Bilateral, multilateral and regional information co operations

One of the component of the struggle for New International Information Order is effort to create a pool of information agencies of NonAligned countries and also regional unions of news agencies in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The initiation was taken by a Yugoslav News Agency (TANJUG), which addressed all nonaligned countries with an appeal to develop the spirit of co operation and to join the pool. Thus, the oldest alternative agency is Non-Aligned News Agency Pool

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The Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool was founded by a decision of the Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Lima from 25 to 30 August 1975. Its Statutes were drafted by the Conference of Ministers of Information of Non-Aligned Countries, held at New Delhi from 8 to 13 July 1976, and adopted at the Fifth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Colombo from 16 to 19 August 1976.

The Statutes were amended by the Third General Assembly of the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (Tunis, November 1952) and were finally adopted at the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of NonAligned Countries held in March 1983 at New Delhi. Objectives The Pool was set up to ensure co-operation among the non-aligned countries with a view to promoting a free and balanced flow of information. It is not a supra- national press agency but a system for professional co-operation and co-ordination among all the agencies which belong to it.

Main activities The Pool was based on the principle of a free and balanced flow of objective and authentic information with a view to promoting co-operation, strengthening the unity of States members of the non-aligned movement and affirming their national cultural identities, in conformity with the principles of the new world information and communication order. The Pool also proposes to promote the circulation of information on economic and social development and on events in the non-aligned and developing countries.

By disseminating objective and authentic information, the Pool seeks to offer an accurate picture of the non-aligned and developing countries. The Pool also seeks to disseminate an authentic and objective image of the countries whose press agencies belong to it, wishing to promote understanding and cooperation and make for better comprehension and greater unity among the peoples and countries of the world in accordance with the fundamental objective of the non-aligned movement. Professionally, the Pool encourages its members to give professional and technical assistance, including appropriate staff training to agencies in the leastdeveloped countries.

The Pool also encourages institutes of journalism and journalism departments within universities and similar institutions to provide. training facilities for the journalists and technicians of agencies in the least-developed countries.

Co-operation with UNESCO The Pool's Statutes state that the Co-ordinating Committee and members of the Pool will cooperate with UNESCO in implementing programmes to strengthen the system of communication and training of staff and that the Pool will also co-operate with the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) , in achieving common objectives

The Pool's objectives coincide with those of UNESCO and particularly those of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) in respect ,of communication. Apart from its activities to promote a free and balanced flow of information, the Pool, in accordance with the Tunis Action Programme, seeks, inter alia to (1) establish press agencies in the non-aligned countries where none exist already and to strengthen those agencies which have not yet been sufficiently developed,

(2)lower communication tariffs, (3) improve the training of the journalists and technical personnel of member agencies Finally, among the recommendations which the Committee on Information has submitted to the United Nations General Assembly and which formed the basis for resolution 39/98A on questions relating to information, the Department 'of Public Information is to co-operate with UNESCO to assist the Pool, as well as the regional press agencies of the developing countries, in carrying out the following activities:

(1) preparing and implementing a plan of integrated communication network and regional data and communication centres (2) providing facilities and services for meetings on data and communication exchange of public information bodies of the non-aligned countries (3) preparing for observance of 1985 as the Year of Communication for information bodies in the non-aligned countries.

Finally, the Department of Public Information has been invited to co-operate closely with UNESCO and the Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool to organize a-workshop in 1985 to familiarize the news agencies of developing countries with the relevant modern technology and to standardize teaching methods and syllabuses and produce training manuals in various languages for the training centres of the Pool.