With China last week announcing a contribution of $20,000, France is the second country contributing in a short period to the fund, which is used to finance projects that contribute to universal access to information and knowledge.

The Information for All Programme (IFAP) provides a framework for international co-operation and international and regional partnerships. It supports the development of common strategies, methods and tools to build inclusive, open and pluralistic knowledge societies and to narrow the gap between the information rich and the information poor. IFAP contributes to the fulfillment of UNESCO's mandate to contribute to “education for all”, to the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, and to improve the means of communication between peoples.

Chaired by Daniel Malbert of IFAP, the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council supervising the Programme, recently granted financial assistance to twenty-four projects related to information literacy, preservation of information, and ethical implications of ICT. The allocations from IFAP’s Special Fund of contributions from UNESCO Member States are decided by the Bureau.