Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Rough Draft CIA Fact Book Data Analysis-Re: International Organizations Who Support Underdeveloped Countries: Masters Degree: Library and Information Science




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 involved in assisting both Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa but not, however, the Faroe Islands.  Last year the World Bank began to provide interim funding for Cote d’Ivoire (d'Ivoire W. B., 2009).  “Following the Ouagadougou Peace Accord signed in March 2007 and gradual normalization of relations between Côte d'Ivoire and the Bank over the past year -- concluding in full arrears clearance on April 2, 2008, the ISN represents the new strategic framework for the resumption of the Bank’s country assistance over the period of FY08-09” (d'Ivoire W. B., 2009).  The World Bank’s strategy for the recovery of Cote d’Ivoire is to focus on three main areas of concentration and reform, they are: (1)“support and stabilization” of the government, (2) “assisting affected populations” through the implementation of much needed social services, (3) “assisting in economic recovery” focusing on reform and sustainable economics (d'Ivoire W. B., 2009).

      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

Africa, I. S. (2009, July 9). Past Conferences . Retrieved July 9, 2009, from IFLA: http://www.ifla.org/en/node/698

Africa, U. S. (2009, July 9). South Africa. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from UNESCO: http://portal.unesco.org/geography/en/ev.php-URL_ID=2362&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Africa, W. B. (2009, July 5). South Africa. Retrieved July 5, 2009, from World Bank: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/SOUTHAFRICAEXTN/0,,menuPK:368089~pagePK:141132~piPK:141105~theSitePK:368057,00.html

Africa, W. S. (2009, July 9). CLEA Search. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from WIPO: http://www.wipo.int/clea/en/search.jsp?cntryorg_id=107

Africa, W. S. (2009, July 9). The reform of South Africa's ant-dumping regime. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from WTO: http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/casestudies_e/case38_e.htm
Ambassador, U. N. (2009, July 9). Celebrity Advocates Nelson Mandela. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from UNESCO: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28351&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

d'Ivoire, U. C. (2009, July 9). UNESCO search results Cote d'Ivoire. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from UNESCO: http://portal.unesco.org/search/ui/SearchServlet?formName=test2&hIndexName=ami_index&nbResultByPage=25&hUrlTemplateResult=http%3A%2F%2Fportal.unesco.org%2Fsearch%2Fen%2Fresults.html&output=text%2Fhtml&hPrefPages=prefpages&hPRMetaWeight=&hPRWordlistWeight=

d'Ivoire, W. B. (2009, July 5). Cote d'Ivoire. Retrieved July 5, 2009, from World Bank: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/CDIVOIREEXTN/0,,menuPK:382620~pagePK:141132~piPK:141105~theSitePK:382607,00.html

d'Ivoire, W. C. (2009, July 9). Cote d'Ivoire and the WTO. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from WTO: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/cote_ivoire_e.htm

d'Ivoire, W. C. (1996, July 25). Cote d'Ivoire: Copyright, Law, 25/07/1996, No.96-564. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from WIPO: http://www.wipo.int/clea/en/details.jsp?id=793

Factbook, C. W. (2009, July 7). Cote d'Ivoire. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/IV.html

Factbook, C. W. (2009, July 7). South Africa. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/SF.html

IFLA. (2009, July 5). IFLA. Retrieved July 5, 2009, from IFLA: http://www.ifla.org/

Information, U. C. (2009, July 9). Communication and Information. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from 
UNESCO: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=18075&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Islands, C. W. (2009, July 7). Faroe Islands. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/FO.html
Membership, W. (2009, July 9). Members and Observers. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from WTO: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm

UNESCO. (2009, July 5). UNESCO. Retrieved July 5, 2009, from UNESCO: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3328&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

WIPO. (2009, July 9). What is WIPO? Retrieved July 9, 2009, from WIPO: http://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/what_is_wipo.html

WTO. (2009, July 5). WTO. Retrieved July 5, 2009, from WTO: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm




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