Helping all of the world's people to communicate

Today's telecommunication world would not be what it is without the untiring efforts of the ITU to help countries harmonize their national policies, bridge technological differences, foster interconnectivity and interoperability of systems on a global scale. Anytime, anyone makes a phone call, checks their email, watches television or surfs the Web, they benefit from the work of the world's first universal organization: ITU. For over 135 years, ITU has been helping people to communicate. But its mission is also to bring the benefits of information and communication technologies to all of the world's inhabitants.

The need for ITU to focus on a global policy perspective does not mean we intend to turn our back on the specific needs of Member States or on the telecommunication industry. However, we must acknowledge that the broader goals of humanity, such as those expressed in the UN Millennium Declaration, will be much easier to achieve once developing countries benefit from the same ubiquity of advanced information and communication technologies as developed countries.

World Telecommunication Day 2003 is therefore an excellent opportunity to launch public campaigns and advocacy activities in favour of greater access to ICT and how the work of ITU helps all of the world's people to communicate.

ITU Members are invited to celebrate this year's World Telecommunication Day by organizing national programmes that would address:

• How the information and communication technology issues of your citizens can best be reflected in the declaration of principles and action plan that will be developed for the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society being organized by ITU and to be held in Geneva 10-12 December 2003.

• How you might express a commitment to ensure that the 1.5 million villages who are unconnected to the information society are brought into the information age.