HLSOC - High-Level Summit Organizing Committee
In order to coordinate the efforts of the United Nations family in the preparation, organization and holding of WSIS, a High-Level Summit Organizing Committee (HLSOC) was established under the patronage of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Composed of a Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Executive Heads of the FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ILO, IMO, ITU, UN Regional Economic Commissions, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCHR, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFP, WHO, WIPO, WMO, World Bank, WTO, it also included IADB, IOM, OECD, UNFIP, UNITAR, UNV as observers. The Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union served as Chairman of HLSOC.

List of HLSOC Members »

WSIS Executive Secretariat - ITU
Mr Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary General of the WSIS and Secretary-General of the ITU, the agency charged with organizing the Summit appointed end of October 2004 a team to organize the second phase that was held in Tunis from 16 to 18 November 2005:

Mr. Charles Geiger was appointed Executive Director of the WSIS Executive Secretariat, which is based at ITU Headquarters. In cooperation with the intergovernmental WSIS Bureau, he was charged with the overall planning and implementation of the organization of the Summit including its preparatory process. Mr Geiger, a Swiss national, was seconded by his government to the Executive Secretariat in 2001 and had been serving as Executive Director since January 2004.

Other members of the team include three senior officials of ITU, namely Mr. Art Levin, Chief of the ITU Coordination, External Relations and Communication Units, Dr. Tim Kelly, Chief of ITU Strategy and Policy Unit, and Mr. Fernando Lagraña, Executive Manager of ITU TELECOM.

Mr. Pierre Gagné was the Executive Director of the WSIS Secretariat for the Geneva phase. Having reverted to the Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT) of ITU, Mr. Gagné continues to be involved in the follow-up of WSIS.

During the first phase, Geneva sponsored a Civil Society Division in the Executive Secretariat. This Division was headed by Mr. Alain Clerc and Ms. Louise Lassonde.

Contact the Executive Secretariat »

Host Countries Executive Secretariats
Executive Secretariat of Tunisia:
A national organizing committee was set up in Tunisia to ensure the preparation and the organization of the World Summit on the Information Society which was held in Tunis from 16-18 November 2005.
More information: www.smsitunis2005.com

Executive Secretariat of Switzerland:
Switzerland, host of the first phase of WSIS which was held in Geneva from 10-12 December 2003, continued to work with the Mission of Tunisia in Geneva supporting the preparatory process of the second phase of WSIS.
More information: www.wsisgeneva2003.org

International Telecommunication Union
The ITU is the UN agency that had the leading role in the organization of the two phases of WSIS.