World Information Society Day and cluster of events from 9 to 19 May
On 27 March 2006, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution A/RES/60/252 proclaiming 17 May as annual World Information Society Day. This Day will help raise awareness of the possibilities that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.

In conjunction with the World Information Society Day celebrated for the first time on 17 May 2006, a series of events related to the implementation of the WSIS Action lines will take place from 9 to 19 May. Moderators/facilitators of WSIS action lines, such as ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, UNCTAD, ILO and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, will hold multistakeholder meetings to take the WSIS implementation process forward. A second round of informal consultations will also be held on the convening of the Internet Governance Forum as a follow up to the recommendations of the Tunis Summit.

A common badge will be used for all Action Line Facilitation meetings. For more information on the registration and badging procedures as well as on the full program of events, visit the WSIS website.


One of the highlights of this 10-day program will be the presentation of the first ITU World Information Society Award on 17 May 2006 from 10:45 to 12:00 at the Geneva International Conference Center (CICG). This Ceremony is open to all WSIS stakeholders with an UNOG or an Action Line Facilitation badge. More information on the Day is available at the ITU website.