JANUARY 2003

Reports from Regional Forums & Upcoming Events

South Asian Peoples Summit
Islamabad, Pakistan 11-13 January 2003
The South Asian Peoples Summit was a great success with nearly 400 participants. There was an impressive level of media coverage and television footage of the summit has been aired in 40 countries. ICSW's recently issued SAARC briefing paper was included in all participants' materials and was presented as the key document used by participants to analyze SAARC processes. Bushra Gohar, ICSW Global Vice President and Regional President for South and Central Asia, chaired the forum. The outcomes of the summit included powerful statements on Pakistan's SAARC Social Charter highlighting issues such as: poverty reduction, women's empowerment, human resource development, children and youth, peace and regional cooperation.

National Seminar on Effect of War and Cease Fire
Colombo, Sri Lanka 16 November 2002
The People's Assembly of Sri Lanka hosted a national conference wherein 50 delegates from 5 provinces issued a resolution stating their commitment to the peace process that will, "build sustainable peace in the country based on social justice, human rights, democracy and good governance." A report sponsored by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was presented at the seminar, which outlined the results of an opinion poll on 23 resolutions aimed at fighting corruption in public administration. The poll, conducted by the People's Assembly, established that the majority of those questioned were in favour of adoption.

Civil Society Forums at United Nations Commission on Social Development
New York, USA 9 &10 February 2003
ICSW will host a Civil Society Forum and a Briefing this year in conjunction with the 41st session of the Commission on Social Development. On Sunday, 9th February ICSW will co-host an event with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service. The forum will open with an introduction and comment on the programme of the 41st Session by a representative from the Commission. A panel on partnerships in national and international social development will include a representative from the World Bank and people involved in social development from the South and the North to provide various perspectives on the development of development partnerships. The lunchtime briefing on Monday, 10th February is entitled "Madrid to Berlin: Challenges for implementation in an ageing society." The event will feature speeches addressing the complexities of national and regional implementation of the resolutions made at the Second World Assembly on Ageing and the Ministerial Conference on Ageing.

7th International Conference of Human Services Information Technology Application
Hong Kong, 25 - 28 August 2003
The Hong Kong Council of Social Service is honored to host this 7th conference promoting fair and just use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in human services. The conference theme is "Information and Communication Technologies and Social Inclusion." This first HUSITA conference in Asia is an ideal occasion for participants from different regions of the world to tackle issues such as: equitable uses of ICT and digital/social divides at the local, regional and global levels, and regional dialogue and exchange among governments and NGOs.
For details visit the website or email.

ICSW Website

You will be pleased to see several new features on ICSW's website. Our regional pages have been updated to reflect the scope of our global network. The link to the report from the 30th International Conference on Social Welfare in Rotterdam has also been added to the site. A more user-friendly design will emerge on the site in the coming months.

If you have any questions or need further information on any of the activities or issues mentioned in this newsletter, please contact: Felicity Daly, Project Officer, at the Secretariat in London, or reply to this email. icsw@icsw.org.