10 May 2006
Lagos — The first World Information Society Day will be commemorated on 17 May 2006 to mark the inception of the International Telecommunication Union in 1865, over 140 years ago.
On the occasion, the first ITU World Information Society Award will be presented to two distinguished and eminent personalities whose outstanding personal contributions have furthered the cause of building a more inclusive and equitable Information Society and helped close the digital divide.
The inaugural ITU Award will be given to President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Professor Muhammad Yunus, the Managing Director of Grameen Bank, Bangladesh.
The award ceremony is expected to begin at 11h00 on 17 May 2006 at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG).
A cluster of related activities will take place over a 10-day period, from May 9 - May 19. Geneva will be the venue for several significant steps being taken towards implementation and follow-up action on the recently-concluded World Summit on the Information Society.
According to the Tunis Agenda, ITU along with UNESCO and UNDP will take the lead to facilitate implementation of the WSIS Plan of Action. As part of the observance of World Information Society Day, moderators and facilitators of action lines, such as UNCTAD, ILO, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs will meet to take the process forward. A second round of informal consultations will also be held on the setting up of the Internet Governance Forum as a follow up to the recommendations of the Summit.
President Wade, recipient of the ITU World Information Society Award, has earned worldwide acclaim for his vision and dedication in promoting the digital solidarity agenda that led to the creation of the Digital Solidarity Fund. Welcomed by the World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva 2003 - Tunis 2005) as an innovative financial mechanism of a voluntary nature, it aims at transforming the digital divide into digital opportunities for the developing world.
The Geneva-based Digital Solidarity Fund also aims to close other divides, such as gender, that deny the benefits of development to the less privileged and vulnerable. By harnessing local resources and looking at the difficulties afflicting poor and remote communities, the Fund's work is complementary to that of major financial institutions and multilateral development agencies, and is especially critical in reaching the last mile in ICT access.
The other award recipient, Professor Muhammad Yunus, is Managing Director of Grameen Bank who pioneered microcredit for the rural poor and who has successfully addressed the issues of poverty eradication and development. By providing wireless payphone service in the rural areas of Bangladesh he has empowered a new class of women entrepreneurs. Professor Yunus has single-handedly transformed the information and communication landscape in Bangladesh. His exemplary model, now being emulated in other regions and countries of the world, shows that even remote and poor communities can take on the challenge to bridge the digital divide.
In recognition of ITU as the UN agency specializing in helping the world communicate in the age of cyberspace, the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis, November 2005, called upon the United Nations to declare 17 May, which now marks World Telecommunication Day, as World Information Society Day. Endorsed by the UN General Assembly, this observance takes into account the realities of the new millennium where information and communication, aided by the digital revolution, can and must be made available to all to build a people-centred and knowledge-based Information Society that will help accelerate the pace of development. The intention of commemorating World Information Society Day is to focus global attention annually on reaching the enormous benefits of the digital revolution in information and communication technologies to all humanity.
In Abuja, the Ministry of Communications and its events and communications consultant, Pulse Marketing, are also putting up a great show to mark the day.
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