National summit planned for online economy

[Stephen]

Hello Ramin and All,

At 10:33 AM 14/10/97 +1000, ramin wrote:

>I may be really cynical, but can someone explain to me what all this
>UN stuff is all about?  I was under the impression that they were
>underfunded in stopping children from dying of starvation (UNICEF?)
>and things like that.

>All this boondoggling (junketing, travel rorting) stuff drives me
>bonkers in a world where HTML can do a real good job from anywhere
>in the world (and if they do not have an Internet connection, they
>should not even be discussing this).
>Someone give me some clues?
>ramin marzbani

Whilst Tamin's perceptions of the UN 'boondoggling' may, or may not,
be accurate, the UN are indeed working for children ...

........................................... 
nEwsMAIL 
Update and News From the UN CyberSchoolBus 
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus
........................................... 

||| In This nEwsMAIL 

|-> Days and Holidays
|-> Nobel Peace Prize and Demining  
|-> Nobel Literature Prize and Poverty 
|-> At the Bookstore: The DO's and TABOOs 
|-> Global Byte: #5 

|||.......................................|

A short one this week, beginning with a couple of reminders: 

- Don't forget to sign up for the exciting project on landmines 
- Don't forget to send in your Peace Poems
- Don't forget to check the Daily Fax... everyday

|-> Days and Holidays

12 Oct. National Holiday of Equatorial Guinea and Spain 
16 Oct. World Food Day
17 Oct. International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 
21 Oct. National Holiday of Somalia
24 Oct. National Holiday of Zambia .. UN Day

Look out for the next nEwsMAIL on 24 October.

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|-> Nobel Peace Prize and Demining
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/banmines

The Schools Demining Schools project will launch on October 24, UN Day.
But for those who have registered or are interested, all the discussions
and activities will begin as of today.

The first activity will be a message from all of you congratulating the
International Committee to Ban Landmines (ICBL) on winning the Nobel Peace
Prize -- for those who may not have heard, this umbrella organization
representing 1,000 groups was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1997! 

As part of the message, you should also include a message of encouragement.

The messages will be sent to San Francisco where on 24 October a 'Ban Bus'
will take off on a trip across the United States and drive up to Ottowa,
Canada in time for the big signing of the treaty to ban landmines. You can
also include a message to the 'Ban Bus' riders. Your messages will be sent
to them under the common heading of "From the CyberSchoolBus to the Ban
Bus". Please e-mail all your messages to globalteach_in@un.org. In the
subject field write 'Ban Bus' and include your name and address following
the message. The messages should arrive before 23 October.

The coordinator of the US Committee to Ban Landmines, a member of the
Nobel-winning group, will be joining us for a q&a session at the end of the
month.

The first mined schools we will focus on will be in Mozambique.

If you haven't signed up for the project yet but would like to get
involved, send e-mail to globalschoolbus@un.org and in the subject field
write: "Ban Mines".

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|-> Nobel Literature Prize and Poverty
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/poverty

"I like the bold concept of a year dedicated to the eradication of poverty,
the refusal to throw up hands, internationally, and accept that a certain
level of poverty has been part of the human condition since Adam and Eve
were cast out of Paradise, and will be with us forever," wrote Nadine
Gordimer, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991, in 'Choices', a
magazine about development published by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The South African Nobel Laureate herself will be present on 17 October at
UNDP's special event marking the International Day for the Eradication of
Poverty. Also participating will be the actor Danny Glover, the Jazz
musician Jonathan Butler, the comedian Dick Gregory, the UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UNDP Administrator James Gustave Speth.

The UN CyberSchoolBus has set up a site at the following URL:
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/poverty
You can use the information on the site to raise awareness about the issue
in your own school or community. The site contains pictures, facts and
quotes. 

We also hope to cover the 17 October event.

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|-> Featured Title at the Bookstore

Gestures: The DO's and TABOOs of Body Language Around the World
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/bookstor/Html/dogestur.htm
Over 200 gestures used in 82 countries. 141 whimsical and informative
illustrations. Rules of decorum on how close to stand, eye contact, and
when, what, and how to touch. Packed with anecdotes and hypothetical
scenarios as well as historical facts and scientific theory.

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|-> Global Byte #5
Check the Daily Fax for a daily serving of global bytes:
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus

Four, Three, Two, One...

The genetic basis of agriculture which we have inherited from our ancestors
is now seriously threatened: less than 100 cultivated plants and five
animal species now provide over 75 percent of human food. Four plant
species alone - rice, maize, wheat and potato - and three animal species -
cattle, swine and chicken - provide more than half.Yet more than 80,000
biological species in tropical forests are considered edible. In fisheries,
only two genera, carp and tilapia, have seen significant domestication for
world food production. 

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This is a bi-weekly update from the UN CyberSchoolBus. 
If you do not wish to receive this update please send an e-mail to
globalschoolbus@un.org and in the subject field write: "cancel newsmail".
To subscribe send e-mail to globalschoolbus@un.org and in the subject field
write: "subscribe newsmail".

--

stephen@melbpc.org.au
s.loosley@vermontsc.vic.edu.au
sloosley@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/gc/
Croydon North Victoria 3136