World Summit on the Information Society

The United Nations General Assembly in 2001 endorsed the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) proposal to hold a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) at the highest possible level and under the high patronage of the United Nations Secretary-General. The main objective of the WSIS is to develop a common vision and understanding of the information society. Additional goals of the WSIS are the adoption of a declaration of principles and a plan of action for implementation by governments, international institutions and all sectors of civil society.

WFEO Carthage Declaration on the Digital Divide Déclaration de Carthage sur la fracture numérique       Presentations' Schedule

The WSIS will offer a unique opportunity for the world community to discuss and give shape to the information society by bringing together key players: governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society organizations, and NGOs. It will address the central issues raised by the information society and related to technology policy formulation, socioeconomic development, and cultural, ethical and technological concerns including:

• Building the ICT infrastructure
  
  
• Universal and equitable access to the information society
  
  
• Services and applications
  
  
• User needs
  
  
• Developing a framework for building the information society
  
  
• ICTs in education

The International Telecommunication Union has assumed the leading managerial role in the preparatory process, while regional United Nations organizations and host countries have taken the initiative to organize regional preparatory conferences with the aim of producing regional perspectives for the knowledge-based society. The regional organizations, civil society institutions and NGOs are expected to contribute to and actively participate in the preparatory process and in the Summit.

WFEO and WSIS

The global economic environment is changing rapidly with the dissemination of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in all walks of life. These new technologies are driving the world towards the digital economy and a global information society. This is being accomplished through a variety of applications facilitating new approaches to the needs of developing countries and enabling positive change in production and service sectors. All countries are facing enormous challenges. In particular the developing countries face a significant knowledge gap which will continue to grow unless effective action is taken to bridge the digital divide. The world Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) will play an important role in the process.

The Committee on Information and Communication (CIC) was invited to participate in PrepCom1 in Geneva. The CIC-WFEO was represented in the meeting organized at the UNESCO-Paris. This meeting brought together many the representatives of many NGOs. The WFEO has participated in PrepCom II in Geneva. The CIC has also been appointed as a member of the national committee dealing with the second phase Summit ( Tunis 2005).

The CIC intends to be active in this process. It will be working with other WFEO members towards organizing the contribution of the engineers to this Summit, as well as to its preparatory process.