ITU,UNESCO,UNCTAD and UNDP will co- organize the WSIS Forum 2011 from 16-20 May. Each year the WSIS Forum is hosted by ITU in Geneva, Switzerland. |
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Background The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a UN process that was initiated in two unique phases in order to create an evolving multistakeholder platform aimed at promoting Information Society at the national, regional and international levels. The goal of WSIS is to achieve a common vision, desire and commitment to build a people-centric, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information. The UN General Assembly endorsed the holding of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in two phases. The first phase took place in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003 and the second phase took place in Tunis, from 16 to 18 November 2005. In 2003, the number of participants was 11,000 representing 175 countries and in 2005 the number of participants was more than 19,000 representing 174 countries. Since then, a cluster of WSIS-related events was held on an annual basis . In 2009, the cluster of WSIS-related events was rebranded as WSIS Forum. |
WSIS Forum 2011 The objective of WSIS Forum 2011 is to celebrate leadership and innovation in the ICT sector. WSIS Forum 2011 will gather governments, private sector, international organizations, civil society, academia and other individuals from all over the world in one venue to network, develop partnerships and scan new business models available in the market. |
Format Held over five days, the event will attract an audience of approximately 100 senior decision-makers from ICT industry who generate impact at the global level. The Forum is a multi-stakeholder platform and an estimate of 800 participants from 140 countries is anticipated. The forum expects more than 10 ministers, 5 deputy ministers and other senior government representatives as well as members of the parliaments. The forum agenda will feature an opening ceremony, high level dialogues, roundtables, exhibition, thematic workshops, country workshops, WSIS Action Line facilitation meetings, interactive sessions and knowledge exchanges. The event will be covered by leading screen and print media from all over the world. New and innovative ways of participation including Remote Participation facilities will be provided under the leadership of ITU i.e. audio-video webcast, Adobe Connect and Live Blogging giving the opportunity to stakeholders participate remotely all over the world. Social media will be an integral part of WSIS Forum 2011. Two innovative campaigns will be an integral part of WSIS Forum 2011. ?span class=SpellE>i write for WSIS FORUM?aims to empower stakeholders to write and report on all WSIS related events and activities, sharing their work and ideas with thousands of WSIS stakeholders online worldwide. ?span class=SpellE>i meet you at WSIS FORUM?is a social matchmaking tool that will provide every onsite participant with the opportunity to network with professionals in their domain from different sectors and countries present at the WSIS Forum 2011. The forum will focus on policy and implementation leading towards real action, assessment and progress, particularly on ICT4D projects. WSIS Forum 2011 will be held in line with the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), WTISD was held in Shanghai Hall of the Expo Center last year. |
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