The World Summit on the Information Society, First Phase: Geneva, 10-12 December 2003

The first session of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) will be held from 10 to 12 December 2003, in Geneva, Switzerland under the high patronage of the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan, with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and in cooperation with interested United Nations (UN) bodies, other international organizations and the host government.

Considered as a community platform on the information society, the forum regroups various participants including Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector and the civil society. The second session will take place from 16 to 18 November 2005 in Tunis, Tunisia.

A series of regional preparatory conferences for Geneva's phase of the Summit were organised in each of the regions of the world (see the article published on the April 2003 update) addressing specific concerns, needs and priorities of the various regions on how technology can contribute to achieve development goals such as those outlined in the Rome Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals, the Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Declaration.

The main objective of the Summit is the development of specific solutions and tools for a realistic and viable plan of action to assess a fundamental change from an industrial to an information-based society.

Therefore, the first phase of the Meeting to be held in Geneva will be an opportunity for adopting a Declaration of principles and a Plan of Action for implementation by all stakeholders and promoting the use of ICT-based products, networks, services and applications, and to help countries overcome the digital divide. During the second phase in Tunisia, development themes will be a key focus while assessing progress made and adopting any further Action Plan.

To read more information related to the event, please click here.

To download the leaflet on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), please click here.