SA: GLOBALISATION

The LINK Centre, School of Public and Development Management,
University of the Witwatersrand, in conjunction with the University
of Michigan School of Information

has a limited number of places still available on the

Global Graduate Seminar on Globalisation and the Information
Society: Information Systems and International Communications
Policy

* Have you ever wondered what it takes to participate effectively in
a global virtual team?

* Are you interested in learning about computer supported
collaborative learning with students from other national and
international universities?

· Do you want to enhance your skills in global cross-cultural
communications?

· Interested in developing a better understanding of globalisation
and the organisations governing the emerging Global Information
Society, and how to influence them?

For the second consecutive year, the LINK Centre at the School of
Public and Development Management, University of the
Witwatersrand, in conjunction with the University of Michigan
School of Information, is offering limited participation in the Global
Graduate Seminar on Globalisation and the Information Society:
Information Systems and International Communications Policy
(Globalisation Seminar). In this seminar, participants will join
students from the University of Michigan, the American University,
Howard University (both in Washington DC), and the Universities of
Fort Hare and Pretoria, in an online, interactive, collaborative
learning session from 15 January to 23 April 2002.

The Globalisation Seminar (www.cotelco.net/GGS/GIS/2002/) is
directed by Professor Derrick L. Cogburn
(www.si.umich.edu/~dcogburn). Prof. Cogburn is an internationally
recognised expert in global information and communications policy
formulation. In 1995, Dr. Cogburn helped to found the Global
Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC, www.giic.org), an
association of CEOs dedicated to influencing the formation of
global information and communications policy in order to facilitate
the development of a Global Information Society. He served on the
steering committees of several G7 Information Society Pilot
Projects coordinated by the European Commission. In 1996 he
was one of the key organisers of the G7 and Developing World
Information Society and Development (ISAD) Conference in South
Africa. In 1997, Dr. Cogburn launched and became executive
director of GIIC Africa, the first regional spin-off organisation of the
GIIC. The United Nations has appointed Dr. Cogburn to several
committees and task forces, including the High-Level Working
Group on the African Information Society, the African Development
Forum, and the Committee on Development Information.

The LINK Centre (http://link.wits.ac.za/) is the leading public
policy, regulation and management educational body in the area of
information and communication in Southern Africa. LINK focuses
on capacity building in the public sector and development arenas
through quality training, applied research and consultancy services
necessary to maximise the benefits of the Information Society and
the Knowledge Economy.

Given the fundamental transformation engendered by globalisation,
it is imperative that students interested in the converging
interdisciplinary fields of information systems, broadcasting,
information and communications technology, and international
communications policy, have exciting opportunities to engage in
cutting edge educational and learning opportunities, preparing them
for these new global realities. The Globalisation Seminar is
designed to provide such a learning opportunity by breaking the
boundaries of space, time and distance.

The seminar employs a suite of web-based tools to create a
globally networked collaborative learning environment and uses a
multimedia approach to explore the socio-economic, political and
cultural implications of globalisation and the on-going development
of a knowledge-based Information Society.

The seminar meets weekly in the Computer Lab at the Wits School
of Information, from 17:00 to 20:00, from Tuesday 15 January 2002,
with an initial training session on the advanced collaboration tools
on Monday 14 January 2002 at 14:00.

While the seminar takes a global approach, particular emphasis is
placed on the responses to these issues from the perspectives of
Africa and the developing world. At different times in the course,
seminar participants will be involved in both face-to-face groups and
distributed virtual teams called global syndicates. These global
syndicates will be immersed in readings, lectures, discussions,
role-playing simulations, and guest presentations. Assignments
are designed to foster a deeper theoretical, applied and critical
understanding of globalisation and the Information Society.

Supported by the Alliance for Community Technology (ACT),
Microsoft Research, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and
the Collaboratory for Research on Electronic Work (CREW).

For more information on the course content or fees, or to register,
please contact:
Felicia Currie (011-717-3904 or [email protected]),
Charley Lewis (011-717-3784 or [email protected])
Prof. Derrick L. Cogburn ([email protected]) or
Mpaleng "M.K" Khothule ([email protected]).

Charley Lewis

Lecturer, LINK Centre
University of the Witwatersrand

E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: + 27 + 11 + 717-3784
Fax: + 27 + 11 + 717-3910
Mobile: + 27 + 83 + 539-5242
Post: Box 81185, Parkhurst, 2120
URL: http://link.wits.ac.za