WSIS Stocktaking
As part of the preparations for the Tunis phase of WSIS, the Executive Secretariat is working with governments and the other stakeholders in the WSIS-process in undertaking a stocktaking exercise of WSIS-related activities, especially regarding implementation of the WSIS Plan of Action, adopted in Geneva on 12 December 2003. The Secretary-General of ITU will send out a questionnaire to all stakeholders inviting them to inform the WSIS Executive Secretariat about their implementation activities and projects, for instance by filling out an online questionnaire. The information collated from the WSIS Stocktaking questionnaire will be published on the official WSIS website. Deadline for the first round of feedback is: 15 December 2004.

Open-ended Consultations on Internet Governance
As mandated by WSIS Geneva, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Swiss diplomat Markus Kummer as the head of a secretariat to assist him in setting up a Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). Open-ended consultations were held in Geneva 20-21 September 2004 aimed at developing a common 
understanding of the structure and functioning of the Working Group as well as discussions on the focus on its scope and working methods and the profile and characteristics of its members. Following the discussions, Mr. Nitin Desai, UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser to WSIS, will submit his report to Mr. Kofi Annan. WGIG will finalize its recommendations by July 2005. WGIG recommandations will provide valuable inputs to the discussion of WSIS PrepCom.

ITU Tutorial on Telecommunications Technologies
ITU organized a Tutorial on Telecommunications Technologies on 16 September 2004 at the Geneva International Conference Centre to provide a technical background on telecommunication technologies and the Internet to representatives of governments in Geneva participating in the consultations on Internet Governance. The Tutorial is expected to be repeated in February 2005, back-to-back with PrepCom-2.

WSIS-2005 Fundraising Campaign
The WSIS-2005 Fundraising Campaign received a boost as several stakeholders stepped forward to announce new financial contributions to support the core preparatory activities of the Tunis phase. The campaign has now reached 28 per cent of its goal of raising at least CHF 5 million in financial contributions to a special fund established by ITU. New contributions were announced by the Sultanate of Oman (CHF 100 000), the Syrian Arab Republic (CHF12 500), Senegal (CHF 20 000) and the Universal Postal Union (CHF 10 000). For more information is available on the WSIS website. 

WSIS Book for sale
The WSIS Souvenir Book ‘Helping the World Communicate’ is now available for sale. The 152-page book with 138 colour photographs traces the history of the World Summit on the Information Society and conveys the atmosphere at the first phase of the Summit itself. The book, prefaced with a message from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a foreword by Mr. Yoshio Utsumi, ITU Secretary-General, contains statements from the Opening Ceremony as well as the WSIS output documents: The Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action. A picture gallery includes heads of State and Government who attended the Summit along with other high-level dignitaries and participants. The book is priced at CHF 35 with a promotional price of CHF 25 available until 31 December 2004.

ITU-WSIS Thematic Meeting on Countering Spam
The ITU WSIS Thematic Meeting on Countering Spam took place from 7 to 9 July 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland. Participants, representing more than 60 economies, as well as civil society and private sector, recognized that spam has become a major concern, in particular considering recent developments such as “phishing” and other fraudulent activities, which are threatening public confidence in e-mail and the Internet as a whole. A contribution from developing countries underlined that spam can result in even more dramatic consequences in countries with limited bandwidth, as large quantities of bulk e-mail essentially equates to a denial of service attack.

The Chairman’s report, stressing the need for improved international cooperation in the field, underlined the role of the International Telecommunication Union, which was called upon to continue its activities in this field, improving exchange of best practices between developed and developing countries, creating harmonized legal frameworks and cooperating with other international organizations working in the field.