The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) with its headquarters based in Geneva-Switzerland, will this year celebrate the 39th anniversary of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD). This year, ITU has adopted the theme: “Connecting Persons with Disabilities: ICT Opportunities for All” whose climax will be on May 17th 2008.
The occasion which has been celebrated annually since 1969, marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union which came into being in 1865.
This year’s theme encourages the adoption of universal design and assertive technologies to ensure that the benefits are evenly distributed within societies as well as to bridge the digital divide by creating digital opportunities so as to harness the full potential for development offered by state-of-the-art ICT.
According to ITU’s Secretary General, Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré, During this year’s celebrations, ITU calls upon all stakeholders (policy makers and regulators as well as operators and industry) to raise awareness on the need to adopt policies and strategies that would meet the ICT needs of persons with disabilities by ensuring that both equipment and services are accessible. This would not only ensure an inclusive information society, but would also enable Member States to meet their obligations under Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2006.
“Our focus this year on meeting the ICT needs of persons with disabilities is aimed at empowering every citizen with information and knowledge, improving the lines of communication to the remotest and most vulnerable groups, and building an inclusive information society geared towards the advancement of a better, more peaceful and productive world. It is clearly our duty today to provide the opportunities of ICT to all, especially to those of us with disabilities” he said and continued.
“As we celebrate World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, we invite all stakeholders, manufacturers, service providers, international organizations, public and non-governmental organizations as well as policy makers to join us in our endeavors to connect everyone especially the 650 million or so people around the world who live with disabilities offered by ICT” Dr. Toure said in a message statement he issued early this week. The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.
In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called upon the UN General Assembly to declare 17 May as World Information Society Day to focus on the importance of ICT and the wide range of issues related to the Information Society raised by WSIS. The General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/252) in March 2006 stipulating that World Information Society Day shall be celebrated every year on 17 May.
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, firstly stimulating reflection and exchanges of ideas on the theme adopted by the Council, secondly debating the various aspects of the theme with all partners in society and thirdly 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 World Summit on the Information Society urged Member States to address the special requirements of persons with disabilities along with other marginalized and vulnerable groups in their national e-strategies. A further call was made to encourage design and production of ICT equipment and services adhering to the Universal Design Principle and the use of assertive technologies for research and development to facilitate accessibility to ICT for all, including persons with disabilities.
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