Dear colleagues, partners, friends!
May 17 has been World Telecommunication Day since 1969. This day was established by the Plenipotentiary Conference held in Malaga Torremolinos in 1973 to commemorate the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865.
In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called on the UN General Assembly to designate 17 May as World Information Society Day to highlight the importance of ICT for development and to focus on a wide range of issues related to the information society. In March 2006, the General Assembly adopted resolution 60/252, which established that World Information Society Day should be celebrated annually on 17 May.
In November 2006, at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya (Turkey), it was decided to celebrate May 17 as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The updated resolution 60/252 invites Member States and sector members to commemorate this day every year through the organization of appropriate national programs.Digital technologies have the power to accelerate progress across every sector of society, yet that potential remains out of reach for many. Of the 2.6 billion people still unconnected, the majority are women and girls. Gaps in access and affordability of the internet and digital devices, as well as limited digital skills, continue to hinder the participation of women and girls in today’s economy and in shaping tomorrow’s digital solutions. Bridging this divide is essential to unlocking new pathways for economic growth, innovation, and sustainable development.
For this reason, World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2025 highlights the pressing need to advance digital gender equality, so that women and girls everywhere can also benefit from and contribute to digital transformation.
Source of picture: supr.ru