WSIS Forum 2016, Geneva, Switzerland, May 2-6 (video)

2016-05-03

WSIS Forum 2016, Geneva, Switzerland, May 2-6 (video)

Video message of ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao for WSIS Forum 2016:

WSIS Forum 2016, ITU Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, 2-6 May 2016
Current Time CEST in Geneva:

*Agenda: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2016/Agenda/ - U.S. Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda will serve as Chairman Designate of the WSIS Forum 2016 High-Level Track. The Policy Sessions will be moderated by High-Level Track Facilitators (HLTF) nominated and identified by the following stakeholder types: Civil Society, Private Sector, Technical Community and Academia.

WSIS Forum 2016 highlighted sessions:

WSIS Forum 2016 Official Opening Ceremony: Tuesday, 09:00 – 12:00
Arabic Domain Names – the Saudi Arabian Experience: Thursday, 09:00 – 10:45
Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2016 Information Session: Thursday, 11:00 – 13:00
Internet Security Threat Report 2016: Thursday, 13:15 – 14:00
Global Connect Initiative: Thursday, 13:15 – 14:00

CCWG Accountability (ICANN): Thursday, 16:45 – 18:15
Engaging Under-Represented Communities in Regional and Global Internet Governance Debates: Friday, 09:00 – 10:45

Remote Participation: To view the archived videos visit this link: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2016/Media/RP/Webcast/Archived/.

Webcast: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2016/Media/RP/Webcast/Live/
Adobe Connect: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2016/Media/RP/AdobeConnect

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Background:
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a unique two-phase United Nations (UN) summit that was initiated in order to create an evolving multi- stakeholder platform aimed at addressing the issues raised by information and communication technologies (ICTs) through a structured and inclusive approach at the national, regional and international levels. The goal of WSIS is to achieve a common vision, desire and commitment to build a people-centric, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information. The UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183 (21 December 2001) endorsed the holding of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in two phases. The first phase took place in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003 and the second phase took place in Tunis, from 16 to 18 November 2005. In 2003, the number of participants was 11,000 representing 175 countries and in 2005 the number of participants was more than 19,000 representing 174 countries. Since then, a cluster of WSIS-related events was held on an annual basis. In 2009, the cluster of WSIS-related events was re-branded as WSIS Forum.

Internet Governance in Transition: The ITU as a Battleground for Rival Visions: "... little noticed at the time, decisions at PP-14 nevertheless subtly but materially broadened Internet-related work at the ITU in other, potentially significant ways. These changes were accomplished through several Resolutions adopted at Busan, reflecting a strategic shift on the part of some governments that significant changes can be made merely by the adoption of Resolutions (which drive the ITU's agenda for a four-year cycle and beyond), rather than the more controversial process of changing the ITU's jurisdiction by amending the Constitution and Convention. Notably, many of the new or amended PP-14 Resolutions refocused the ITU's work beyond telecommunications and into more problematic areas such as Internet content and applications, cybersecurity, and Internet policy, among others. The impact of these series of Internet-related Resolutions now is reflected in ITU-T study groups and in the preparatory process for WTSA-16 ..." (emphasis added)

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