Internet Conferences
Internet or Online Conferencing is a tool to gather people for discussion
and input via the internet for a fixed period of time. Internet conferencing can be
conducted in "real time" or "non-real time". You will have to
"subscribe" via email or a web-site. Sometimes, information about yourself and
your organisation may be required.
BEIJING +5 GLOBAL FORUM
In June 2000, the UN General Assembly in New York met to review
whether governments, international organizations, non-governmental
organizations, and the private sector have fulfilled the commitments made at
the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
The UN's WomenWatch has organized
the BEIJING+5 GLOBAL FORUM, a series of Internet Working Groups to provide
input into the UN review, on all 12 critical areas of concern of the Beijing
Platform for Action.
View the summaries at www.un.org/womenwatch
UNECA ONLINE FORUM ON IT AND AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) hosts an online
discussions surrounding the African Development Forum 1999 (ADF'99 -
Challenges to Africa of Globalisation and the Information Age). The online
discussion is hosted by Bellanet ). Started 1 June 1999 and will
continue online until the start of ADF'99, to be held in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia from 25-28 October 1999. Discussions are open to anyone interested
in issues of information technology, globalisation and African development.
The African Development Forum is an initiative led by the UNECA to establish
an African-driven development agenda that reflects a consensus among major
partners and that leads to specific programmes for country implementation.
For more information concerning the ADF or this activity, email:
bounemra.uneca@un.org or hafkin.uneca@un.org
Bellanet is an international initiative with a mission to increase the
impact of development programming. We foster inter-agency collaboration
through more effective use of information and communication technologies.
In order to assure that those with limited Internet access can participate,
the dialogue will be conducted by means of an email discussion list, with
summaries of posted messages archived to the ADF web site at http://www.un.org/Depts/eca/adf/index.htm
To subscribe to the email discussion list, please send a message to LYRIS@LYRIS.BELLANET.ORG.
In the body of the message, type SUBSCRIBE AISI-HITD-L Firstname Lastname.
If you do not subscribe, you will still be able to read the messages on the
African Development Forum web site, but you will not be able to send
messages without first subscribing to the list. Complete information and
instructions are available from the ADF web site at http://www.un.org/Depts/eca/adf/discuss.htm
WORLDBANK: DEVELOPMENT FORUM LISTS
The organizers of the World Bank Development Forum facilitate the following
online discussions (the discussions will last between four to eight weeks). Additional
information about the respective dates is available on the Forum website at http://www.wordbank.org/devforum
Discussions in the Development Forum are open to participants from around the world. In
order to assure that those with limited Internet access can participate, these dialogues
are conducted by means of moderated email lists, with individual messages archived to the
Development Forum website. Participants with web access also will be able to send or reply
to messages using the website.
* Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF)
In October 1998, at the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings, World Bank President James
Wolfensohn outlined his vision for a Comprehensive Development Strategy. That vision draws
on work and ideas from across the Bank and the broader development community. This
discussion will flesh out the strategy that has been generated as a result. It will be,
first and foremost, an opportunity for a wide and diverse audience to share its views on
the concept, discuss experiences, and provide ideas and suggestions on how best to
operationalize the approach. The CDF proposal as well as questions and answers are
available at http://www.worldbank.org/cdf
* Partnerships with the Private Sector for Development in Africa (PARTENARIATS)
Co-sponsored by l'AUPELF-UREF (Agence francophone pour l'enseignement superieur et la
recherche). The Africa Region of the World Bank is currently assessing how and when to
best partner with the private sector for development. Although the Bank has heightened its
focus on partnerships, best practices have not been fully identified for working with the
private sector to build capacity, invest in health and education, or to create
environments with good governance, infrastructure and service delivery. Through this
discussion, we seek the views of all actors in Africa's economic growth, the global
corporate sector and the communities within which they operate and serve.
* Democracy, Market Economy, and Development (DMED)
Co-sponsored by the Korea Development Institute. Good governance is increasingly being
considered an indispensable element of sustainable development strategy. A conference,
jointly sponsored by the World Bank and the Government of Korea, was held recently on this
topic in Seoul, Korea. The electronic conference now being proposed is a follow-up to this
event and will cover the same four areas, namely: Values, Governance and Development;
Governance and the Political Economy of Reform; Corporate Governance and Economic
Development; and The Rule of Law, Corruption and Development.
Background materials for this discussion, consisting of speeches and papers presented at
the Seoul Conference, may be found at the website for the Conference http://www.democracy-markets.org/
* Social and Environmental Impact of Privatization (SE-IMPACT)
This discussion focusses on how privatization programs should be designed, once a decision
is taken to privatize. This does not mean that we consider privatization to be the best
option in all circumstances. However, if privatization is indeed chosen as the option, it
will be necessary to design the program appropriately so that privatization has beneficial
social and environmental, as well as financial and economic, impacts.
* The Demand-Respnsive Approach to Rural Water and Sanitation
Co-sponsored by OneWorld, WaterAid, GARNET, and IRC. According to the World Bank,
demand-responsive approaches to rural water and sanitation service delivery help to
promote innovation and flexibility. They also help develop powerful incentives for a wide
range of stakeholder groups - communities, NGO's and others - to participate. This
conference will aim to examine the concept and discuss its practical application. This
discussion will be the first in a series of electronic conferences being organized to
promote dialogue and knowledge sharing among practitioners in the water and sanitation
sector. Each of the moderated conferences will focus on a specific theme related in
particular to rural water and sanitation. In 1999, four conferences are planned.
To subscribe to the discussion groups outlined above, please send a
message (do not enter a subject) to: MAJORDOMO@JAZZ.WORLDBANK.ORG
In the body of the message, type:
SUBSCRIBE CDF
(if you want to join the list on the Comprehensive Development Framework)
SUBSCRIBE DMED
(if you want to join the list on Democracy, Market Economy, and Development)
SUBSCRIBE SE-IMPACT
(if you want to join the list on Social and Environmental Impact of Privatization)
SUBSCRIBE PARTENARIATS
(if you want to join the list in French and English on Partnerships with the Private
Sector in Africa)
To join the discussion on Rural Water and Sanitation, please send a message asking to
subscribe to the list owner at: dra-request@mailbase.ac.uk
For each dialogue you subscribe to, you will receive a welcome message with instructions
on how to post messages, unsubscribe, etc. The discussions will then be officially
launched with an opening message from the moderators. The moderators will prepare weekly
summaries of the discussion as well as a final summary - which will be distributed to all
list members and posted on the website.
If you do not subscribe, you will still be able to read the messages on the Development
Forum website, but you will not be able to send messages without first subscribing to the
list.
Please contact DEVFORUM@WORLDBANK.ORG if you
have any questions.
