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UNITeS/UNV@ the WSIS in Geneva – December 2003
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Outside the UNV Telecenter at the ICT for
Development Platform
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UNV staff and volunteers were in high profile at the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in December,
creating one of the busiest and most-talked about booths in
the exhibit area, hosting live onsite and online events, speaking
at the official plenary, and working to contribute to the WSIS
Declaration of Principles and Action Plan.
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UNV’s
community telecenter in the exhibit showcased its two ICT-related
initiatives: UNITeS ()
and the Online Volunteering Service ().
The telecenter featured not only Internet access at four public
terminals, but
also information about UNV's resources and services, interaction
with and guidance by UN Volunteers themselves who had engaged
in ICT4D activities in the field, and practical . |
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From left to right: Merault Ahouangansi, UN Volunteer
in Mali; Ad de Raad, Director i.a. of UNV; Pontso Khalema,
former UN Volunteer in Lesotho; Samer Abdeljaber, former
UN Volunteer in Jordan; and Joy Daniel, UN Volunteer in
Sri Lanka. |
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| UNV staff who manage the UNITeS and OV initiatives also worked
in the booth. UNV and its UNITeS initiative wanted the role that
volunteers play specifically in ICT4D efforts to be something every
visitor to the telecenter would understand (pictures and profiles
of the volunteers will be posted soon). |
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UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in the UNV Telecenter
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In addition to hundreds
of visitors, the telecenter was graced by many special guests,
including UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan and his wife, Mrs. Nane Annan; Sarbuland
Khan, the head of the UN ICT Task Force; Mohammed Cissé,
Mayor of Timbuktu;
Amir Dossal, Executive Director of UNFIP, Mark Malloch Brown,
UNDP Administrator; and several
veteran users of UNV's online volunteering service.
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Ad de Raad, Executive Coordinator a.i. of
UNV, closed the official WSIS plenary on the first day with a
statement that volunteers, including online volunteers, are the
first and last mile to connectivity for people in the developing
world. A video of his three-minute presentation is available
online, is available in its original (English), and dubbed in
Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish, on the .The video is in Real Player format; click on the
aforementioned link, scroll down to the bottom of the page, then
click on the appropriate link for his speech.
Deutsche Welle did an interview in German with
UNV staff member Andrea Goetzke regarding UNV's Online Volunteering
service; you can listen to the interview, or read the transcript,
both in German, at the .
More information, including links to additional
press coverage, is coming soon!
. And see our detailed description
of :
on-site presentations, workshops, and live chats with UN Volunteers
during the "ICT4D Platform" exhibition
last month in Geneva.
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