Background

The International community has decided to organise a World Summit on the Information Society which will be held in two phases: in Geneva from the 8th to the 12th December 2003 and in Tunis from the 16th to the 18th November 2005.

The Information Society is at the heart of the political, social, cultural and economic questions confronting us in the beginning of the 21st century. The focus of the Information Society Summit is not technical but related to the advent of a globalised society in which the emancipation of the human being is in part related to the possibilities of communication and exchange of information. To be interconnected is not enough in order to resolve the fundamental problems of the world today.

• What values do we embrace to ensure that the Information Society becomes a vehicle for democracy, justice, equality, the respect for the rights of individuals and cultures? How can the information society help social development, the emancipation of the individual and collective prosperity?
• What is the role of communication in shaping the future of the society we want to build?
• How to value the differences between cultures together with building a united global society?
• How to give each culture the space and vision necessary in order to be involved in the collective dynamic of change?

These are a number of questions to which the international community should get answers. All individuals are relevant to the Summit. Each person will have the opportunity to express their views on the themes that should be discussed during this Summit.

You will find on this site the basic information needed to participate in this process.

The origins of the World Summit on the Information Society

The WSIS has double roots. On one hand the Resolution 73 of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (Minneapolis 1998) asked that "the question of holding a world summit on the information society on the agenda of the United Nations Administrative Committee on Coordination, with a view to meeting the necessary conditions for holding such a summit before the next plenipotentiary conference". On the other hand, the decision of the Bamako Conference 2000, (Declaration of Bamako 2000) organised by the Civil Society, expressly proposed the organisation of a World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva in 2003.

United Nations Resolutions

In autumn 2001, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Resolution (Resolution 56/183) on the World Summit on the Information Society. The ITU Headquarters in Geneva, was asked to assume the leadership of the preparation, especially the implementation of the Summit's Executive Secretariat.

In December 2002, the General Assembly confirmed its first Resolution through a second Resolution (Resolution 57/238) and invites all countries "to be represented at the highest political level at the Summit".

Objectives

According to the terms of the Resolution 56/183 the Summit aims to adopt these two framework documents.

1. A Declaration using ethical principles and codes of conduct that different actors intend to use in order to put in place the Information Society.
2. A Plan of Action that will formulate the operational priorities and the concrete measures to be taken, as much in the countries of the South as in the countries of the North, so that all can benefit in an equal manner by the new opportunities linked to the information society.

Place and date of participation:

Geneva: 8-12 December 2003
Tunis : 16-18 November 2005

Preparatory process

The preparatory process involves two mechanisms. On one hand the regional conferences, of which several have already taken place : Bamako (May 2002), Bucharest (November 2002), Tokyo (January 2003) and Bavaro/Santo Domingo (January 2003). On the other hand the Preparatory Committee meetings (PrepCom) that are taking place on a global level and which reunite, in Geneva, representatives from governments, the private sector and civil society. Two PrepCom sessions have already materialised in July 2002 and in February 2003. A third PrepCom session will happen from the 15th to the 16th September of this year.

A Summit "Governmental PLUS"

The information society cannot take place without the active contribution of civil society, local powers and the private sector. This suggests a new dialogue should take place between States and other concerned partners.

The modalities of this open process - which precedes the new governance in the Information Society - represent one of the main challenges of this first Summit of the 21st Century.

A process has been put in place to allow for the largest participation possible, from the local level to the global level, in order for all to feel involved in the decisions that will be taken in Geneva in December 2003. This new open process will only have concrete results if all actors mobilise strongly.

Implementation of an International Civil Society Bureau

To insure full participation in the preparatory process of the Summit and the Summit itself, civil society created, during the second meeting of the preparatory committee, an international civil society Bureau with the function of facilitating and engaging as much as possible the contribution of the civil society and the elaboration of a common and shared vision of the information society.
 

WSIS Civil Society Working Group
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