SUBJECT: N-1-4-016.30

Dee Knight, DMIS Customer Services Section
<dee.knight@undp.org>
Malcolm Chapman, Coordinator, UNDP Internet Server
<malcolm.chapman@undp.org>

UNDP: A global two-way information system via the Internet

Have you ever wondered how you could find someone who works in the
United Nations, and then send a message to them? Or find out some
information about the UN and what it does? Many people inside the
UN system have, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has found
a partial solution, using the Internet.

UNDP has linked its internal e-mail system (Higgins) to an Internet
gateway, and established an Internet Server as part of its New York
Headquarters' central LAN services. Through the Internet Server,
UNDP is beginning to make a contribution to Internet's global
information resources.

You can use "gopher" software to access the UNDP Internet server's
host at nywork1.undp.org. You'll see a menu of information:

     - The UN, what it is, what it does. Here you'll find
       descriptions of the UN System's Structure, addresses of
       Country Offices, Inter-Agency Bodies, Special Missions,
       Refugee Camps, UN Info Centers, Online Databases (by name
       only at this point), Organizational descriptions, Member
       Countries & Missions, Associated Bodies & Programmes, Info
       Services, Databases, Applications Software, Sales Offices,
       Collections of UN System Publications, Resources including
       UN Volunteers, Fellowships & Scholarships, Personnel, Goods
       & Services & Subcontracts... and a whole menu on Development
       Activities & Capital Financing Activities with lots of
       tables. (Courtesy of ACCIS, the Advisory Committee for the
       Coordination of Information Systems, based in Geneva).

     - Documents from the recent UN Conference on Development
       (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro (documents are listed by
       title, or you can do a free-text search);

     - A UNDP Directory (with phone numbers and Internet
       addresses).

You can also query a "who is" facility to find out how to reach
someone you think works in UNDP--even if you're not 100 percent
sure of their whole name. Send a message to whois@undp.org and in
the text of the message just type "who is ___", with some letters
from the person's name (first or last). The message is received by
the UNDP Internet server, which conducts a search of the internal
E-mail list. In a few seconds, you'll see a list of "hits" with
their phone numbers and Internet addresses. You can then follow
through with a message that will show up in your recipient's
"inbox" on the internal system.

UNDP's "development partners" can request an account on the
headquarters Internet server and dial in direct to access
information stored there, helpful to those who do not have their
own Internet access vehicle. Available information includes a
growing array of "General UNDP Infobases". These include the
"Country Field Office" directory, listing all staff in offices
around the world, plus address, phone and E-mail information.

More "Infobases" of general interest will be available online soon
through the Internet Server. To see them, just logon!