The world summit on the information society in tunis editorial introduction sajda qureshi editorinchief a fundamental change that is unfolding before us is that action is taking place within the context of a society that is global and increasingly relies on information accessed through technologies. Information society, held in tunis on 1618 november. On the occasion of the first phase of the world summit on the information society wsis, several independent tunisian human rights ngos requested the international centre for human rights and democratic development ichrdd rights and democracy, the international federation for human rights fidh and the world organisation against torture omct, with the support of the human. We recognize the increasing volume and value of all e. World summit on information society ii, tunis in september 2005, just a few months before the second phase of wsis, the. It resulted in agreement on the tunis commitment and the tunis agenda for. We, the representatives of the peoples of the world, have gathered in tunis from. The international communitys attempt to shape a new agenda for the information society by taking forward the declaration of principles and the tunis agenda adopted over a decade ago has produced a mixed bag that disappoints more than it pleases. The two parts of the world summit on the information society wsis, in geneva, 1012 december 2003, and in tunis, in 2005, are major events on the global agenda and hence, unesco attaches high. We shall strive unremittingly, therefore, to promote universal. World summit on information society wsis the centre. We, representatives of african and european civil society organisations meeting at the third africaeu civil society forum in tunis on 11 july 2017, wish to stress the importance of fostering a space for. Tuula haavisto wsis coordinator of ifla and peter j.
Africaeu civil society forum declaration tunis, 12 july 2017 1. The tunis agenda for the information society belongs in the realm of the few, but very important documents, that promote human reason, human rights and international law. Extracted from world summit on the information society. Information for preparation of 10year overview of progress in the implementation of world summit on the information society wsis outcomes geneva, 2003 tunis, 2005 under the united nations commission on science and technology for development cstd 1. The summit provided a forum in which multiple stakeholders including international organizations, governments, the private sector and civil society could discuss the opportunities of the new information and communication environment, and also address challenges such as the inequality in. Wsis executive secretariat report of the tunis phase of the. The world summit on the information society held in geneva from 10 to 12 december 2003 brought together over 11,000 delegates representing 176 countries. The commitment also raised awareness of the benefits that icts can bring to humanity, and their potential role in transforming human activities and interaction. The tunis agenda for the information society was a consensus statement of the world summit on the information society, adopted on november 18, 2005 in tunis, tunisia. Tunisia and the world summit on information society. The aims of the wsis declaration of principles and action plan, issued at the. We, the representatives of the peoples of the world, have gathered in tunis from 1618 november 2005 for this second phase of the world summit on the information society wsis to reiterate our unequivocal support for the geneva declaration of principles and plan of action adopted at the first phase of the world summit on the information society in geneva in december 2003.
The world summit on the information society wsis was a twophase united nationssponsored summit on information, communication and, in broad terms, the information society that took place in 2003 in geneva and in 2005 in tunis. From the information society to knowledge societies. Summary report of the action line facilitation meeting on. World summit on the information society wsis unesco. The international management of the internet should be. The free flow of information and data is a core part of the internet and it is the underlying. The tunis agenda for the information society tais4 goes even further by identifying.
In the tunis agenda for the information society, the key. The tunis summit resulted in the agreement on the tunis commitment, tunis agenda for the information society and the birth of the internet governance forum. Geiger reminded that the main purpose of the consultation meetings was to. From the information society to knowledge societies unesco and the world summit on the information society unesco attaches very high importance to the world summit on the information society wsis recognizing that the two meetings of the summit, in geneva, 1012 december 2003 and in tunis in 2005, are major events on the global agenda. One of the main outcomes of the tunis phase was the tunis agenda for the information society, which contains a section on financial mechanisms for meeting the challenges of ict for development. One of its chief aims was to bridge the global digital divide separating rich countries from poor countries by spreading access to the internet in the developing world. We recognise that it is now time to move from principles to action, considering the work already being done in implementing the geneva plan of action and identifying those areas where progress has been made, is being made, or has not taken place 2. Tunis agenda for the information society, article 69. Increasingly the use of information and communication technologies icts is underpinning every socioeconomic activity and developing knowledgebased economy and information society. Zine alabidine ben ali in 2011, the tunisian political system featured a powerful presidential regime backed by a single political party.
The tunis agenda adopted a working definition for internet governance. The tunis commitment was a consensus statement of the world summit on the information society, adopted on november 18, 2005 in tunis, tunisia see also. The tunis agenda for the information society stresses the need to regulate implementation at the. Notice of inquiry on international internet policy priorities. With even greater attendance than the geneva phase, more than 19,000 participants attended the tunis summit and related events. Subcategories this category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total.
Its main drivers are information and communication technologies, which have resulted in rapid information growth in variety and is somehow changing all aspects of social organization, including education, economy, health, government, warfare, and. We recognize that it is now time to move from principles to action, considering the work already being done in implementing the geneva plan of action and identifying those areas where progress has been made, is being made, or has not taken place 2. While the group failed to come up with a formal definition, it did produce a working definition that was included in the final report of the wsis, the tunis agenda for the information society. Tunis agenda for the information society wsis digital. A world summit on the information society wsis was first proposed by the. The tunis commitment also encourages and fosters collaborative development, interoperative platforms and free and opensource software.
We reaffirm the principles enunciated in the geneva phase of the wsis, in december 2003, that the internet has evolved into a global facility available to the public and its governance should constitute a core issue of the information society agenda. Item 8 proprietary and free and open source software summary. We reaffirm the commitments made in geneva and build on them in tunis by focusing on. In particular, the tunis agenda addresses the issues of. From 2005 onwards, efforts to implement the wsis outcomes centering on the tunis agenda for realization of the information society have been made all over the. The tunis agenda is one of the two final documents adopted at the conclusion of the second phase of wsis. Impact of free trade agreements on internet policy september 2015 5 union, japan and the united states, and two other developing nations south korea and. To what extent, in your experience, has the peoplecentred, inclusive and. This category contains articles related to the international telecommunication union, an agency of the united nations. The tunis agenda and tunis commitment were the consensus statements at the tunis phase of wsis whereas the internet governance forum was created as a multistakeholder platform for policy. We reaffirm the commitments made in geneva and build on them in tunis by focusing on financial. The wsis was a twophase summit which was initiated in 2003 at geneva and had its second phase in 2005 at tunis. Africaeu civil society forum declaration tunis, 12 july 2017.
The second phase took place from november 16 through 18, 2005, in tunis, tunisia. Tunis agenda for the information society wikipedia. The world summit on the information society wsis citeseerx. For nearly the entire period between tunisias achievement of independence in 1956 and the jasmine revolution, a popular uprising that unseated pres.
The world summit on the information society wsis, tunis phase, at its eighth plenary meeting, 18 november 2005, adopted the following document wsis05tunisdoc 7. At the geneva phase of wsis, states described a free press as an essential. The world summit on the information society, tunis agenda for the information society november 18, 2005, stated. This short history of internet governance will prove essential in contextualising irans role. The world summit on the information society ict4peace foundation. Pdf why is the information society important to us. The tunis agenda for the information society also adopted in tunis, in 2005, reiterates. Internet governance an internet society public policy briefing. The constitution of 1959 granted the president sweeping. World summit on the information society at its first phase, held in geneva from 10 to 12 december 2003,1 and endorsed by the general assembly,2 and the tunis commitment and the tunis agenda for the information society adopted by the summit at its second phase, held in tunis from 16 to 18 november 2005,3 and endorsed by the assembly,4. On internet governance, the tunis agenda foresees the creation of a new internet governance forum, which will carry the work forward. The threeday summit was the first multistakeholder global effort to develop a shared vision of an information society that. World summit on the information society geneva 2003.
Itu council contribution to the 2016 united nations high. Notice of inquiry on international internet policy priorities docket no. An information society is a society where the usage, creation, distribution, manipulation and integration of information is a significant activity. Phase, namely that the tunis commitment endorses a multistakeholders approach to the implementation of the tunis agenda for information society, approving the 11 action lines of the geneva plan of action and designating a focal point within the unsystem for. Tunis agenda for the information society 2005 celia lerman. Unesco, with a mandate to promote the free ex change of.
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