Organized under the theme “Harnessing the Power of Mobile Media: Outlining a UNESCO Strategy for Education, News Media and Citizens Participation in Development”, the meeting will focus on identifying good and innovative applications concerning mobile phones throughout the world. The range of topics will cover innovative use of mobile phone applications in education, news media, good governance, climate change and disaster risk management.

The meeting will start with an overview of trends of mobile phones for development highlighting the fields of education, media, good governance and regulatory challenges.

Then the thematic sessions will unfold as follows:

• Mobile phones contributing to universal access to information (local and diversified content, local languages, access to digital libraries for marginalized groups, open source solution for accessibility issues);
  
• Mobile phones as news media (editorial lines, strategies for media outlets, community media, participation of civil society, new narratives: impact on journalism);
  
• Mobile phones for democracy, good governance and its regulatory challenges (potential of mobile phones to strengthen democracy, implications of legal framework for freedom of expression);
  
• Mobile phones in education (contribution to formal and non-formal education, support to people with special needs, mobile phone as a research tool in education, new trends in mobile date collection and monitoring systems in governance of education);
  
• Use of mobile media in natural disaster risk management and climate change.

The experts are expected to recommend possible mobile-phone-based solutions.