The second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, which took place in Tunis (Tunisia) between 16 and 18 November 2005, mainly analysed the commitments of the first session held in Geneva (Switzerland), in 2003, regarding the financing mechanisms to bridge the digital gap, and Internet governance.
Strongly market by this last topic, Internet governance, and beyond the difference in points of view regarding this issue, the Parts present at the WSIS reached a deal named Tunis Declaration.
In particular, this Declaration established the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which should be a multilateral, democratic and transparent body that fosters the debate on Internet Governance, though not replacing the entities currently responsible for the governance of Internet resources.
The Declaration also establishes the Digital Solidarity Fund, of a voluntary nature, which intends to turn the digital gap into digital opportunities, especially with the application of actual local level measures in developing countries, complementing the information society’s financing mechanism already in place.
Technical initiatives involving private partners, particularly the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Microsoft, are examples of measures put in place and carried through to suppress the digital gap. That is the case with the laptops that will be initially distributed at a symbolic price, in Brazil, Thailand, Egypt and Nigeria. The promotion of the learning centres network is planned for Tunisia firstly to be then broadened to other African and Middle Eastern countries.
Considering all the commitments of the Declaration of Tunis, a set of mechanisms was established for the implementation and monitoring of the measures foreseen in the scope of the WSIS, at national, regional and international levels. In 2015, the United Nations’ General Assembly will analyse the results of its implementation.
Lastly, the United Nations’ General Assembly was also asked to celebrate the Information Society World Day, on 17 May, as a way of underlining the importance and the role of ICT in the development of societies and economies and in fighting the digital gap.
Further information:
- Declaração de Tunes http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/internationalrel/docs/wsis/tunis_agenda.pdf
- Lista de intervenções http://www.itu.int/wsis/tunis/scripts/archive.asp?lang=en&c_num=293|294|296|297|298|299|300|301|302|303|304
- Comissão Europeia - CMSI (em inglês) http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/internationalrel/global_issues/wsis/index_en.htm
- Discurso da Comissária Europeia para a Sociedade de Informação (em francês) http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/05/704&format=HTML&aged=0&language=FR&guiLanguage=en
- Nota de imprensa da Comissão Europeia (em inglês) http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/1433&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
- Cronologia da posição da Comissão Europeia sobre a governação da Internet (em inglês) http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/internationalrel/docs/wsis/chronology_ig.pdf
- Iniciativa do computador portátil (em inglês) http://laptop.media.mit.edu/
- Iniciativas da Microsoft anunciadas na CMSI (em inglês) http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/presscentresite/wsis/pressmaterials.mspx
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- World Summit on the Information Society - 2nd phase https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=309665
