Distribution: limited IFAP-2012/COUNCIL.VII/3 21 February 2012 Original: English UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION

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1 Distribution: limited IFAP-2012/COUNCIL.VII/3 21 February 2012 Original: English UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION Intergovernmental Council for the Information for All Programme (Seventh session) UNESCO House, Paris (Fontenoy Building, Room XI) 2-3 April a.m p.m. and 2.30 p.m p.m. Item 8 (b) of the Provisional Agenda Inputs to the preparation of UNESCO s Medium-Term Strategy for The IFAP Strategic Plan for adopted by UNESCO's Executive Board at its 180th session Executive Board has called on the IFAP Council to play a more active role in UNESCO planning (C/4 and C/5) to recommend future strategies and programmes in order to prioritize information-related issues that UNESCO could address. The members of the Council are therefore invited to make a contribution to the 37 C/4.

2 1 Preparation ofthe Draft Medium-Term Strategy' The General Conference, Having examined document 36 C/11, in particular paragraph 8 concerning issues to be addressed by the 36th session of the General Conference, Recalling the findings of the independent external evaluation of UNESCO (185 EX/18 and Add.), the Director-General's report on the follow-up to the independent external evaluation of UNESCO (186 EX/17 Part 11 and 187 EX/17 Part I), and the recommendations of lhe Executive Board's Ad Hoc Working Group on the Independent External Evaluation of UNESCO (186 EX/17 Part I) as well as related decisions, Taking into consideration the decision to extend the Medium-Term Strategy (37 C/4) from six to eight years, and highlighung the recommendation of the Executive Board to adopt a brief. succinct and rolling C/4 document of a policy-oriented and strategic nature, Stressing the need to formulate a mission statement reflecting the future priorities and role of lhe Organization, Reaffirming that Africa and gender equality are the global priorities of the Organization, Also recalling the recommendation of the Executive Board to adopt a limited number of slrategic objectives, to be designed in an inlersectoral manner, in order to sharpen UNESCO's focus, Taking into account relevant internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MOGs) and other United Nations goals, paying particular attention to education for all (EFA) with a view to clearly stating the priorities for UNESCO, /Usa taking into account the need to align the Medium-Term Strategy with the quadrennial comprehensive policy review as part of overall efforts to improve coherence in the actions and functioning of the United Nations development system, based on guidance given by Member States, Also highlighting the need to continue the promotion of intersectorality in implementing UNESCO's programmes and activities, Emphasizing the need to organize an inclusive consultation process on draft document 37 C/4, in line with 36 C/Resolulion 106, flowing from document 36 C/28 Add. 2, with a view to sharpening UNESCO's focus 1. Invites the Director-General to develop draft document 37 C/4, taking into account the debate on the strategic direction and future priorities and new challenges of the Organization during the 36th session of the General Conference, including the Leaders' Forum, the general policy debate, the work of the commissions, the joint meeting of commissions, the Seventh UNESCO Youth Forum, and the results of the various consultations planned for the preparation of draft document 37 C/4; 2. Also invites the Director-General, based on consultations with key partners, including United Nations organizations, to clarify in the Draft 37 C/4 UNESCO's strategic role and contributions in the achievement of the internationally agreed developmenl goals, pre- and posl-2015; 3. Further invites the Director-General to include in draft document 37 C/4 enhanced and more focused strategies for Priority Africa and gender equality, based on the outcome of the ongoing evaluations, with a view to ensuring effective implementation and real impact; 4. Requests the Director-General, in preparing draft document 37 C/4, to: (a) ensure that. within the mandate of UNESCO, a development, peace, and human rightsbased approach is applied to give strategic direction to Draft 37 C/4; (b) carefully consider the possibility of reducing the number of overarching objeclives with a view to sharpening the strategic focus and enhancing intersectorality; (c) ensure that UNESCO's five functions are duly debated and reconsidered, with a view to strengthening UNESCO's ability to deliver on its mandate; (d) take into consideration the need for a better reflected differentiation and focus of UNESCO's role and functions at the global, regional and national levels; including specific interventions in relation to youlh, the least developed counlries (LOCs), small island developing States (SIDS), and the most marginalized social groups; (e) consider the necessity and examine the feasibility and implications of including youth as a new global priority. and determine the best modality for implementation in the next C/4 document, and calls on the Executive Board to take this possibility into account in its preparatory work. Resolution adopted on the report of the joint meeting of the programme commissions and the AOM Commission at the 17th plenary meeting, on 10 November20t1.

3 36 C 36 C/11 19 September 2011 Original: English Item 3.2 of the provisional agenda PREPARATION OF THE DRAFT MEDIUM-TERM STRATEGY (37 C/4) Source: 35 C/Resolution 1. OUTLINE Background: By 35 C/Resolution 1, the General Conference underscored the importance of allowing all Member States to contribute to the elaboration of the Draft Medium-Term Strategies (C/4) of UNESCO, and recommended that in the preparation of future C/4 strategies, the Director-General, in [her] consultations with Member States, provide guidance regarding the need to focus on new challenges and core priorities. Purpose: The Director-General submits the present document containing some preliminary indications of major aspects that could be considered by the General Conference when providing preliminary guidance for the preparation of the next Draft Medium-Term Strategy (37 C/4). Decision required: No decision is required on this document. 1. In view of the preparation of the next Draft Medium-Term Strategy (37 C/4) the General Conference is invited at its 36th session to discuss the principles that should govern the preparation and drafting of the C/4 document. The present document should be read in conjunction with document 36 C/7 on the preparation of document 37 C/5 inasmuch as document 37 C/5 in its proposed four-year programme format will be the first C/5 document of the new Medium-Term Strategy. 2. In this context reference must be made to the recommendations in follow-up to the Independent External Evaluation (IEE) of UNESCO by the Executive Board to the General Conference (see 36 C/53) as regards the proposed adjustments in the preparation of UNESCO s

4 36 C/11 page 2 main programme and budget documents and in line with the General Assembly resolution 63/232. In particular, by 187 EX/Decision 1 the Executive Board recommends that the General Conference, at its 36th session: extend the C/4 cycle from six to eight years in 2014, starting with document 37 C/4, with an appropriate mechanism for adjusting to the most recent quadrennial comprehensive policy review; maintain the rolling character of UNESCO s Medium-Term Strategy so as to ensure that the substance and directives of two consecutive quadrennial comprehensive policy review documents be reflected in the Organization s strategic documents, as appropriate. 3. As such, pending the General Conference endorsement of this recommendation, the next Draft Medium-Term Strategy would cover eight years, i.e , and would be translated into two consecutive C/5 Programme documents of four years while the budgetary figures would continue to be decided every two years. Through the rolling character, the General Conference would have the opportunity to revise and adjust the Strategy in the light of the changing global environment and context, as well as emerging needs every two years. 4. During the discussions on the follow-up to the Independent External Evaluation, a consensus emerged among the members of the Executive Board on the need for greater focus of UNESCO s programme, based upon its constitutional mandate, within the scope of its overarching and strategic programme objectives and bearing in mind its five recognized functions. The definition of a sharper focus and priority areas would enable the Organization to reaffirm its relevance, demonstrate bigger impact and bring to bear its leadership potential and partnership attraction in its areas of competence. 5. Hence, the Executive Board (186 EX/17 Part I) recommended to the General Conference that it adopt, at its 36th session, a limited number of strategic objectives, taking into account relevant internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and other United Nations goals, with which programmes should be associated, in order to maximize impact. 6. In her report on the follow-up with respect to operational aspects of the IEE report the Director-General (186 EX/17 Part II) likewise underscored the importance for the next Medium- Term Strategy to concentrate on a limited number of strategic objectives. The Director-General proposed to: select a limited number of cross-cutting strategic objectives with which all programmes should be aligned; design the next C/4 document by setting out the broad parameters of UNESCO s work, including key functions, modalities of work, and cross-cutting objectives; include fewer strategic programme objectives and expected outcomes in document 37 C/4 in comparison to document 34 C/4. 7. In the context, it may be appropriate to recall the structure and scope of the Medium-Term Strategy for (34 C/4). The Strategy focused on themes and areas where UNESCO would make a difference through purposeful, strategic action in all its fields of competence based on the following mission statement for UNESCO: As a specialized agency of the United Nations, UNESCO contributes to the building of peace, the alleviation of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information. Throughout the Strategy, Africa and gender equality were treated as global priorities for the Organization. In order to respond to specific global challenges the Strategy focused on UNESCO s core competencies contributing to the attainment of internationally agreed

5 36 C/11 page 3 development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and was structured around five programme-driven overarching objectives elaborated in an inter-sectoral manner: (i) attaining quality education for all; (ii) mobilizing science knowledge and policy for sustainable development; (iii) addressing emerging ethical challenges; (iv) fostering cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue; and (v) building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication. These five programmatic chapters were then broken down to 2-3 strategic programme objectives equally captured in intersectoral manner. The final chapters of the Strategy focused on the resultsbased approach underpinning the programme; UNESCO constituencies, partners and partnerships; and aspects of visibility. 8. In its deliberations, the General Conference may want to consider the principles that should govern the preparation and drafting of the C/4 document, in particular: the format and structure of the document; UNESCO s mission statement, comparative advantage, key functions and modalities of work; UNESCO s global priorities and other priority groups; the main programmatic features, including intersectorality and results orientation; suggestions for selecting and defining a limited number of overarching and strategic objectives, designed in an intersectoral manner, that would enhance UNESCO s focus; UNESCO s constituencies, partners and outreach, including visibility aspects. 9. The report of the joint meeting of the Commissions will contain a narrative part summarizing the main thrusts of the debates held on the preparation of the C/4 document. Furthermore, the Leaders Forum entitled How does UNESCO contribute to building a culture of peace and to sustainable development, a theme of strategic relevance for UNESCO, will provide an opportunity for high-level representatives of Member States attending the General Conference to contribute to this reflection and provide strategic directions on UNESCO s work relevant for the C/4 document. The reports on these discussions will be brought to the attention of the participants in the consultations organized by the Director-General on the preparation of document 37 C/4. Printed on recycled paper

6 IFAP-2012/COUNCIL.VII/3 Annex WORK PLANS FOR THE INFORMATION FOR ALL PROGRAMME (IFAP) SUMMARY This document provides an overview of the activities contributed by the IFAP Chair and some Bureau Members to be undertaken in to support the ongoing implementation of the IFAP Strategic Plan ( ). INFORMATION LITERACY Overview of work to be undertaken The Working Group on Information Literacy through its support for research activities, advocacy, partnership-building and the implementation of pilot projects will provide leadership in reflecting on and the formulation of relevant inputs that support policy makers and practitioners at the international, regional and national level. These actions will contribute to deepening understanding of information literacy and the fostering of enabling environments that support the development of the necessary competencies and capabilities in Member States. Partners Key partners in this work include the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), The International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), various universities. Envisaged activities/projects/platform for advancing this work - European Meeting on Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Education, held at Universita Digli Studi Roma Tre, Milan, Italy February MIL presentation at the Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians Bali, Indonesia, May International Conference on Media and Information Literacy for Knowledge Societies, June, Moscow, Russian Federation - Further work on IFLA Media and Information Literacy Recommendations (targeted to adoption by UNESCO at its 37 th General conference) - European Conference on Information Literacy(ECIL) October 2013, Istanbul, Turkey (with the support of the Department of Information Management of Hacettepe University, Turkey and the Department of Information and Communication Science at Zagreb University, Croatia) Projects: - Education for Sustainable Development in the Philippines World Heritage Sites - Asia-Pacific Sub-regional Project on Information Literacy for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation - Technical input to the preparation of UNESCO s 37 C/4 and 37 C/5 Support for National Information Society Policies in this area through the organizing of policy reviews, development of national information curricula, strategies and policies. National capacity building for teacher training institutions Enhanced global visibility for work in MIL Surveys and other activities that contribute to the development of MIL Indicators

7 INFORMATION ETHICS Overview of work to be undertaken The Working Group on Information Ethics is seeking to support research, exchange of experiences, raising international awareness, reflection and debate on the legal social and ethical dimensions of information with a view to supporting policy formulation, and promoting human rights in the Information Society. Partners UNESCO s intergovernmental World Commission on the Ethics of Science and Technology (COMEST), Internet Society (ISOC), other Inter-Governmental Organizations (Council of Europe, World Intellectual Property Organization), UNESCO Chairs in Information Ethics, Networks of researchers in this field. Envisaged activities/projects/platform for advancing this work - Riga Meeting on the Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society, Spring 2013, Latvia - Input to the preparation of UNESCO s activities in the areas of information ethics (36 C/RES/61) - Further promotion of the Code of Ethics for the Information Society and the development of guidelines for operationalizing its use - Raising greater awareness of the issues at stake and contributing to the international discussion in the field of Information Ethics - Supporting the development of research to assess the current situation in Member States - Technical input to the preparation of UNESCO s 37 C/4 and 37 C/5. National surveys on the interplay between technology/technological standards/social uses of technology and their social, legal and ethical implications Development of case studies that serve to inform policy makers National, regional and international conferences that support capacity building Development of guidelines INFORMATION PRESERVATION Overview of work to be undertaken The Working Group on Information preservation will continue to raise awareness of the urgent need to safeguard information in any form, including the digital heritage, and contribute to the creation of the required enabling environment this space includes roles for a range of stakeholders and is related to IFAP s work in other strategic areas in particular information access and information literacy mainly through the formulation and dissemination of guidelines, communities of practice and capacitybuilding. Partners NGOs active in this field, especially the International Council on Archives (ICA), the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), and the Coordinating Council of the Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA), the specialized sub-committees of Memory of the World (MOW) and regional and national networks of partners.

8 Envisaged activities/projects/platform for advancing this work - UNESCO digital preservation conference The Memory of the World in the Digital Age: Digitization and Preservation, September 25-27, Vancouver, Canada. - Systematic follow-up of the outcomes of this conference, specifically concerning the strategic and technical input to the preparation of UNESCO s 37 C/4 and 37 C/5. - Consultation and technical support to National IFAP Committees and information professionals - Improved access to training and related materials by the dissemination of relevant resources - Publication and translation of the proceedings of the First International Conference on Preservation of Digital Information in the Information Society: Problems and Prospects (held 3-5 October 2011, Moscow, Russian Federation) Revision of the Digital Heritage Charter Improved public awareness of information preservation as the basis for cultural and scientific progress INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY Measures should be taken to contribute to solving the problem of the erosion of access to information and knowledge in the new economic and technological environment. It foresees raising awareness about the necessity to provide equitable balance between the interests of information rights-holders and the public interest, lobbying governments at both national in international level to ensure that national information and knowledge policies provide for digital resources to be accessible to all people. Envisaged activities/projects/platform for advancing this work - Promoting open and multilingual access to information - Contributing to the development of digital resources and equitable access to information, including for people with disabilities - Promoting the development and use of open information processing tools, inter-operability standards, multilingual search tools on the Internet, automated language translation tools Projects: - International workshop on Information Accessibility at the 20th Jubileum Crimea International Conference for Library and Information Specialists (June 2013, Sudak, Ukraine) - International Conference Memory Institutions in the Information Society (2013, Baku, Azerbaijan) Development of guidelines and toolkits for national policy on open and multilingual access to information Elaboration of digital content strategies by Member States to encourage the development of the information public domain and the creation of new content INFORMATION FOR DEVELOPMENT Measures should be taken to further raise awareness of policy-makers and communities of the value of information in addressing development issues, stressing not only the importance of access to information, but also the relevance and usefulness of the information

9 Envisaged activities/projects/platform for advancing this work - International conference on Information Policies towards Knowledge Societies (2013, Argentine) - International conference Information for Development: Internet and Sociocultural Changes (September 2013, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russian Federation) - Training and capacity building series for information professionals in CIS countries. contributing to the body of knowledge on the importance of information in development, exchange of good practices. efforts to mainstream information policy into development policy; promoting freedom of information and access to public information as key to the role of information in development and good governance strengthening the political and institutional framework. IFAP CROSS-CUTTING ISSUE - DEVELOPMENT OF MULTILINGUALISM IN CYBERSPACE Overview of work to be undertaken A Working Group on Development of Multilingualism in Cyberspace should be established to raise awareness of the urgent need to preserve linguistic and cultural diversity in digital world and foster the development of the enabling environment mainly through the formulation and dissemination of guidelines, communities of practice and capacity-building Key Partner MAAYA World Network for Linguistic Diversity Envisaged activities/projects/platform for advancing this work - Promotion of the MAAYA Network publication Net.Lang. Towards the Multilingual Cyberspace - Comparative study of policies and strategies to support languages and cultures of indigenous peoples - Publication and translation of the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Cyberspace (held July, 2011, Yakutsk, Russian Federation) - Strengthening and further development of the Centre to Advance Multilingualism in Cyberspace under the Northeastern Federal University (Yakutsk, Russian Federation) - Assistance to member States in the implementation of the Recommendation concerning the Promotion and use of the Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace. Elaboration and dissemination of guidelines to assist Member States in developing linguistic policies and strategies. National capacity building for linguistic diversity promotion Creation of communities of practice

10 ACTIVITIES OF NATIONAL IFAP COMMITTEES Cote D Ivoire National IFAP Committee Activities aimed at strengthening the institutional framework and operational management of the Cote D Ivoire National IFAP Committee: establishment of committees of experts in the IFAP strategic priorities; creation of an information kit; re-launching of its website:- National Workshop Principles for the Development and Promotion of Governmental Public Information, September 2012 Involving policy-makers and mobilize resources, Development of institutional and professional partnerships Zambia National IFAP Committee National workshop to developing a strategic plan May 2012 (fundraising target $$15,000) Orientation meeting with parliamentarians September 2012 (fundraising target $$15,000) Establishment of IFAP Desk at the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Labour: (fundraising target $30,000)