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Toronto, June 19 (UNS) - more than 1,400 people involved in international development and information technology will gather in Toronto on June 22 to 25 for a major international conference to explore the role of knowledge, information and technology in development.

The conference, called Global Knowledge 97: knowledge for development in the information age, will focus on turning the information revolution into a force for economic development, social cohesion and povetya alleviation in the 21st century.

The conference will be opened by his excellency, the right honourable Romo Leblanc, Governor General of Canada, James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and the honourable Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

His excellency Jos Maria Figueres, president of Costa Rica and his excellency Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda will also attend the conference, as will the honourable Diane Marleau, the Canadian Minister for International Co-operation and Minister Responsible for La Francophonie.

GK 97 is sponsored by more than 45 public and private organisations and co-hosted by the World Bank and the government of Canada.

GK 97 will focus on three major themes: understanding the role of knowledge and information in economic and social development, sharing strategies for harnessing knowledge and building partnerships to empower the poor and foster international dialogues about development.

Participants have been selected from more than 120 countries based on their ability to make an impact in their communities and on the future direction of development. Participants include leaders of government, non-governmental organisations, business and industry, education and science and representatives from grassroots, national, regional and multilateral organisations.

Eight plenary sessions will be held featuring keynote speeches from world experts and industry leaders and practitioners including Arno Penzias, Nobel Laureate and chief scientist, Bell Laboratories, Katherine Hagen, Deputy Director General, International Labour Organisation, Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computers, Joy Mal, Headmistress, Mengo Senior School, Kampala, Uganda, Federico Mayor, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Jean Monty, Chairman and CEO of Nortel and Vivienne Wee, director of Engender.

In addition the conference will include a number of working sessions on a wide variety of subjects. Participants will also use video and virtual conferencing to explore ways in which information and knowledge technology can contribute to global poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Information and communications technologies are crucial for developing countries to become full partners in the global economy.

New technology helps modernise and expand business and trade links and can provide communities with better access to basic services like health care, education, environmental monitoring and natural resource management. It can also work to alleviate gender inequities.

Because people remain at the heart of sustainable development, the conference will focus heavily on the development of best practices and opportunities to build human networks in support of knowledge and information exchange.

A virtual conference is being held through five websites leading up to global knowledge 97. An official conference website will be maintained for one year following the meeting in Toronto. This virtual conference will make GK 97 a truly global event, giving those with access to the internet a chance to participate in the debates surrounding the conference issues, to connect with other interested groups and individuals around the world and to interact electronically with participants.

An inclusive list of speakers can be found on the conference website - http://www.Globallknowledge.Org.

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