World Summit on the Information Society PrepCom 2

Project at a glance

Dates and Place

17 - 28 February 2003, Geneva, Switzerland
ITU and International Conference Center of Geneva (ICCG)

Organizers

International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Project details

On 21 December 2001, the UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183 endorsed the framework for the Summit adopted by the ITU Council. The Resolution also endorses the leading role of the Union in the Summit and its preparation, in cooperation with other interested organizations and partners. The UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183 further recommended that preparations for the Summit take place through an open-ended intergovernmental Preparatory Committee that would define the agenda of the Summit, decide on the modalities of the participation of other stakeholders in the Summit, and finalize both the draft declaration and the draft plan of action. It invited the ITU to assume the leading managerial role in the Executive Secretariat of the Summit and invited Governments to participate actively in the preparatory process of the Summit and to be represented in the Summit at the highest possible level.

Resolution 73 of the International Telecommunication Union (Minneapolis, 1998) resolved to instruct the ITU Secretary-General to place the question of the holding of a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on the agenda of the United Nations Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC now the United Nations System Chief Executive Board - CEB) and to report to the ITU governing body, the Council, on the results of that consultation. In 2001, the ITU Council decided to hold a Summit in two phases with the first phase to be held from 10 to 12 December 2003, in Geneva, Switzerland and the second in 2005 in Tunis, Tunisia.

Themes

The Summit will deal with a large number of questions linked to the information society and aims to reach a common understanding of the transformation of society in the information era. The Summit will adopt a declaration of principles and an action plan, which should facilitate the development of the information society and continue to reduce the digital divide. The Summit will bring together high-level representative of the public and private sectors, of civil society and non-governmental organizations. It offers the international community an exceptional opportunity to talk about the information society, its characteristics and challenges.

Challenges

The global information society is evolving at breakneck speed. The accelerating convergence between telecommunications, broadcasting multimedia and information and communication technologies (ICTs) is driving new products and services, as well as ways of conducting business and commerce. At the same time, commercial, social and professional opportunities are exploding as new markets open to competition and foreign investment and participation. The modern world is undergoing a fundamental transformation as the industrial society that marked the 20th century is rapidly giving way to the information society of the 21st century. This dynamic process promises a fundamental change in all aspects of our lives, including knowledge dissemination, social interaction, economic and business practices, political engagement, media, education, health, leisure and entertainment. We are indeed in the midst of a revolution, perhaps the greatest that humanity has ever experienced. To benefit the world community, the successful and continued growth of this new dynamic requires global discussion and harmonization in appropriate areas.

Volunteering Opportunities

For the Civil Society meetings of PrepCom II, IC Volunteers' is recruiting volunteers for the welcome desk, the reporting and interpretation teams.



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