World Summit of Information Society

Abstract

WSIS origins and timelineUnlike many other UN summit processes, UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183 (21 December 2001) endorsed holding the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in two phases rather than the traditional one.The fi rst phase took place in Geneva from 10-12 December 2003 and the second phase took place in Tunis, from 16-18 November 2005.For a complete history of the U.N. resolutions, see the International Telecommunications Union Web site (Figure 1) listing (ITU Resolutions 2006). Geneva phase: 10-12 December 2003The objective of the fi rst phase of WSIS was to develop and to foster a clear statement of political will and to take concrete steps to establish the foundations for an Information Society for all, refl ecting all the different interests at stake.The ITU's vision for the summit centered on global network connectivity, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and, less formally, "boxes and wires."However, with the active participation of UNESCO beginning in 2001, the WSIS process broadened its agenda to include a wide range of technological and cultural issues and also took on the often contentious issue of human rights.The Geneva phase was expected to attract about 6,000 participants, but in the end, more than 11,000 participants attended including:• Government representatives from 175 UN member states• 50 Heads of States and Governments and Vice-Presidents• 3,300 representatives from civil society• 514 business representatives from 98 organizations• 87 international organizations• 1,000 media representatives

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