"Creating an equitable Information Society: Time for Action" is the theme for the commemoration of the World Telecommunication Day, to be held next 17th of May.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which has undertook the assignment of promoting communications as an essential way for the development of humanity itself, celebrates this year its 140th anniversary.
At the same time, the 20th anniversary of the release of the Maitland Report is also celebrated, as this document, within the ITU, drew attention to an issue which is still relevant today: the digital divide between those who do and do not have access to information and to the new information technologies (ICT).
Thus, the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held this November in Tunis, shall take place, in order to measure progress made in fulfilling the specific objectives set at the first phase of this Summit – which took place in Geneva, in 2003 - and stated in a Declaration of Principles and a Plan of Action, documents approved at the time. Interested parties are called to transform the political will expressed at the first stage into long-term commitments.
The celebrations of the World Telecommunication Day shall take place at the Fundação Portuguesa das Comunicações (FPC) – Portuguese Foundation for Communications, with an institutional meeting which shall be attended by the Minister for Public Works, Transport and Communications, followed by the inauguration of the telecommunications area of the new permanent exposition at FPC, under the theme “Overcoming distances – the course of communications in Portugal”, as well as of the thematic exposition “150 years of electric telegraphy in Portugal”.
Further information:
- Fundação Portuguesa das Comunicações https://www.fpc.pt/pt/
- WSIS - primeira fase - Declaração de Princípios e Plano de Acção http://www.itu.int/wsis/documents/doc_multi.asp?lang=en&id=1161|1160
- WSIS - segunda fase, Tunes, Novembro de 2005 http://www.itu.int/wsis/index-p2.html
- WSIS http://www.itu.int/wsis/
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- World Telecommunication Day - survey https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=191051
- Message from the ITU Secretary-General https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=272416
