World Telecommunication and Information Society Day are celebrated annually on 17 May. This year, the theme chosen by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for the celebrations is ''Protecting children in cyberspace'', with the objective of launching a broad discussion on the need to ensure that children can access the Internet and its valuable resources safely and without fear of falling prey to unscrupulous predators in cyberspace.
The ITU calls on the parties (policy makers, regulators, operators and industry) to promote the adoption of policies and strategies to protect children in cyberspace and promote their safe access to online resources. These initiatives will not only lead to the construction of a more inclusive information society, but also enable Member States to fulfil their obligations with respect to protecting and realizing the rights of children, as envisaged in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, approved by Resolution 44/25 of the UN General Assembly of 20 November 1989.
Nationally, the celebrations of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day will be held in the Portuguese Communications Foundation (FPC), on 18 May, with the attendance of Mário Lino, Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications, and the Chairman of ANACOM, as well as the President of the General Council of the FPC. The institutional session involves the opening of the exhibition FPC Future Labs: Visual Experiments of the Future, as well as the launch of the last volume of the publishing project on the History of the Communications, entitled ''As Comunicações na Idade Contemporânea - Cartas, Telégrafo e Telefones'' (Communications in the Contemporary Age - Letters, Telegraph and Telephones), and the last volume of the compilation of Documentary sources collected by Godofredo Ferreira - Documents of the XIII to XIX centuries on Post, entitled ''Volume III - Séculos XVIII e XIX''.
Further information:
- Message from Mr Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General http://www.itu.int/wtisd/2009/messages/ki-moon.html
- Message from Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General http://www.itu.int/wtisd/2009/messages/toure.html
- 17 May 2009, World Telecommunication and Information Society Day http://www.itu.int/wtisd/index.html
- Dia Mundial das Telecomunicações e da Sociedade de Informação 2009 - Fundação Portuguesa das Comunicações http://www.fpc.pt/FPCWeb/displayconteudo.do2?numero=21638
