UN SECRETARY GENERAL APPOINTS SPECIAL ADVISER FOR INFORMATION SUMMIT
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Mr. Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, as his Special Adviser for the World Summit on the Information Society.

PREPCOM PRESIDENT AND SWISS DELEGATION MEET UN SECRETARY-GENERAL
Adama Samassékou, President of the WSIS Preparatory Committee and a delegation from the Swiss Government met at United Nations Headquarters in New York with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his Special Advisor for the Summit, Nitin Desai. The meeting focused on the strategic objectives to be achieved at the first phase of the Summit and reinforced the UN commitment to the World Summit on the Information Society.

VIRTUAL WSIS TAKES THE SUMMIT TO THE WORLD
A multimedia showcase, entitled Virtual WSIS, was announced at the Intersessional meeting in Paris. Virtual WSIS consists of an ICT project showcase, as well as a web cast of the summit proceedings. It will feature television interviews from its on-site studio, and – via web cast, phone and satellite links – will connect to ICT projects and partners in the field. 

DIGITAL DIVIDE IS A GENDER DIVIDE
More than 100 participants took part at the Second Meeting of the ITU Working Group on Gender Issues (WGGI). The meeting focused on how to increase the involvement of women in the WSIS process and the inclusion of a gender perspective in the Declaration of Principles and Action Plan..

SUMMIT PREPARATIONS CONTINUE
The Third Meeting of the Preparatory Committee for WSIS (PrepCom3), Geneva 15 - 26 September, will attempt to finalize the working documents for the Summit. The latest version from the Paris meeting of the draft Declaration of Principles is now available on the website. The revised draft Action Plan will be on the website as of 23 August. For participant information for PrepCom3, click here.

20 Aug 2003 - 23 Aug 2003 
Forum on ICTs and Gender: Optimizing Opportunities, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event is a partnership of ITU, UNESCO, the Government of Malaysia, and GKP. The objective is to identify ways in which women in developing countries can gain access to and advantage of information and communication technologies (ICTs)

26 Aug 2003 – 28 Aug 2003
Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the Middle East, West and Central Asia, Kish Island, Iran. This meeting is organized by the Iranian Civil Society Organizations Resource Center. The objective of the forum will be to prepare a regional civil society action plan and declaration for ICT development in the region.

27 Aug 2003 - 29 Aug 2003 
World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR), Vilnius, Lithuania. Organized by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania in cooperation with the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), UNESCO and ITU. 

04 Sep 2003 - 05 Sep 2003 
AIF, Ministerial Meeting of La Francophonie on WSIS, Rabat, Morocco. The conference is dedicated to analyze the new Information and Communication Technologies.

10 Sep 2003 – 11 Sep 2003
Fourth Meeting of the Council Working Group on WSIS, Madeira, Portugal. The meeting will focus on how the ITU work programme contributes to the fulfillment of the objectives outlined in the WSIS draft action plan.  

GLOBAL MEDIA LEADERS TO GATHER AT THE SUMMIT
A landmark event at WSIS will examine the role of the media in the information society and its influence on global issues such as violence and economic development. The “World Electronic Media Forum”, to be held 9-11 December, is an initiative of the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Government of Switzerland. In addition to a global television and radio broadcast of the event, the forum will attract media leaders and executives to a series of panels and workshops dealing with topics of concern to the media such as freedom of expression. 

SCHOOLNET TO BE LAUNCHED AT WSIS
The World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva will bring together educators and students in 40 countries, in an online exercise to examine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Students will focus on Article 19 (Freedom of Expression) and Article 26 (Right to Education) and attempt to redraft them in order to better reflect the realities of the information society. The event, co-organized by the United Nations Cyberschoolbus and the European SchoolNet, will be held on 11 December, the 55th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

SHARE YOUR ICT STORY WITH THE WORLD
An ICT Story Competition, Tony Zeitoun Awards, organized by the IICD, InfoDev and GKP, is open for your submissions until the 26th of September. The stories will highlight ‘ICT for development’ experiences. The winners will be invited to present their story to the ICT4D Platform at WSIS. For more information click here.

ITS NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN THE ICT4D PLATFORM
The ICT4D Platform, organized by GKP and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), brings together ICT development specialists, case study examples, innovations, and experiences from around the world in a multi-stakeholder showcase at WSIS. For reservations, please click here. 

SDC is also sponsoring the ICT Entrepreneurs4D Fund for small and medium-sized companies in ICT from developing countries to finance the cost for the surface and stand at the Exhibition as well as travel cost and accommodation for 1 representative. Deadline for applications is 20 August.

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