World Telecommunication Day / World Information Society Day

Held on : 17th May

World Telecommunication Day is observed annually on 17 May. It marks the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention on May 17, 1865. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973. The day also acknowledges the work of ITU and the challenges of global communication. World Telecommunication Day was first held in 1969 and was celebrated on May 17 by people and organizations such as ITU. In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called upon the UN General Assembly to declare 17th May as World Information Society Day to focus on the importance of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and the wide range of issues related to the Information Society raised by WSIS (World Summit on the Information Society).

In March 2006, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed May 17 as World Information Society Day to recognize the efforts made to advance communication and ITU’s role in helping people connect around the world. In November 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to celebrate both events on 17 May as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The updated Resolution 68 invites Member States and Sector Members to celebrate the day annually by organizing appropriate national programmes with a view to:

• stimulating reflection and exchanges of ideas on the theme adopted by the Council
• debating the various aspects of the theme with all partners in society
• formulating a report reflecting national discussions on the issues underlying the theme, to be fed back to ITU and the rest of its membership

The UN’s first World Information Society Day took place on Wednesday, 17 May 2006. This day is mostly referred to as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, taking into account the UN’s observance of World Information Society Day. The purpose of this observance is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the internet and other information and communication technologies could bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. This day reminds the world of the vision of the World Summit on the Information Society to build “a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society” based on fundamental human rights.

This day focuses on raising awareness of how information and communication can be beneficial for societies and economies through various activities. World Information Society Day promotes people’s awareness of the power of information and communication to build societies in which they can create, access, use and share information and knowledge to achieve their full potential. Organizations such as UNESCO actively take part in the day by inviting people to engage in various activities to promote campaigns centred on this event.

Alternate Name - World Information Society Day

Holiday Status - It is not a Holiday