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On behalf of Mr Abdul Waheed Khan, Assistant Director-General for
Communication and Information at UNESCO, it is my pleasure to inform you
that we are organizing an “<b>International Conference and Exhibition on
Knowledge Parks</b>” that will take place in <b>Doha, Qatar on March
29-31, 2008</b>.<br><br>
The conference is jointly organized with the “Qatar Foundation” in close
cooperation with “Bibliotheca Alexandrina”, "Global Knowledge
Partnership" and “Oman’s Knowledge Oasis”. The conference is
aimed at bringing together:
<ul>
<li>Policy makers
<li>Experts in the fields of knowledge management and
innovation\technology parks
<li>Representatives of the private sector and donor organizations
including development banks
</ul><br>
to share views and experiences and to map such experiences for the
benefit of developing countries. <br><br>
One of UNESCO’s main initiatives, as a follow-up to the WSIS process, is
to <i>operationalize</i> its concept of knowledge societies. The
conference will:
<ol>
<li>Raise <i>awareness</i> on how the ICT-based knowledge park experience
could help in accelerating development;
<li><i>Review best practices</i> in establishing and managing “ICT-based
knowledge parks” in developed countries, with a special interest in
leveraging their potential for developing countries;
<li><i>Generate partnerships</i> between governments, civil society and
the private sector for establishing a strategy to leverage modern ICTs
and the knowledge park experience.
</ol><br>
The event will serve as a platform to forge <i>concrete partnerships</i>
for the establishment of knowledge parks/incubators around the
world.<br><br>
The
“<a href="http://www.unesco-ci.org/newsletter/lt/t_go.php?i=1049&e=MTIzNDk2&l=-http--portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID--E-24168--A-URL_DO--E-DO_TOPIC--A-URL_SECTION--E-201.html">
<b>concept paper</a></b>” and a
"<a href="http://www.unesco-ci.org/newsletter/lt/t_go.php?i=1049&e=MTIzNDk2&l=-http--portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID--E-25517--A-URL_DO--E-DO_TOPIC--A-URL_SECTION--E-201.html">
<b><u>brochure</a></u></b>" elaborate the background, objectives and
focus areas of the event besides answering some key questions about this
event.<br><br>
It is important to note that registration for this conference is free of
charge and that UNESCO, in collaboration with Qatar’s Foundation, will
offer preferential lodging rates to all participants.<br><br>
Please visit the Conference website at: <br><br>
<a href="http://www.unesco-ci.org/newsletter/lt/t_go.php?i=1049&e=MTIzNDk2&l=-http--www.unesco.org/en/knowledgeparkconference/">
http://www.unesco.org/en/knowledgeparkconference/</a> <br><br>
to learn more about this event and to register for participation. The
website will be updated regularly and will very shortly give access to
the conference agenda, exhibitors and other related information.
<br><br>
For further information, please contact Mr Tarek Shawki, UNESCO,
Communication and Information Sector ( tel +33.1.45.68.42.82;
<a href="mailto:t.shawki@unesco.org">t.shawki@unesco.org</a> ).<br><br>
<b>Miriam Nisbet<br>
</b>Director<br>
Information Society Division<br>
Communication and Information Sector<br>
UNESCO<br><br>
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