Canada at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)

The WSIS

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What is the WSIS?

The World Summit on the Information Society is a major UN summit that has brought together representatives from the highest levels of government, private sector, and civil society. It will be held in two phases. The first took place in Geneva, Switzerland from Dec 10–12, 2003. The second phase will take place in Tunis, Tunisia from 16–18 November, 2005. In Dec 2001, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 56/183 which endorsed the World Summit to be convened under the patronage of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has the lead role in organizing the WSIS.

The goal is to establish a common vision for the Information Society and to seek ways to harness and direct Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to improve social, economic and cultural life.

Participation

The challenge of building an inclusive information society is complex and requires the participation of all segments of society; public, private and non profit sectors.

Governments, the private sector, civil society and international organizations participated in the Summit's preparatory process and were invited to participate in the first phase of the WSIS. Accreditation rules and procedures were adopted for phase 1 and are available on the WSIS Web-site.

Calendar of events

Geneva Phase 1: Outcomes

Geneva Phase 1: Events

The following is a partial listing of events that took place at the first phase of the WSIS.