Sri Lanka; recommended that the training material, although addressed primarily to trainers, be developed in a way allowing students also to benefít fi-om it through self-training; recommended that the initiatives/requests of Member States be complemented by the Secretariat through preparing and submitting projects corresponding to the priorities of IIP; recommended the replication of the Multipurpose Community Telecentres project in other regions; recommended that the results of the Virtual University project be used as soon as possible and enriched by other contributors. The members of the Bureau made the following communications and proposals: The President of IIP informed the Bureau on the meetings attended in Addis Ababa and Ghana. He stressed the interest of the private sector expressed on the occasion of the

6 - page 5 Summit on Global Connectivity held in Addis Ababa. He also informed the meeting on the discussions held with the Permanent Delegate of Spain with a view to promoting the release of the funds for the Latin Ameritan projects recommended by the Bureau. The Vice-President for Africa pointed out the importance of the Year 2000 problem, proposing, that the work of the Afiican local experts on possible solutions be supported, in particular through training. He stressed, that RINAF was the most important initiative taken for networking in Africa, but it should be revised now to reflect the impact of the technological changes which had occurred since the beginning of the project. At least two courses of the Intemet Society type would be needed per year. Local suppliers could be invited to contribute to the costs. He supported the proposal made by the Vice- President for Asia regarding the increased role of the Secretariat in preparing and submitting projects in addition to those prepared by the Member States. The Vice-President for Asia and the Pacific urged the Secretariat to increase the number of proposals for the region, complementing the initiatives of the Member States, if necessary. The Vice-President for Eastem Europe informed the meeting on the Conference held in Bratislava (Slovakia) on the subject of the Information Society and on UNESCO s contribution to this event. He stressed the importance of developing national strategies, infrastructure and training. The Vice-President for Westem Europe stressed the necessity of a decentralized approach to the mobilization of private companies. He felt, that the Secretariat was successful in counterbalancing the decrease of funds with innovative initiatives and pointed out that the co-operation with the French Electricity Board (EDF) with a view to providing complementary input to the project financed by the French Govemment was a good example of how private contributions could be mobilized for IIP projects. The Rapporteur called the attention of the members of the Bureau to the problems facing the Asian networks and recommended to organize a meeting for their representatives, offering to host the event in Sri Lanka. 5. Decisions on the projects The Bureau could base its recommendations and decisions regarding the funding of selected projects on the fact that although contributions for the year 1998 were received at the leve1 of US $78,000 only (US $20,000 from China, US $50,000 from France and US $8,000 from Greece), there were unallocaed funds on the IIP Special Account and because some donors, such as France, the Republic of Korea and Spain had not yet chosen al1 projects they wanted to support. The decisions made are presented in Annex II. 6. Joint session of the Bureaux of IIP and PGI A joint session of the Bureaux of IIP and PGI took place in the moming of 23 June The report on this session is presented under Annex III.

7 - page 6 7. Miscellaneous Under this item three topics were discussed. (a) Evaluation of selected IIP projects in Asia Mr Samaranayake informed the Bureau on the evaluation of selected IIP projects through a mission and correspondence. He evaluated, in particular the following projects: The development of RINSCA networking facilities between Bhutan, Nepal and India, later extended to Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Main recommendation: to encourage RINSCA focal points to become Intemet websites and provide Intemet services and to organize a meeting of the network co-ordinators. Enhancing the capacity of NEWTECSPRO, Viet Nam. Main recommendation: to enhance the co-operation among the national counterparts involved. Using informatics for the preparation of school books, Viet Nam. Main recommendation: to promote the use of the computer infrastructure installed for producing more books. Strengthening of the Institute for Information Technology, Viet Nam. Main recommendation: the new project initiated in the same institute should strengthen the areas which remained weak after the completion of the previous project, such as database technology and multimedia. Upgrading the Microcomputer Laboratory of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Main recommendation: a strategy is needed regarding the ways in which the rapid outdating of equipment delivered could be counterbalanced. (b) Supporting software development in Africa Mr Mangena informed the Bureau on his mission to the African Institute for Informatics, Gabon. He recommended in particular: to assist selected institutions of excellence in the development of the content of the courses offered as well as in the acquisition of the appropriate equipment; to develop exchanges regarding the training modules created, developing a bank of training modules ; to identify ways in which quality of training can be maintained at a high level, promoting the twinning and partnership arrangements between African and European training institutions. (c) Year 2000 During the brainstorming on this subject, the members of the Bureau pointed out that: awareness-raising on the matter would be important; national strategies would be needed in order to solve the problem in a systematic way, proposing a work plan to be followed;

8 donors could be contacted, should such a work plan be available; CII-98/CONF.204/Rl - page 7 UNESCO could promote the use of materials prepared by other organizations, such as IFIP, prepare and disseminate an awareness-raising leaflet, making use of al1 UNESCO conferences and networks. Mr Ndiaye offered to provide UNESCO with the strategy document prepared in Senegal on the Year 2000 problem, for use in the preparation of the above-mentioned leaflet. 8. Date and venue of the fifteenth session of the Bureau The Bureau decided to hold its fifteenth session in conjunction with the seventh session of the Intergovemmental Committee for IIP, which will take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, from 9 to ll December 1998, with a joint session with the Intergovemmental Council for the General Information Programme (PGI). 9. Closure of the session Taking the floor for the last time, the President thanked al1 participants and declared the fourteenth session of the Bureau closed.

9 Annex 1 ANNEX 1 JOINT OPENING OF THE BUREAUX Opening remarks by Henrikas Yushkiavitshus Assistant Director-General for Communication, Information and Informatics Ladies and Gentlemen, It is with great pleasure that 1 welcome you to UNESCO House to the joint opening of the two meetings of the Bureaux of the Intergovernmental Council for the General Lnformation Programme (PGI) and of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme (IIP). 1 extend very cordial greetings to the members of the two bureaux, and particularly to Mr Momar Ali Ndiaye, Chairperson of the Lntergovernmental Informatics Programme, and MS Nathalie Dusoulier, who has kindly informed us that she would be willing to act as Chairperson of the PGI Intergovernmental Council until the election of the new Chairperson at the twelfth session of the Council in December The members of the Bureau of the General Information Programme will decide on this proposal after this opening meeting. 1 also wish to welcome His Excellency Mr Fatih Saleh, Permanent Delegate of the Arab Republic of Egypt to UNESCO, who will represent his country in the Bureau of the General Information Programme from now on. Mr Mohsen Tawtik, whom the Director-General has appointed Director of the Unit for Special Projects, ceased to be a member of the Bureau of the PGI Intergovernmental Council and at the same time to be its Chairperson. Mr Tawfik is now responsible for the World Communication and Information Report and for preparations for the World Conference on Communication and Information. He will also follow up the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Project and the Reading for Al1 Programme. He is also responsible for the identification of extrabudgetary funds for all CII activities. 1 also wish to greet Mr Reinhard Keune, Chairperson of the Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication. Your presente here reflects your interest in our two programmes, and inspires me with hope that the co-operátion between IPDC, PGI and IIP which unfortunately has so far eluded us will be able to take shape under your chairmanship. 1 also wish to welcome the representatives of the international non-governmental organizations which have always supported us in the planning and implementation of our activities. This joint opening of the meetings of the bureaux of the two intergovernmental programmes, PGI and IIP, owes nothing to chance. Like the working meeting of your two

10 Annex 1 - page 2 bureaux tomorrow, it is a response to the desire expressed by the Member States at the last session of the General Conference in 29 C/Resolution 28. That resolution stipulates that the statutory meetings of the two intergovernmental bodies which you represent should be convened as joint meetings. That resolution also invites the Director-General to establish the synergies necessary to adapt UNESCO s activities to the challenges of the information highways, thus enabling the 30th session of the General Conference to take a well-informed decision about a possible merger of these two intergovemmental programmes or any other appropriate solution. That decision will enable us to reflect on the best possible way of adapting UNESCO s activities to take up the challenges of the information society. The technological revolution in which we have been involved for some years now demands new synergies, new alliances and new forms of action. Ladies and Gentlemen, Information, informatics and communication may retain certain specificities and even separate identities as fields of study and application. However, in the emerging or rather the converging information society, the border lines become harder and harder to define and greater synergy among them would no doubt improve the efficiency of UNESCO s action. The World Report on Communication and Information, which we plan to publish in 1999, is a good illustration of our response to the phenomenon of convergence. As far as information and informatics are concemed, both traditional and new activities undertaken by the General Information Programme and the Intergovemmental Informatics Programme have a common strategy of reflection based on the intellectual and ethical mandate of UNESCO which requires a focus on content in the information society; and action to build the infrastructure or infostructure of the information society through training, the establishment of information policies and the promotion of networking. In this context, the decision of the General Conference to rethink the role of PGI and IIP is of considerable interest. Before you begin to reflect on the future of the PGI Council and IIP Committee, however, 1 would like to take a look at their histories. Until now, both institutions have had different functions and different identities. The PGI Council, which was established more than 20 years ago, has an essentially conceptual role. It is responsible for - and 1 quote - guiding the conception and planning of the General Information Programme. The IIP Committee was set up in 1985 to oversee an extrabudgetary Intergovemmental Informatics Programme and to seek the necessary resources for the implementation of the programme. Its function is thus to develop and implement concrete projects. For a long time, the PGI Council played a very important role, but gradually the Council meetings became a series of reports about the situation of the libraries and archives in the Member States. Another part of the Council s meetings was devoted to praising the PGI Secretariat and there was no time left for guiding the conception of the programme. The crisis tinally carne with the rapid development of the new information and communication technologies. The Director-General began to complain that he was receiving advice on new information issues from everywhere except PGI. The Executive Board was on the verge of proposing to shut up shop. Finally after many discussions and the strong support of Mr Tawfik in the Executive Board, the PGI Council not only survived but also adapted to the new situation. PGI received a new mandate and the Secretariat drew its own conclusions. Two

11 Annex 1 - page 3 divisions were merged, the Director of PGI replaced and a single secretariat established to ser-ve the PGI Council and the IIP Committee together. IIP did not have to weather these kinds of storms, but when we look at the implementation of its main task of raising extrabudgetary fimds, we see that IIP is sinking quietly in very calm waters. This is only too apparent from its financia1 situation. Three contributions totalling US $78,000 have been made for projects in 1998: US $20,000 from China, US $50,000 from France and US $8,000 from Greece. Al1 other lünd-raising initiatives have failed. It is clear that with this volume of funding, IIP has very little credibility. If the programme is to continue into the next millennium, radical solutions will have to be found. Obviously, many of our traditional donors are currently facing difficult economic decisions. It should however be noted that under the same circumstances, in 1998, IPDC funded projects for a total of US $2,500,000, and US $750,000 were raised by the Unit for Freedom of Expression and Democracy above for projects in ex-yugoslavia. It appears that extrabudgetary funding is available and at IIP we are not perhaps going the right way about it. Where content is concemed the two programmes reflect a convergence which has brought about closer co-operation between them. This tendency can be seen in the following areas: training in information handling, with particular attention to the changing needs of information users; development of national and regional information policies; networking of individuals and institutions; establishment of virtual leaming communities, virtual laboratories, virtual libraries, online govemance services, and multipurpose community telecentres in rural and disadvantaged areas; improvement of infrastructures of public libraries, archives and documentation centres to enable them to become gateways to information. Let me give you some examples of the projects where it is difficult whether they are PGI or IIP. to distinguish One of the examples is the project of the Mediterranean Virtual Librar-y (MEDLIB): the Mediterranean basin, which possesses incomparable cultural, linguistic and historical treasures, is a precious link between the North and the South. Libraries have always played a vital part in the development, conservation and dissemination of knowledge in this region. Today they are being transformed by new concepts of information and new technological advances. The MEDLIB project uses the Intemet to link up different sources of knowledge. The principal aim of the project is to collect the documentary heritage of the Mediterranean and to måke it available on the Intemet, and the two aspects of content and infostructure are equally present. The second example is virtual training institutions in cyberspace. These projects aim at providing leaming facilities for the general public through the Intemet. They offer an effective

12 Annex 1 - page 4 and effcient leaming environment in al1 fields of knowledge at al1 levels of education, and can be considered as altematives to traditional training organizations. Furthermore, the work of teachers can be backed up by the use of technology to create and personalize training materials for classroom presentation and for individual leaming. An interesting example is the project - Development of New Markets for Telematics Products in Central Asia (DENEMA), which promotes the establishment of an infostructure through a combination of PGI and IIP elements. It aims at promoting distance education, electronic commerce and telemedicine through awareness-raising actions, market study and transfer of know how. Its innovative nature lies in the combination of telematics, training and concrete applications of the new technologies in the service of sustainable development. The last but not least example is our strategy for the promotion of information in the public domain, which relies on the content oriented PGI and the technology oriented IJP to create a new approach. This means, for example, that in the new technological environment the access oriented aspects of the Memory of the World Programme are as important as its preservation component. It also implies that we naturally promote the idea of free and open source software. For 20 years this concept has been the spearhead that led to the building of the Intemet and the World Wide Web. In today s over-commercialized world free access to the Intemet is at risk. UNESCO, through IIP and PGI, can counterbalance this development. Ladies and Gentlemen, 1 have referred at length to the convergence of PGI and IIP activities and the need for increased co-operation. It should also be said from the point of view of the Secretariat that the existence of two intergovemmental bodies has not been an obstacle to co-operation. The question for Member States is whether such convergence necessitates the establishment of a new intergovemmental structure or whether there are good reasons for retaining two separate identities. We should perhaps make an effort to distinguish between content, structure and functions. In order to facilitate your discussion of this issue, the Secretariat has prepared elements for discussing the restructuration of intergovemmental bodies in the area of information and informatics. The document which has been distributed to you contains a short overview of the history and mandate of PGI and IIP. It proposes options for future intergovemmental structures in the fields of our concem. The document also includes a timetable illustrating the complexity of the procedural operations to be respected in preparation of the debate on this subject for the 30th session of the General Conference. 1 am certain that your brainstorming session will lead to concrete recommendations, which will prepare and facilitate further discussion of this issue by the PGI Council and the IIP Committee in December Your work schedule for the next two days is heavy, but your debates will, without doubt, be fruitful. Let us not forget one of the crucial objectives of our Organization is the promotion of free exchange of ideas and knowledge. The pursuit of this ideal has never been more topical that it is today. We are looking forward to your recommendations for the future of our two programmes. 1 wish you every success. _--~. r l

13 Annex II ANNEX II DECISIONS ON THE PROJECTS (A) The Bureau of IIP awarded the IIP labe1 to the following projects: (it should be n oted, that the Secretariat changed some titles in order to better reflect the content of the request) Africa 1. Training on the creation of multimedia products with national content. (original title: Multimedia and distance training), submitted by Cameroon Reinforcement of the computerization of the University of Mali, submitted by Mali. Preparation of training material on the methodology for the development of educational software products (original title: Introducing computers in Uganda s mainstream education), submitted by Uganda. 4. Extension of the Intemet node of the University of Dakar (UCAD), submitted by Senegal. 5. Computer network for the Press Agency of Senegal, submitted by Senegal. Arab States 1. Establishment of a training centre on informatics applications for handicapped persons, submitted by Lebanon. 2. Introduction of bilingual computerized systems for the education of visually handicapped persons, submitted by Morocco. Asia Multipurpose community telecentres for the purpose of community development, submitted by Sri Lanka. Development of informatics training at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (original title: Establishment of a UNESCO Chair in informatics), submitted by Uzbekistan. Building a Sky Net for full Intemet access for KATTUK Member States. This project was prepared by the Secretariat in co-operation with the national authorities and UNDP offices of the KATTUK group: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Regional School for Web Designers in Central Asia. This project was prepared by the Secretariat in co-operation with the national authorities of Kyrgyzstan and it would cover the Central Asian countries. Meeting of network co-ordinators, to be held in Sri Lanka.

14 Annex II - page 2 Europe 1. Development of a training module on the applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for on-line govemance and accessing public domain information, submitted by Croatia. 2. Creation and development of AMNET (Academic Moldavian Network), submitted by the Republic of Moldova. 3. Lithuania Cultural Heritage on the Intemet, submitted by Lithuania. Latin America Following the communication received on 19 June 1998 f rom Spain, requesting, in particular, that CAIBI be associated with the selection of projects to be considered by Spain, it was agreed that appropriate action would be taken by the regional advisers of CII and the requests to be received with the support of CAIBI will be circulated among Bureau members via for the awarding of the IIP label. The requests having obtained the IIP labe1 will be submitted to Spain for consideration with a view to using the available funds. (B) The Bureau allocated the following amounts from the IIP Special Account for the total or partial financing of the selected projects: (a) Training on the creation of multimedia products with national content (original title: Multimedia and distance training), submitted by Cameroon. US $20,000 for the preparation of training material, including the adaptation of the relevant material prepared in English in the framework of the joint UNESCO/Israel Integrated 120-hour course on building off-line and on-line resources for the use of computer technology in various fields of education and training. (b) Preparation of training material on the methodology for the development of educational software products (original title: Introducing computers in Uganda s mainstream education), submitted by Uganda. US $50,000 for the development of courseware, including the provision of computer equipment and advisory services, and the organization of subregional workshops. (c) Establishment of a training centre on informatics applications for handicapped persons, submitted by Lebanon. US $30,000 for the preparation of relevant training material. (d) Development of informatics training at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (original title: Establishment of a UNESCO Chair in informatics), submitted by Uzbekistan. US $27,000 for the acquisition of computer equipment for training purposes.

15 Annex II - page 3 Regional School for Web Designers in Central Asia. This project was prepared by the Secretariat in co-operation with the national authorities of Kyrgyzstan to cover the Central Asian countries. US $50,000 for training equipment, software and literature. Development of a training module on the applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for on-line govemance and accessing public domain information, submitted by Croatia. US $62,000 for the development of the training package and the organization subregional workshop. of a The Bureau recommended that: the African, Arab, Asian and Eastem European requests not fínanced or only partially financed from the IIP Special Account, be submitted for consideration to France; the Asian projects not financed from the IIP Special Account be submitted for consideration to the Republic of Korea, drawing the donor s attention to the project entitled Building a Sky Net for ful1 Intemet access for KATTUK Member States ; the Latin Ameritan requests to be received and selected for the awarding of the IIP label. be submitted for consideration to Spain.

16 CII-98KONF Annex III ANNEX III Intergovernmental Council for the Intergovernmental Committee for the General Information Programme Intergovernmental Informatics Programme 25th meeting of the Bureau 14th session of the Bureau JOINT SESSION OF THE BUREAUX Item 9 of the agendas of both Bureaux 1. A joint meeting of the Bureau of the Intergovemmental Council for the General mformation Programme (PGI) and of the Bureau of the Intergovemmental Committee of the Lntergovemmental Informatics Programme (IIP) was held on 23 June 1998 in the moming to discuss ways of implementing 29 C/Resolution 28 (para. 2.C.(f)) which invites the Director- General to convene the statutory meetings of the PGI Intergovemmental Council and the IIP Intergovemmental Committee, as well as those of their Bureaux, as joint meetings, in order to release funds for concrete activities in Member States and to establish the synergies necessary to adapt UNESCO s activities to the challenges of the information highways, thus enabling the 30th session of the General Conference to take a well-informed decision about a possible merger of these two intergovemmental programmes or any other appropriate solution. 2. The Assistant Director-General for Communication, Information and Informatics welcomed the members of the two Bureaux to their joint session and underlined that the decision on future programmes and intergovemmental structures is solely that of Member States and that the Secretariat has no preferente for any particular solution. The interest of the Secretariat is to work within a clear, adequate and effícient structure which is to guide an ensemble of programmes of crucial importance to UNESCO. 3. In their introductor-y remarks, the Chairpersons of both Bureaux welcomed, in principie, the mandate conferred on them by the General Conference. The present information revolution has resulted in increasing overlapping of the two programmes which requires a reconsideration of their contents and, consequently, of their intergovemmental structures. In order to facilitate discussion, they briefly referred to the history, the mandate and the present situation of their respective programmes. They also underlined that the discussion on these issues is timely, since UNESCO has soon to prepare inter alia a new Medium-Term Strategy. The mandate of the Bureaux joint meeting was not to take any decision, but to prepare the discussions of the forthcoming meetings of the PGI Council and the 1IP Committee. The representative of the Intemational Federation of Information and Documentation (FID) said that, viewed from outside, the coexistence of IIP and PC1 is diffícult to understand. In this context, it was mentioned that a number of other intergovemmental organizations are presently going through a similar process of restructuring their programmes related to information and informatics. 4. Elements for the discussion were made available by the Secretariat in document PGI-98/COUNCIL/BUR.XXV/INF.5/IIP-98/COM/BUR.XIV/INF.5 Elements for discussing the restructuration of intergovemmental bodies in the area of information and informatics.

17 Annex III - page 2 This docurnent contains a short overview of the history and mandate of PGI and IIP, proposes options for future intergovernmental structures in the tields of their concern and includes a timetable illustrating the complexity of the procedural operations to be respected in preparation of the debate on this subject for the 30th session of the General Conference. The Chairpersons were of the opinion that in addition to the options outlined by the Secretariat, other possibilities may be elaborated by this joint meeting. 5. In a thorough debate on the options outlined in the document prepared by the Secretariat the members of both Bureaux unanimously ruled out Option IV, namely the abolishment of intergovernmental structures in favour of an expert advisory committee. They were of the opinion that only intergovernmental structures can guarantee the sovereignty of Member States in planning and guiding UNESCO programmes. Moreover, efficient and effective guidance of programmes in the area of information and inforrnatics needs continuity, constant involvement and good knowledge of the aims, structures and procedures of UNESCO. 6. In the discussions of the three remaining options, a simple Iüsion of IIP and PGI (Option II), although favoured by some delegates, was considered to be diffcult by the majority of Bureaux members because of the different mandates and functions of IIP and PGI. Most members of the Bureaux suggested that Options 1 and III be proposed as altematives to be proposed for discussion by the forthcoming PGI Council and IIP Committee meetings. The keyword of Option 1 is co-ordination of PGI and IIP, whereas the keyword of Option III is integration. Most delegates were in sympathy with Option III. It was felt that converging technologies strongly suggest the establishment of a new programme and new intergovernmental structures which must cover both the traditional fíelds and advanced technologies. Delegates expressed their hope that a new programme and a new intergovernmental structure would be instrumental for drawing the attention of Member States to the importance of information and inforrnatics and result in increased funding of related programme activities. Stfuctures should remain as open as possible and the issue of communication, through the involvement of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), should be given due attention, as appropriate. The new programme must be clearly related to UNESCO s main fields of competence, i.e. education, science and culture. 7. Should the General Conference decide to establish a new programme, a smooth transition from existing programmes and intergovernmental structures is necessary in order to maintain confídence in PGI and IIP and to ensure continuous fínancing, particularly by 1. Option 1 Maintaining the present structure; strengthening co-operation and co-ordination of the existing intergovernmental bodies; maintaining the common secretariat. Option II Fusion of the two programmes and supervision of the combined programme by a single intergovernmental body (CounciliCommittee and Bureau); their administration by a common secretariat. Option III Establishment of a new programme reflecting the challenges of new information and communication technologies thereby integrating the mandates of PGI and IIP; replacement of the existing intergovernmental bodies by a new intergovemmental structure to guide and supervise this programme. Option IV Replace the two intergovemmental bodies with an open-ended advisory group to be appointed by the Director-General.

18 Annex III - page 3 extrabudgetary funds. The present intergovernmental structures should therefore be maintained, until the possible new structures become operational. 8. The Bureau members agreed to establish a working group consisting of both Chairpersons, both Rapporteurs and voluntary members of both Bureaux to prepare a concise document which would ser-ve as the basis for the joint discussion of the PGI Council and the IIP Committee scheduled to take place on 9 December After an introduction making referente to the recent Executive Board documents and 29 C/Resolution 28, the document should contain a presentation of Options 1 and III outlining advantages and disadvantages of both. The Executive Board, at its 155th session, will be informed of the establishment of this working group. 9. The Assistant Director-General thanked the Bureaux for their constructive work and closed the meeting.