50th anniversary of World Telecommunication & Information Society Day
Session reports
The UN General Assembly declared 17 May as World Information Society Day to focus on the importance of information and communications technology (ICT) and its related topics raised during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) has been established to raise awareness about the opportunities created by the Internet and ICT for society, the economy, as well as to bridge the digital divide.
On 17 May 1969, the first International Telegraph Convention was signed in Paris, and since then, the WTISD has been celebrated as the day marking the foundation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). As a specialised agency of the UN for ICT, the ITU celebrates the 50th anniversary of its fundamental pillar of setting standards, as a means to foster the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The 2019 theme will be on ‘Bridging the standardisation gap’ focusing on the opportunities for:
- participation of developing countries in the ITU’s standards-making process;
- empowering local experts in the standardisation process at the national, regional, and international levels; and
- promoting the implementation of international standards in developing countries.
For more information about the event, visit the dedicated webpage.
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