With the growth in importance of information technology alongside telecommunications – especially the Internet – it was recognised that the topic also needed to be brought to public attention. In 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) called upon the United Nations General Assembly to declare 17 May as
World Information Society Day (WISD). The aim was to focus on the importance of these technologies and the wide range of related social and economic issues that had been raised by the summit. The UN General Assembly resolved in March 2006 that
World Information Society Day (WISD) would indeed take place every year on 17 May. Later in 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to combine both celebrations as
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD).
The purpose of
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), like its predecessors, focuses on a particular theme for each event.
To learn more about a specific event, click on a link in the list below. Each event has its own page where you will find a variety of information including messages from ITU's Secretary-General, event posters, and additional resources such as articles.
