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<p class=MsoPlainText><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'>21/10/2005</span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'>Journalists looking for free, up-to-date resources,
news and debate on the information society can get all this and more on a new
website, <i><span style='font-style:italic'>i-Witness</span></i> <a
href="http://www.panos.org.uk/iwitness">www.panos.org.uk/iwitness</a>.</span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'>The <i><span style='font-style:italic'>i-Witness</span></i>
website is being launched ahead of the final stage of the World Summit on the
Information Society (Tunisia, 16-18 November 2005), and aims to help
journalists worldwide get to grips with many controversial but often
under-reported information society topics – from bridging the digital
divide to controlling the internet. </span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'>Journalists will be able to access a series of topic
briefing papers, an online experts database and researched links to essential
background information. Journalists can also contribute their own views and
experiences of reporting on this often highly technical and difficult subject
via an online discussion forum.</span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'>Developed by leading international media NGO, Panos
London, <i><span style='font-style:italic'>i-Witness</span></i> is one of
several activities to help journalists, particularly those in developing
countries, report on a subject that is having a growing economic and cultural
impact, but one that many people in developing countries are in danger of being
left out of completely.</span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'>According to Panos London’s </span></font><font
size=2><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt'>Murali Shanmugavelan</span></font><font
size=2><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt'>, journalists have a crucial
role to play in not only reporting on the information society but also in
actually shaping it. </span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'>“If the information society is all about
exchange and flow of information,” says Shanmugavelan, “then the
media is best placed to invoke this debate given that this is what their
business is about. The media needs to question key aspects of the information
society such as who controls information, who has rights to information and how
profit influences the agenda.” </span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'>Panos London will be taking a team of
developing-country journalists to the </span></font><font size=2><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt'>Summit</span></font><font size=2><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt'>, where they will file stories for their
own national newspapers, and give more personal insights on the <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>i-Witness</span></i> blog.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'>
</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt'><a href="http://www.panos.org.uk/iwitness">www.panos.org.uk/iwitness</a>:
journalists shaping the information society</span></font></p>
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10.0pt'> </span></font></p>
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10.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=spelle><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt'>Murali</span></font></span><font size=2><span
style='font-size:10.0pt'> <span class=spelle>Shanmugavelan</span></span></font><font
size=2><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><br>
Communication for Development <span class=spelle>Programme</span><br>
Email: <a href="mailto:murali.shanmugavelan@panos.org.uk">murali.shanmugavelan@panos.org.uk</a></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=2 color=maroon face=Verdana><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:maroon'>i-Witness</span></font></b></strong><b><font
size=2 color=maroon face=Verdana><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:maroon;font-weight:bold'> |<strong><b><font
face=Verdana><span style='font-family:Verdana'> journalists shaping the
information society</span></font></b></strong></span></font></b><b><font
size=2 color=navy><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy;
font-weight:bold'><br>
</span></font></b><b><font size=2 color=navy face=Verdana><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy;font-weight:bold'>Journalists
looking for the latest resources, news and debate on the information
society ahead of final stage of World Summit on the <ST1:PERSONNAME style="BACKGROUND-POSITION: left bottom; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(res://ietag.dll/#34/#1001); BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat-x">Info</ST1:PERSONNAME>rmation
Society (Tunisia, 16-18 November 2005), will find all this and more on
our new microsite, i-Witness: </span></font></b><b><font size=2
color=blue face=Verdana><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
Verdana;color:blue;font-weight:bold'><a href="http://www.panos.org.uk/iwitness">www.panos.org.uk/iwitness</a></span></font></b></p>
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lang=EN-GB style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy'>PANOS</span></font></b></strong><strong><b><font
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font-family:Verdana;color:navy'> - MAKING SENSE OF GLOBAL CHANGE</span></font></b></strong></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=1 color=navy face=Verdana><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:navy;font-weight:bold'>Panos works
to provide the world's poorest people with access to information on issues
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