The Committee on Information closed its annual session during a videoconference meeting today, approving two hallmark draft resolutions, one focused on core questions of press freedom and the second laying out its requests and expectations for the newly reformed Department of Global Communications.
Closing its annual session today, the Committee on Information approved two draft resolutions, the second of which also stresses that Member States should refrain from using information and communications technology in contravention of international law, including the Charter of the United Nations.
The Department of Global Communications is counting on Member States to help it accelerate the pace of modernization and improve the ways it informs the world about the work of the United Nations in an era of challenge for multilateralism, the Committee on Information heard today.
As the Committee on Information entered the second day of its forty-first session today, speakers took opposing stances on the Special Information Programme on the Question of Palestine — which the Department of Global Communications oversees — while also spotlighting the potential negative impact of fake news on international relations.
The newly named Department of Global Communications is instilling a culture of collaboration and innovation and undertaking measures to create broader public engagement needed to tackle global challenges, the Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications told the Committee on Information today as it opened its forty-first session.
Closing its fortieth session today, the Committee on Information approved two draft resolutions, the second of which emphasized the need to promote multilingualism, bridge the digital divide and maintain the use of traditional media.
Expressing concern about widening global inequality and deepening divides between peoples, speakers addressing the Committee on Information today urged the Department of Public Information to position itself as a critical resource for — and advocate of — the world’s most marginalized communities, as the 115‑member body entered the second day of its fortieth session.
The Department of Public Information was undergoing a process of “review and reform” of how it communicated United Nations values in a world where trust in major institutions was increasingly difficult to maintain, and “fake” stories competed with legitimate news for public attention, the Committee on Information heard today as it opened its fortieth session.
Acting without a vote today, the Committee on Information closed its thirty-ninth session by approving a two-part draft resolution, the second of which emphasized the need to promote multilingualism, bridge the digital divide between developed and developing countries, and maintain the use of traditional media, among other topics.
Against a backdrop of spiking extremism, proliferating “fake news” and an increasingly fragmented global media space, the Department of Public Information must continue to disseminate factual, impartial information, in accordance with the United Nations Charter principles of sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of States, speakers stressed today, as the Committee on Public Information continued its annual session.
The Department of Public Information was harnessing its multilingual news platforms, worldwide network of information centres and outreach efforts to communicate compelling United Nations stories to a global public increasingly accessing news through tablets and mobile platforms, its Acting Head told the Committee on Information today.
Closing its thirty-eighth session this afternoon, the Committee on Information unanimously approved a report relaying two draft resolutions to the General Assembly, with a focus as in years past on increased multilingualism and support for the communications capabilities of developing countries.
Inclusivity, multilingualism and a balance between new and traditional forms of communications were critical in the work of the Department of Public Information, especially around the Sustainable Development Goals, Under-Secretary-General for Public Information Cristina Gallach said today, as the Committee on Information concluded its general debate.
New technological platforms should be leveraged by the Department of Public Information, the lead communications body of the United Nations, bearing in mind the digital divide that still existed in many parts of the world, speakers told the Committee on Information today.
Disseminating information on the Sustainable Development Goals, building awareness around the need for a humane global approach to refugees, and explaining the impacts of the work of the United Nations during its upcoming leadership change were three priorities for the Department of Public Information in 2016, the Committee on Information heard today, as it opened its thirty-eighth session.
Closing its thirty-seventh session this afternoon, the Committee on Information unanimously approved a report relaying two draft resolutions to the General Assembly, with a focus on increased multilingualism and support for the communications capabilities of developing countries.
Transparency, inclusivity, multilingualism and a balance between new media and traditional forms of communications were paramount in the work of the Department of Public Information, Cristina Gallach, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information of the United Nations, told delegates as the Committee on Information concluded its general debate.
As large segments of the world’s population relied on traditional media for information on the United Nations and world affairs, delegates warned about the dangers of the digital divide, while hailing the broad reach of new media in disseminating the Organization’s message, as the Committee on Information continued its general debate.
During a “once-in-a-generation” year which would see the adoption of the new post-2015 development agenda, the United Nations Department of Public Information had a critical role to play in supporting the ever-expanding activities of the Organization, the Committee on Information was told as it opened its thirty‑seventh session today.
Following two weeks of intense negotiations, the Committee on Information emphasized today the importance of using all official United Nations languages — Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish — and of ensuring their full and equitable treatment in all activities of the Department of Public Information.
