The Summit participants

Governments

All governments have a stake in the Information Society, whatever their level of national income or their infrastructure facilities. Governments are key to bringing the benefits of the Information Society to everyone through the development of national and global policies and frameworks to meet the challenges of the Information Society. In their pursuit of the public interest, governments can raise awareness, facilitate access to information for the public, and lay the foundations for all citizens to benefit from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in terms of improved quality of life, social services and economic growth.

Business Entities

The private sector plays an active role, in conjunction with governments and civil society, by proposing economically viable models to achieve the development objectives on the world agenda. The contribution of the private sector is instrumental in creating the material conditions for universal access to information and value-added ICT services. Its involvement in the Summit envisages economic growth and new partnerships that can stimulate technology transfer, increase awareness of new technologies, and motivate the creation of local content development and skilled employment opportunities. 

Private sector inputs to the Summit have been facilitated by the Coordinating Committee of Business Interlocutors (CCBI) under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). 

ITU Sector members, who represent a broad cross section of the ICT industry, also play an active role in the WSIS process and were well represented at the Geneva Summit.

For more information about the mobilization, contributions and participation of the global business community, please click here. 

Civil Society

Civil society has been playing an active role in identifying the social and cultural consequences of current trends and in drawing attention to the need to introduce democratic accountability on the strategic options taken at all levels. Its diversity and, often, hands-on approach to issues, make civil society a key player in the renewed international partnership called for by the UN Secretary-General.

United Nations Family

The Summit offers a unique opportunity for the global community to reflect, discuss and give shape to our common destiny in an era when countries and peoples are interconnected as never before. The UN family of organizations serves as a catalyst for change by bringing together state governments as well as the private sector, international institutions and civil society in pursuit of common goals. The United Nations system and its specialized agencies have been deeply involved in the WSIS process, with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) taking a lead role. The Summit is also seen as an effective means to assist the United Nations in fulfilling the development goals of the Millennium Declaration.

International Organizations
In order to ensure the most complete input possible to the Summit process, contributions from a wide range of international and multinational organizations have been solicited, and the commitment was evident from the high level of participation at WSIS Geneva.

Media
Communications technology is not an end in itself, but a means of supplying and preserving information and content. Media organizations are expected to propose initiatives and commitments to contribute to the goals of the media.