The generation and dissemination of information have been among the most important tasks of the United Nations since its foundation in 1945. These tasks will gain in importance as we approach the twenty-first century - the beginning of a new millennium that will be characterized by vast improvements in the field of information and communication.

These changes hold many implications for the dissemination of development information, especially in the field of population. As a regional commission that serves Governments representing about 58 per cent of the world's people, population issues obviously are of paramount importance to ESCAP and its various developmental efforts.

Indeed, this secretariat took a leadership role with the organization of the first intergovernmental conference of its kind on population issues, i.e. the First Asian Population Conference, held at New Delhi in 1963.

Over the years, ESCAP members and associate members have adopted the population goals promoted through the secretariat's information products and the various regional population meetings it organized, which is a convincing testimony to the beneficial impact that our information dissemination and advocacy work has had on changing attitudes about population issues and poverty alleviation and supporting decisive action to slow down population growth while accelerating the process of national development. The most recent such meeting was the Fourth Asian and Pacific Population Conference held in 1992, which adopted the Bali Declaration on Population and Sustainable Development.

Based on such a successful track record, ESCAP, with financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), plans to continue inspiring a sense of urgency about population and poverty alleviation issues while helping the developing countries of the vast Asian and Pacific region to become ever more self-reliant in dealing with those issues.

Among the ways these tasks will be accomplished is through the activities of Asia-Pacific POPIN. Because population data and information constitute the foundation on which the entire edifice of socio-economic planning is based, such activities are essential for the formulation of effective population and development policies and the implementation of achievable programmes.

Thus, as we approach the beginning of a new era, we recognize the tremendous developmental potential of networks such as Asia-Pacific POPIN, which is described in this profile and directory.

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