TakingITGlobal Proudly Presents:

        The TakingITGlobal Dispatch! 
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For the month of November 2003 (Volume 3.10)

In this issue 

1. Welcome to the Dispatch: 25,000 Members Engaged and Counting! 
2. Defining the Information Society 
3. Join the Inspire Group! 
4. Online Youth Consultation: Talk to Her 
5. Use Your VOICE 
6. International Youth Parliament 2004 
7. “Window on the Information Society”: October’s Global Gallery Contest 
8. i-cubed Zine Featured Article 
9. October’s Global Gallery Contest Winners 
10. Wrap up

~*~ 1. Welcome to the Dispatch: 25,000 Members Engaged and Counting! ~*~

Welcome to TakingITGlobal's Dispatch for the month of November! This 
month, we celebrate the occasion of having reached 25,000 members in our 
community! This growth reflects the growth of our Toronto, Canada 
headquarters into a new space (you an find the new address at: 
http://d.takingitglobal.org/3.10/aboutus/).

We thank you for joining us on our ongoing journey, and look forward to 
engaging many more members with your help. Read on, and stay connected!

~*~ 2. Defining the Information Society ~*~

What is the Information Society? What impact have information and 
communication technologies had? Are these changes negative or positive, 
or is it too soon to tell? 

What about the billions of people worldwide who do not have access to 
primary education or potable water, let alone the technologically 
advanced tools of information transfer? 

With the ability to transmit knowledge across physical and cultural 
boundaries, can these tools be of any use in solving the obstacles 
obstructing development? Furthermore, how can we ensure the equitable 
distribution of these tools? 

This month, TakingITGlobal explores all of these questions and more in 
the theme of the Information Society. Discuss, read, act, and learn:

http://d.takingitglobal.org/3.10/themes/ict

~*~ 3. Join the Inspire Group! ~*~

Join TakingITGlobal’s new Inspire group, organized by the Global Gallery 
and the i-cubed zine, a fertile place where seeds of ideas will bloom! 
The Inspire group is composed of members interested in the arts and 
writing, and is a space that aims to nurture creativity, provide ways to 
be engaged, and connect like-minded youth. As a member of the Inspire 
group, you will receive a monthly newsletter providing you with 
opportunities to be involved with the Global Gallery and i-cubed zine, 
as well as contribute your own inspirations to the ongoing group 
discussion.

To become a member of the Inspire group, go to: 
http://groups.takingitglobal.org/inspire or send a blank email to: 
mailto:inspire-subscribe@groups.takingitglobal.org

~*~ 4. Online Youth Consultation: Talk to Her ~*~

Young women and girls have demonstrated a need for dedicated approaches 
to issues affecting them in the information society. Whether acting as 
ICT leaders and developers or comprising a marginalized demographic, 
young women and girls face specific challenges and need particular 
support in their work.

From October 24th until November 21st 2003, young women from across the 
globe will connect in an electronic forum to discuss strategies for the 
integration of gender dimensions and empowerment of young women and 
girls at all levels of the ICT for development field.

Their goals will be to identify challenges, prioritize needs for support 
and uncover strategies for building communities of learning that will 
allow young women to begin or continue their engagement with ICTs.

Join them at: http://groups.takingitglobal.org/ycdogender

~*~ 5. Use Your VOICE ~*~

Inside VOICE is an exciting new monthly TIG e-newsletter that highlights 
news, announcements and editorials related to international youth 
participation in decision-making. There are also opportunities to submit 
essays, articles and creative written work on important global issues. 
The theme for submissions to the next issue: HIV/AIDS.

Coming soon: view old issues of Inside VOICE in the archive at our new 
voice section, http://voice.takingitglobal.org

For more information and/or a free subscription, please e-mail 
voice@takingitglobal.org

Also, check out the beta petitions tool, where you can sign a petition 
supporting the Millenium Development Goals: 
http://petitions.takingitglobal.org/mdgs

~*~ 6. International Youth Parliament 2004 ~*~

Do you have energy, passion and a belief in social justice? Do you want 
to be part of ongoing skill development training for the next two years? 
Are you aged between 18 and 25?

Apply now for the International Youth Parliament event, IYP2004.

WHEN: 5-12 July 2004
WHERE: Sydney, Australia
WHO: 250 young leaders aged 18-25 from across the globe working together to 
change the world.

Applications close January 15th, 2004

For more information, visit http://www.iyp.oxfam.org or email 
info@iyp.oxfam.org

~*~ 7. “Window on the Information Society”: Global Gallery Contest ~*~

You are a part of the Information Society: a society that possesses 
information and communication tools that enable the transmission of 
knowledge and ideas at astoundingly high speeds; but is also a society 
that encompasses the billions of people worldwide who do not have access 
to primary education or potable water. In December, world leaders will 
gather at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva to 
discuss these disparities and how information and communications tools 
can be used to bridge divides.

You have the opportunity to have your voice heard in this discussion by 
entering the Global Gallery's special contest, "Window on the 
Information Society". The winning entries of this contest will be 
displayed in an innovative, multimedia exposition of images at the 
Summit in December. This expo will be a focus point of the Summit's 
youth hub space. 

You are invited to create an artwork that conveys what it means to live 
in an "Information Society." What are the images of this revolution? 
What are the seen and unseen roles that ICTs have in your life? Submit 
your artwork at: http://d.takingitglobal.org/3.10/wsiscontest

~*~ 8. i-cubed Zine Featured Article ~*~

In his article “Seizing the Present and Future of the Information 
Society,” Roentgen from the Philippines addresses all facets of the 
concept of the information society. From the benefits that information 
tools can provide (“At the thought-speed, and at the click of gadgets, 
wonders in communication are being formed”) to the crisis of the digital 
divide (“In this era of information, a world of ‘know and know-nots’ 
have been created”), this article is highly enlightening.

Read Roentgen’s article: 
http://d.takingitglobal.org/3.10/express/showcontent.html?cid=2149

Read more articles about the Information Society: 
http://zine.takingitglobal.org

Share your views by submitting articles: 
http://d.takingitglobal.org/3.10/express/content.html

~*~ 9. October’s Global Gallery Contest Winner ~*~

This month we asked you to imagine a billboard at the busiest 
intersection in the biggest city in the world; every day, millions of 
people walk by and see it.  We wanted you to imagine that you had the 
opportunity to put a creative advertisement for a social issue on this 
billboard.  You submitted your billboard ideas and a winner was chosen:

“Hope” by Csaba from Romania 
http://d.takingitglobal.org/3.10/express/gallery/view.html?sid=2931

Congratulations Csaba and thanks to everyone who participated!

Find out about this month’s contest on the Information Society here: 
http://gallery.takingitglobal.org/contest

~*~ 10. Wrap Up ~*~

Your interest, support and involvement with TakingITGlobal helps our 
community to grow and encourage more young people to be inspired, 
informed and involved everyday! Thank you for being a member with the 
vision of positive change!

In friendship,
The TakingITGlobal Team
dispatch@takingitglobal.org

--

The TakingITGlobal Dispatch is the official newsletter of 
TakingITGlobal, electronically published via email, and compiled from 
various events and news from within the TakingITGlobal network. 
Contributions should be sent to dispatch@takingitglobal.org. Please 
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Past issues of the Dispatch can be read in the dispatch archive, found 
at http://d.takingitglobal.org/3.10/community/dispatch/

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