The International Discussion Series gathers public and private institutions of these three countries in Brasilia (Brazil) to provide a stimulus for the creation of an international cooperation network on the subjectAccess to knowledge, access to new technologies and coordination between government and society for the creation of public policies in support of the political participation of citizens in the knowledge society are some of the main topics to be discussed during the event, Knowledge Societies Today: International Discussion Series, organized by the University of Brasilia (UnB), through its Graduate Programme in Communications, in cooperation with UNESCO in Brazil, in partnership with the Multimedia and Internet Centre (NMI) at UnB, the International Centre of Advanced Studies in Communications for Latin America (CIESPAL), the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQÀM), the Brazilian Institute of Science and Technology Information (IBICT), the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil (CGI.BR) and the National Confederation of Industry (CNI).

The objective of the International Discussion Series is to bring together partners from the public sector, the private sector, and civil society to discuss and to encourage the creation of a national and international cooperation network that can bring different partners together to make recommendations on policies, strategies and programmes directed toward development and innovation. The discussions will be conducted in three countries – Brazil, Ecuador, and Canada – commencing at the University of Brasilia, on 27 April, 2015, at 2pm. More information and registration are available at http://socicon.unb.br.

The opening panel will comprise Ivan Camargo, the Rector of the University of Brasilia, Lucien Muñoz, the Director of UNESCO in Brazil, Cecília Leite, the Director of IBICT, and a representative from CNI.

Experts from different countries: Francisco Sierra Caballero, the Director of CIESPAL; Indrajit Banerjee, the Director of the Knowledge Societies Division at UNESCO in Paris; Cecília Leite, the Director of IBICT; Luiz Claudio Martino, a Professor of the School of Communications at UnB; and Gaëtan Tremblay, Associate Professor of the School of Media at the University of Quebec, who will make the main presentation. After the launch of the series in Brasilia, the next two will be held in Canada (July, 2015) and in Ecuador (September, 2015).

At this first event, in Brasilia, there will be a cocktail to launch the Portuguese language version of Renewing the knowledge societies vision for peace and sustainable development (Renovando a Visão das Sociedades do Conhecimento para a Paz e o Desenvolvimento Sustentável), a report summarizing another UNESCO lecture series, the World Summit on the Information Society ten years on (WSIS +10), held in Paris in 2013. The book was the work of professors Robin Mansell, Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Gaëtan Tremblay, University of Quebec in Montreal, who will attend the event.

Venue: Finatec – Campus Darcy Ribeiro. Asa Norte, Brasília, DF.
Date: April 27, 2015.
Time: 2.00pm
Information and registration: http://socicon.UnB.br

Mini Résumés

Cecília Leite
PhD in Information Science from UnB, Cecília is a researcher from Embrapa, but working at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). Currently, she holds the position of Director of the Brazilian Institute of Science and Technology Information (IBICT). She has experience in the area of information science and the use of new technologies (ICT) for informational solutions in various Information Science fields of activity; principally in information science, digital inclusion, information management, social inclusion, knowledge management, and innovation. She graduated from the University of Brasilia in1977. She has a master’s degree in Information Science from the same university (1996).

Francisco Sierra Caballero
Senior Investigator and Professor of Communication Theory in the Department of Journalism I at the University of Sevilla (Spain). He is the Editor of the Journal of Studies for the Social Development of Communication (REDES.COM) (www.revista-redes.com). He is the Scientific Director of the Latin Union of Political Economy of Information, Communication and Culture (www.ulepicc.net) and Vice President of the Iberoamerican Confederation of Scientific Associations in Communications (Confibercom). He is the author of over 20 books and over 50 scientific articles in leading journals. In addition, he works as a professor at universities and research centres in Europe and in Latin America.

Gaëtan Tremblay
Associate Professor of the School of Media in the Department of Communications at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Founder and Researcher at the Interuniversity Communications, Information and Society Research Centre (CRICIS). Associate Researcher at the Institute of Human Sciences (MSH), North Paris. PhD in Social Psychology from the Louis Pasteur University (Strasbourg, 1974) and a BA in Sociology from the University of Laval (Quebec, 1971). His research interests are: cultural industries, communication policies, economy of communication, the information society and distance learning. Author of several books, among which is the title Renewing the knowledge societies vision for peace and sustainable development (Paris, UNESCO, 2013, with Robin Mansell).

Indrajit Banerjee
Specialist in the area of the social impact of communication and information technologies, he has a master’s degree from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (India) and a doctorate from the Sorbonne, Paris (France). From 2004 to 2009, he was the Secretary-General of the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC). Since 2009, he has been the Director of the Knowledge Societies Division of the ICT in Education, Science and Culture Unit in the Communication and Information Sector at UNESCO. He is an internationally recognized media and communications scholar. He has edited ten books and published articles in some of the leading international journals in the field of communications. He has also presented papers at more than 50 international conferences around the world. After completing his doctoral degree, Mr. Banerjee worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).