Tunis, November 17, 2005. While heads of state and more than 10,000 representatives of governments, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector were gathering for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis, Tunisia, TakingITGlobal in partnership with the United Nations Millennium Campaign organized an one-hour workshop to discuss with young people the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The workshop started with a presentation about the MDG program that TakingITGlobal is running in partnership with the Millennium Campaign and the Global Youth Action Network. TakingITGlobal’s featured theme on the MDGs was shown and the participants had the chance to play TakingITGlobal’s MDG card game, which is an excellent example of how ICTs can be used in an innovative way to raise awareness about the goals.
The participants also had the chance to share some of the work they are doing around the MDGs in their communities.

After that, the group of about 30 young people from various different countries broke up in two smaller groups to discuss the role of ICTs in achieving the MDGs. What the participants of both groups stressed was the important role that ICTs play in raising awareness about the MDGs. Also, the need to share experiences and best practices among young people was emphasized. With the use of ICTs, especially the Internet, such networking has become much easier.

Sofya Mezhorina shared with the participants her experiences in Russia: “Many of the young people who participated in the open forums on youth initiatives and MDGs in Russia admitted that had it not been the online communication with their peers from other regions and countries, they would have never known about such global initiatives as the Millennium Development Goals. I think that ICTs not only empower young people to seek and create knowledge, but also assist us to become more active citizens and contribute the development of our communities.

The workshop was part of a series of events organized by the WSIS Youth Caucus and took place in the youth hub within the ICT4All exhibition hall.