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Open consultation process for WSIS Forum 2013 now open
ITU champions bottom-up, multi-stakeholder
approach to building an inclusive, innovative Information Society
Geneva, 8 October, 2012 — Stakeholders from government,
civil society and the private sector are invited to join the open consultation
process for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2013, with
a view to forging a common vision around the priorities and activities needed to
meet the targets set in 2005 in
Tunis at the
UN World Summit on the
Information Society.
The Open Consultation Process for 2013, which opens today, is structured
around five phases, combining both online contributions and two physical
meetings:
Phase I - 8 October 2012
- Online Dialogues on the WSIS Knowledge Communities
- Official submissions can be submitted at
www.wsis.org/forum until
23 January 2013
Phase II - 16 November 2012
First physical meeting
Phase III - 23 January 2013
Deadline for submission of Official Contributions and binding requests for
workshop sessions
Phase IV - 15 February 2013
Second physical meeting - Final review
Phase V - 16 April 2013
Final Brief
The comprehensive consultation process for the 2013 event continues the
participatory and inclusive spirit of the WSIS process and WSIS Forum. Next
year’s Forum, scheduled to be held from 13 - 17 May in Geneva, expects to
welcome over 1,500 international delegates from government, civil society, the
private sector and intergovernmental organizations. The forum will also cover
the Overall WSIS Review Process (WSIS+10- WSIS Beyond 2015).
Organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP, the agenda of every WSIS Forum
event is directly shaped by inputs received from the WSIS community. All
interested parties are encouraged to submit their contributions directly via the
WSIS Forum 2013 website at:
www.itu.int/wsis/implementation/2013/forum/ocp/submissions.html
With information and communications technologies (ICTs) playing an
increasingly instrumental role in the delivery of basic services like education,
health and food security, improved connectivity has become a major development
imperative. ICTs are also key to addressing emerging challenges including
climate change, management of essential resources such as power and water, road
safety, and the design and management of ‘smart cities’.
Since 2009, the WSIS Forum has served as the key international platform for
capturing global perspectives, building multi-stakeholder consensus and
identifying emerging trends. The event gives government ministers, CEOs, civil
society representatives and academics a unique chance to gather around the table
to dialogue on these and other crucial issues.
WSIS Forum 2013 website has been launched at
www.wsis.org/forum
Follow WSIS Forum on Twitter at #WSIS.
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Parkes
Media Relations, ITU
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Jaroslaw Ponder
Strategy & Policy Advisor, ITU
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About ITU...
About WSIS
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a UN
process that was initiated in two unique phases in order to
create an evolving multi-stakeholder platform aimed at promoting
Information Society at the national, regional and international
levels. The goal of WSIS is to achieve a common vision, desire
and commitment to build a people-centric, inclusive and
development-oriented Information Society where everyone can
create, access, utilize and share information. The Final Review
of this process will take place in 2015.
www.wsis.org