World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) -Information and Knowledge For All: An Expanded Vision And Renewed Commitment
Ten years ago, the representatives of the peoples of the world, assembled in Geneva in 2003 and in Tunis in 2005 for the first and second phases of the World Summit on the Information Society adopted a common vision of the Information Society, identified its key principles and outlined the main challenges towards an Information Society for All based on shared Knowledge.
- L-R: Reshan Dewapura, Chief Executive Officer,ICTA Sri Lanka; Dorothy Gordon, DG Advanced Information Technology Institute Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, Ghana; Martha Omoekpen Alade, Chairperson, Women in Technology in Nigeria, WITIN; Prof. Peter A Bruck, Chairman, World Summit Award at the WSA night, UNESCO WSIS + 10, in Paris recently.
The decade since WSIS has seen very considerable progress towards the people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society. The multi-stakeholder approach and implementation at the international level proved to be a considerable asset in taking forward the WSIS themes and Action Lines. Still, major challenges lay ahead for counteracting the wide disparities in development and enabling entire groups and countries to benefit from universal access to information and knowledge.
Participants in the First WSIS+10 Review event, assembled in Paris, France, from 25 to 27 February 2013,Committed to the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other universally recognized legal instruments.