World Info Society Day To Be Marked On May 17

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2022 ) :World Information Society Day will be marked on May 17 across the globe including Pakistan to remind the world of the vision of the World Summit on the Information Society to build "a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented information society" based on fundamental human rights.

World Information Society Day aims to alert people about how information and communication can help improve societies worldwide.

World Information Society Day promotes people's awareness of the power of information and communication to build societies in which they can create, access, use and share information and knowledge to achieve their full potential. Organizations such as UNESCO actively take part in the day by inviting people to engage in various activities to promote campaigns centered on this event.

The annual observance of World Telecommunication Day, which marks the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on May 17, 1865, drew attention to the work of ITU and the challenges of global communication.

In March 2006, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed May 17 as World Information Society Day to recognize the efforts made to advance communication and ITU's role in helping people connect around the world. The UN's first World Information Society Day took place on Wednesday, 17 May 2006.

Prior to World Information Society Day, World Telecommunication Day, which was first held in 1969, was celebrated on May 17 by people and organizations such as ITU. Many now refer to this day as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, taking into account the UN's observance of World Information Society Day.

The purpose of this observance is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the internet and other information and communication technologies could bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.