UN TOP OFFICIAL LAUNCHES INTERNET-BASED SUMMIT FOR SCHOOLS AROUND THE WORLD
New York, Sep 18 2003 12:00PM
The top United Nations communications official today launched an
initiative
that will link thousands of students from around the world in one of the
largest educational events ever attempted on the Internet and said the
programme fits well with the world body's desire to see the benefits of
information technology spread as widely as possible.
"There is still a long way to go before the benefits of new technologies
are
available to all people, and some fear that these technologies might
actually widen the gap between rich and poor countries," Under
Secretary-General of the UN Department of Public Information Sha****
Tharoor
said during the launch of the World Summit Event for Schools.
The Programme will, for three months, enable students to examine the
impact
that communication technologies are having on their right to give and
receive information and on their right to an education.
A series of on-line activities, set up and managed by the UN's
Cyberschoolbus in partner****p with European Schoolnet, will guide their
exploration. These will conclude with a live interaction, via the
Internet,
between students and a Head of State at the World Summit on Information
Society (WSIS) to be held in Geneva at the end of the year.
Mr. Tharoor said he hope the project would show teachers, governments and
donors what can be achieved for so many students with a simple computer
and
a telephone.
"Schools, in particular, are playing a critical role in equalizing access
to
new technologies - across gender, race, socio-economic grouping, and
geographic locations. In developing countries, computers installed in the
schools have become a key tool for both education and community
development," he added.
Students from Switzerland, Tanzania, and Uganda joined Mr. Tharoor and
other
UN officials during today's launch. The students discussed their
cross-cultural project for WSIS.
At the conclusion of the three months of student interaction, the
Cyberschoolbus and European Schoolnet will invite educators - responsible
for computer networks that link thousands of schools in over 40 countries
-
to Geneva for a special gathering that will parallel WSIS, Mr. Tharoor
announced.
The three-month event will feature activities at <a href
="http://www.cyberschoolbus.org">www.cyberschoolbus.org.
2003-09-18 00:00:00.000
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For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
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