Your Excellency Mr Wade, President of Senegal,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you on this momentous occasion to celebrate the first World Information Society Day.

World Information Society Day draws global attention towards harnessing the enormous potential of information and communication technologies in achieving the development goals of millions of all citizens of the world. It will be a reminder to us, every year, to re-dedicate ourselves to building a more equitable, inclusive, people-centred and development-oriented Information Society.

The digital revolution has opened new opportunities to attain higher levels of development. These new technologies are powerful instruments in increasing productivity, generating economic growth and employment, and improving the living standards for all.

Through ICTs, we are able to reach out to vulnerable and displaced communities, build bridges across cultures, and generate a cross-flow of ideas, information and knowledge.

We are able to promote meaningful dialogue between people in different regions and communities, between nations and between civilizations.

On World Information Society Day we focus on information and communication technologies. These are remarkable resources that are open to the public and bring enormous possibilities to all societies and economies.

When I see my little granddaughter, surrounded by the many wonders of the digital revolution, I think of the millions of children around the world who are deprived of the benefits that ICT can bring. This situation is not tolerable. In the name of humanity, we must put an end to it.

As we celebrate World Information Society Day, it becomes our duty to ensure that everyone, even in the remotest and poorest corners of the world, has access to the benefits of ICT. We have the means, the technology and the resources to make a lasting impression on our civilization.

It is up to all of us to ensure that every little girl and boy in every society and community will have access to the benefits of ICT.
We must ensure that no child suffers from the deprivations of poverty, hunger and ill health.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

The Information Society is about empowering people, through access to information and knowledge, to achieve their economic, social and cultural aspirations.

It is about eradicating poverty and improving livelihoods.

It is about opening the doors wide to education and learning.

It is about conserving the environment, improving health care and increasing food supply.

It is about preventing child mortality, and increasing the capacity of every child that we raise.

It is about giving the remotest and poorest communities a voice that has been suppressed for too long.

Together, we can create a bright and sustainable future for all. A future in which we can all share information and knowledge. A future in which everyone has a voice.

Thank you.