A conference, Culture and Communication in the Global Information Society, will be held November 22-25 in Amman, Jordan.

The event's organizers, the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy, the Sean MacBride Round Table and the Jemstone Network, note that the conference is to take place during the 50th anniversary year of the Declaration of Human Rights.

Good journalism and media are threatened by political and commercial pressures everywhere. In the Eastern Mediterranean, restrictive press laws and censorship limit what people are told. In the West, advertisers and sponsors infiltrate and distort the media's messages. The role of the media as honest, independent reporter, the eyes and ears of the people, is under siege, said Tudor Lomas, a Jemstone Network official, in announcement relating to the round table conference in Amman.

The conference will deal with such issues as the impact of freedom of expression on culture and national identity; the relationships between information technology, democracy and development; and the part to be played by institutions, laws and codes of conduct in any framework of communications.

As many as a hundred prominent media and research figures from the Euro-Mediterranean region and beyond are expected to take part in the conference, in which delegates intend to formulate general principles to illuminate the path of the media in the Euro-Med region in the next century.

This conference is an extension of the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy's conference "Communication and Diplomacy: New Horizons in the Age of Informatics," which was convened in December 1997. It is the annual meeting of the MacBride Round Table. In addition, it is the latest in a series of round table gatherings organized by the European Commission's Jemstone Network on key Euro-Mediterranean media issues, such as "Images of Islam in the West" and "The Role of the Journalist in Conflict."

Applications to attend or suggestions for key speakers should be sent as soon as possible. Participants should aim to arrive in Amman on the afternoon of November 22 for an initial briefing that evening. The next two-and-a-half days will be devoted to discussing the technical, political and commercial outlook for the media. The conference will end after lunch November 25.

According to Lomas' announcement, Jemstone and its partners will pay the entire cost of the conference, including accommodations and meals, plus any local trips and visits. In cases of hardship, they may be able to reimburse half the cost of travel (after the event, the delegate should send in the ticket stub). In cases of serious hardship they may pay more, if it has been agreed in writing by the project director in advance. For more information contact Tudor Lomas, The Jemstone Network, P.O. Box 850191, Amman 11185, Jordan. Fax: (962-6) 581-9552; Tel: (962-6) 585-9980; home telephone: (962-6) 581-5580. E-mail: tudor@jemstone.net. Web site: http://www.jemstone.net