Library and Information Science Masters Degree Assignment
Miss. Bayo E. Cary, A.A., B.A., M.L.I.S.
International
Organizations
Cote
d’Ivoire
According to the CIA World Factbook the
following is a list of the international organizations involved in Cote
d’Ivoire: ACCT, ACP,
AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (Factbook, Cote d'Ivoire, 2009).
South Africa
Also
according to the CIA World Factbook, South Africa is involved with the
following international organizations: ACP, AfDB, AU, BIS, C, FAO, G-20, G-24,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM,
NSG, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR,
UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC (Factbook, South Africa, 2009).
The Faroe Islands
Finally, the
Faroe Islands are involved with the following international organizations:
Arctic Council, FAO, IMO (associate), NC, NIB, UPU (Islands, 2009).
The list
of international organizations involved in the three countries I am investigating
is extensive. Therefore, I have chosen
to take a closer look at five of the most renowned international organizations
which participate with the three countries I am, they are: the International
Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO),
and the World Bank.
IFLA
“The
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the
leading international body representing the interests of library and
information services and their users” (IFLA, 2009). The IFLA is not involved in Cote d’Ivoire
(IFLA, 2009). However, IFLA is involved
in South Africa (Africa I. S., 2009).
“The World Library and Information Congress: 73rd IFLA general
Conference and Council” was held in Durban South Africa from August 19th
to the 23rd 2007 (Africa I. S., 2009). I was able to access the schedule from the
meeting as well as several of the talks which occurred. The focus of the conference was international
although bibliographic control in South Africa was featured as one of the
conference topics (Africa I. S., 2009).
The IFLA are not involved in the Faroe Islands (IFLA, 2009).
The IFLA is an advocate for libraries
internationally, and therefore provides a strong foundation for the Library
system in South Africa. The IFLA not
only supports the growth and development of the South African library system it
also included South Africa on a larger scale by scheduling the IFLA 73rd
general conference in South Africa (Africa I. S., 2009).
This allowed South Africa the opportunity to discuss issues affecting
South Africa’s development of information infrastructure on a global scale (Africa I. S., 2009). This was a major boon for the country of
South Africa.
UNESCO
UNESCO - the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded
on 16 November 1945. For this specialized United Nations agency, it is not
enough to build classrooms in devastated countries or to publish scientific
breakthroughs. Education,
Social and Natural Science, Culture and Communication are
the means to a far more ambitious goal: to build peace in the minds of men. (UNESCO, 2009)
Cote d’Ivoire is a member of UNESCO (UNESCO, 2009). On October 27, 1960 Cote d’Ivoire joined
UNESCO (UNESCO, 2009).
The majority of the information regarding UNESCO’s involvement in Cote
d’Ivoire is posted in French (UNESCO, 2009).
There are 100 programs listed (d'Ivoire U. C., 2009). One of the UNESCO projects in Cote d’Ivoire
which is posted in English is a project dealing with the discovery of fresh water
in the area (Information, 2009).
The goal of the project is to both educate researchers to operate the
GIS computer systems as well as locate fresh water resources for the benefit of
the individuals residing in the country of Cote d’Ivoire (Information,
2009).
The
involvement of UNESCO in Cote d’Ivoire has permanently altered the landscape of
what is possible in Cote d’Ivoire.
Individuals are now trained in advanced information seeking skills and
information and data processing techniques thanks to the GIS search for fresh
water resources in Cote d’Ivoire (Information, 2009). The program offered by UNESCO, I am sure, has
benefited Cote d’Ivoire and her citizens immensely. The ultimate goal for Cote d’Ivoire is
“sustainable development” (Information, 2009). UNESCO has, more than likely, benefited Cote
d’Ivoire in many other similar ways in other similar programs, however a
language barrier prevents me from fully researching the extent to which UNESCO
has assisted Cote d’Ivoire.
South
Africa is also a member of UNESCO (Africa U. S., 2009).
South Africa originally joined UNESCO on November 4, 1946 but withdrew
from the membership in 1956 (Africa U. S.,
2009). South Africa joined UNESCO again on December
12, 1994 (Africa U. S.,
2009). In 2005 Nelson Mandela was named a “UNESCO
goodwill ambassador” (Africa U. S., 2009).
Mr. Mandela was awarded
the title “in recognition of his outstanding leadership in the fight against
apartheid and racial discrimination, in his country and worldwide; for his
dedication to reconciliation between different communities; his unfailing
commitment to democracy, equality and learning; his support for all the
oppressed of the Earth; and his exemplary contribution to international peace
and understanding.” (Ambassador, 2009)
Mr. Mandela is a national hero in South Africa. The utilization of Mr. Mandela as an UNESCO
ambassador further endorses Mr. Mandela and his incredible life achievements. I was able to locate over 100 UNESCO
sponsored programs in South Africa (UNESCO, 2009). Considering the fact that South Africa is a
member of UNESCO and the fact that UNESCO choose Mr. Mandela to be a goodwill
ambassador for UNESCO, it is no surprise that UNESCO has sponsored so many projects
throughout South Africa.
The Faroe Islands are not a member of UNESCO (UNESCO, 2009).
WIPO
The World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is
dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system,
which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic
development while safeguarding the public interest. WIPO was established by the
WIPO Convention in
1967 with a mandate from its Member
States to promote the protection of IP throughout the world through
cooperation among states and in collaboration with other international
organizations. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. The Director General is Francis Gurry. (WIPO, 2009)
Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa, but not the Faroe
Islands, are members of WIPO. Cote
d’Ivoire has several copyright protections in place, they are as follows:
“Law No. 96-564 of July 25, 1996 on the Protection of Intellectual Works and
the Rights of Authors, Performers and Phonogram and Videogram Producers” (d'Ivoire W.
C., 1996). South Africa has twenty-eight records listed
with the WIPO pertaining to copyright laws dating back to 1941 (Africa W. S., 2009). The most recent revision is dated 1997 (Africa W. S.,
2009).
WTO
The World Trade Organization
(WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of
trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and
signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.
The goal is to help South Africa is also a member of the WTO (Membership, 2009). The Faroe Islands are not (Membership, 2009) producers
of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. (WTO, 2009)
Cote d’Ivoire is a member of the WTO (Membership, 2009). Cote d’Ivoire became a member of the WTO
January 1st 1995 (Membership, 2009).
The WTO
has assisted in strengthening the trade capabilities of nations around the
world (WTO, 2009). As members of the WTO
Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa are helped specifically. There was, however, no special program listed
under the heading of Cote d’Ivoire (d'Ivoire W. C., 2009). Cote d’Ivoire is assisted in their
information policy through their membership to the WTO in a more general way (d'Ivoire W. C., 2009). There are blanket tariff agreements which are
negotiated by the WTO and which benefit member countries (d'Ivoire W.
C., 2009).
Under the
heading of South Africa there was a case study of the reform of an anti-dumping
regime (Africa W. S., 2009).
The “case study examines the development and reform of South Africa’s
anti-dumping regime as an example of a country’s participation in the WTO” (Africa W. S.,
2009).
By using the WTO’s Anti-dumping
Agreement (ADA) as a model for its own anti-dumping system, South Africa also
serves as an example of how a country can make use of WTO instruments to ensure
that its domestic legislation is complying with its international obligations. (Africa W. S.,
2009)
It is clear from the reform of anti-dumping that the WTO
has benefited South Africa tremendously through the introduction of information
policy which may not otherwise be in place.
World Bank
The World Bank is helping to stabilize Cote d’Ivoire and move them to a position where they will qualify for greater amounts of funding (d’Ivoire, 2009). This funding will, undoubtedly, affect Cote d’Ivoire dramatically. Soon Cote d’Ivoire will have the resources to invest in greater national infrastructure. The World Bank is effectively contributing to the process of moving Cote d’Ivoire another step closer to becoming and member of the global economy as an information society.
South Africa has developed a financial plan of progress in accord with the World Bank similar to the plan developed between the World Bank and Cote d’Ivoire (Africa, 2009). However, because Cote d’Ivoire is recovering from a time of war and instability and South Africa is not, the plan between South Africa and the World Bank is longer in term and therefore more forward thinking in its construction (Africa, 2009). The Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) which was developed between South Africa and the World Bank is for the years 2008-2012 (Africa W. B., 2009).
The CPS “reflects, most importantly, South Africa's own development priorities as set out in the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative-South Africa (ASGISA) and South Africa’s unique position in the region” (Africa W. B., 2009). The World Bank and South Africa have agreed upon two main areas of focus for the CPS strategy, they are: (1) “urban and rural development” and (2) “regional integration and partnerships for Africa” (Africa W. B., 2009). These areas are being addressed and explored in various projects, based on innovative ideas, through the partnership between South Africa and the World Bank (Africa, 2009).
The World Bank’s funding is not only concerned with improving conditions within South Africa (Africa, 2009). “Knowledge sharing – facilitating dialogue and sharing experience within and outside of South Africa – is a key part of all the Bank's work in South Africa” (Africa W. B., 2009). South Africa is an upwardly mobile country. With the financial assistance from the World Bank South Africa is entering the global market place. South Africa is soon to become a cutting-edge information society.
Conclusion
Cote d’Ivoire benefited some from the
involvement of international organizations.
However, I felt that Cote d’Ivoire could have benefited more if more
infrastructure were in place in the country.
International organizations are not drawn to totally disaffected poor
nations per se. International organizations tend to want to
be involved in countries where the smallest investment makes the largest impact
on the greatest number of individuals.
Cote d’Ivoire could become a much more attractive repository for
international programs if the country were to invest in infrastructure and
education. Cote d’Ivoire is presently in
a period of recovery from being a war torn nation. If the proper steps are taken for its
rehabilitation Cote d’Ivoire could soon develop a booming economy and be a
leader among information societies on the continent of Africa.
South
Africa has benefited the most from the involvement of international
organizations in the development of both information society infrastructure and
information policy. It is my belief that
this reality of benefit is true because South Africa is a middle income
country. The middle income allows South
Africa to qualify for assistance from international programs that higher income
societies may not qualify for because their resources are too great.
In addition, being a middle income society
allows South Africa to put into action the international programs that they
qualify for. Whereas a lower income
economy, such as Cote d’Ivoire lacks much of the infrastructure and
organization required to fully implement many of the programs offered by
international organizations. Some of the
international organizations offer grants to subsidize their programs, but then
the country that receives the grant is responsible for reporting back to the
contributing agency data which communicates how the funds were allocated and
who benefited from the grant monies. This requires a high degree of organization on
the country’s part.
The Faroe
Islands were not involved with any of the international organizations listed in
the class resources. This surprised
me. Although the Faroe Islands are a
high income society they are a rather small community. It seems as though it would behoove them to
be more involved with the international community especially in-so-far as trade
agreements are concerned. The Faroe
Islands were not even a member of the WTO.
Works Cited
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