WSIS Forum 2022

Union Minister for Communications has attended the opening ceremony of World Summit of Information Society (WSIS) 2022, being organised by International Telecommunications Unions (ITU) at its headquarter in Geneva, Switzerland.

Details –

The participation comes with India contesting the re-election to the ITU Council, for the term 2023-2026. India has been a member of ITU, since 1869 and has been continuously participating, actively in the works, and activities of the Union.

About the WSIS forum –

• The World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2022 represents the world’s largest annual gathering of the ICT for development community.
• The WSIS Forum 2022 started from 15 March onwards in a virtual format with the final week being held physically with enhanced remote participation from 30 May to 3 June 2022 at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Theme for this year is ICTs for Well-Being, Inclusion and Resilience: WSIS Cooperation for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs.
• The WSIS Forum is co-organised by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD, in close collaboration with all WSIS Action Line Facilitators/Co-Facilitators.

About the ‘International Telecommunication Union’ –

• It is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs. It is the oldest among all the 15 specialised agencies of UN.
• Founded in 1865 to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks, it allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide.
• ITU is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group and has 12 regional and area offices in the world.
• ITU has remained an intergovernmental public-private partnership organisation since its inception. Its membership includes 193 Member States and around 800 public and private sector companies and academic institutions as well as international and regional telecommunication entities.
• Recently, India got elected as a member of ITU Council for another 4-year term – from 2019 to 2022. India has remained a regular member of ITU Council since 1952.
• India has been a member of ITU since 1869.