Geneva, 17 October 2005 — With the Tunis Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society set to open its doors in just five weeks, final preparations are now underway for the arrival of an expected 50 heads of State and government, as well as for an exciting programme of high-profile media and Parallel Events featuring leading figures from civil society and business.

Journalists are invited to accredit now for this top-level event, which will play a major role in shaping the future of the Information Society in both developed and developing nations.

The Tunis Phase of the Summit is conceived as a "Summit of Solutions", where the Declaration of Principles and 15-point Action Plan developed at the Geneva Phase of WSIS in 2003 will be translated into tangible strategies aimed at building a more equitable and inclusive Information Society.

The event is expected to welcome some 12’000 participants from UN agencies, the private sector, civil society and leading media organizations worldwide.

Those who have already confirmed their attendance include:

• UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
• Heads of state and heads of government from more than 50 countries worldwide
• Top-level executives from over 200 companies including Alcatel, Ericsson, France Telecom, Google, Huawei, Infosys, Intel, KDDI, Microsoft, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Skype, Sun Microsystems, Telefónica, WorldSpace and others
• Heads of UN agencies and programmes including ITU, UNDP, UNESCO and UPU
• Leading development organizations including Grameen Foundation, MS Swaminathan Foundation, Telecoms Sans Frontières.

Alongside the three days of Plenary sessions, the Summit will also feature a programme of around 250 Parallel Events, featuring presentations and debates by participating organizations on topics relevant to the development of tomorrow’s Information Society.

In addition, a special 10’000m² ICT4All exhibition will showcase the activities of more than 100 NGOs and private sector enterprises, focusing particularly on developing and Least Developed Countries.

The Summit will also serve as the stage for key decisions on the future of Internet governance, following failure to reach consensus at the Summit’s final preparatory meeting (PrepCom-3), which took place in Geneva from September 19-30.

Negotiations at a resumed PrepCom, scheduled immediately prior to the opening of WSIS, are expected to be lively, as pressure to finalize the Summit output documents brings the remaining contentious issues to a head.

A draft plan of the full Summit programme can be found here.

Official media accreditation is compulsory for this event.

Details of the accreditation procedure and an online accreditation form can be found here.

Pre-accredited journalists will be able to collect their Media badges from Friday,11 November 2005 at the WSIS Accreditation and Badging Centre, located some 6km from the Kram Centre. Please note that the letter from ITU confirming acceptance of accreditation must be presented, together with an internationally recognized photo identification document (passport or national identity card).

Accreditation applications can also be made directly onsite, though journalists should note that this could involve lengthy delays. Those choosing to accredit on arrival should take careful note of all accreditation requirements and ensure they have all required documentation with them before their arrival at the Accreditation and Badging Centre.

Please note that no exceptions will be made to WSIS accreditation requirements, and that, for security reasons, there will strictly no admittance to the Kram centre without a Media badge.

Mr Sanjay Acharya
Communication Officer
WSIS Executive Secretariat
Tel: +41 22 730 5046
Email