Finland's support to UNESCO's 'CONNECTING the Dots' conference

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

Finland's financial support (89 000 euros) to 'Connecting the Dots: Options for Future Action' - Conference on UNESCO's Internet Study: access, free expression, privacy and ethics. The conference will be organized at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 3-4 March 2015. UNESCO is tasked to do a study on internet-related issues and consult the stakeholder community in the process. Through organizing the conference, UNESCO aims at collecting the views of the global internet stakeholder community on the related topics. Finland's support enables experts from developing and least developed countries to participate in the conference. Developing country participation is important to ensure a truly global stakeholder consultation. The funding supports developing country opportunities to influence the study and supports capacity building in ICT for development. The ultimate beneficiaries of the confrerence are all internet users. Simultaneously, the project strengthens the capacity of UNESCO to act in questions related to access to information, freedom of expression, privacy and ethical dimension of the information society.