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'''WSIS''' ('''World Summit on the Information Society''') was a two phase summit endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly under Resolution 56/183 to create a global multi-stakeholder platform to address the whole range of relevant issues related to the information society, through the development of a common vision and understanding of the information society and the adoption of a declaration and a plan of action for implementation by Governments, international istitutions, and all sectors of the civil society.  The first phase of the summit was held in Geneva in 2003, and the second in Tunis in 2005; more than 19,000 individuals from 174 countries participate in the Tunis event.<ref>[http://www.itu.int/wsis/basic/about.html www.itu.int]</ref>

'''WSIS''' ('''World Summit on the Information Society''') was a two phase Summit endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly under Resolution 56/183 to create a global multi-stakeholder platform to address the whole range of relevant issues related to the Information Society, through the development of a common vision and understanding of the Information Society and the adoption of a Declaration and a Plan of action for implementation by Governments, International institutions, and all sectors of the civil society.  The first phase of the Summit was held in Geneva in 2003, and the second in Tunis in 2005; more than 19,000 individuals from 174 countries participate in the Tunis event.<ref>[http://www.itu.int/wsis/basic/about.html www.itu.int]</ref>

==Background==

==Background==

The [[ITU|International Telecommunications Union]] (ITU) initiated the idea of conducting the World Summit on the Information Society in 1998 via Resolution 73. In 1999, the United Nations Secretary General expressed enormous support to the proposed summit and created the framework for the summit under Resolution 56/183. The resolution also defined the role of ITU in cooperation with other interested organizations and partners. By 2001, ITU led the preparations for holding the WSIS and decided to conduct it in two phases.The first phase of the summits was to be held in Geneva on December 10-12, 2003 and the second phase in Tunis on November 16-18, 2005.<ref>[http://www.itu.int/wsis/basic/background.html WSIS Background and Origins]</ref>

The [[ITU|International Telecommunications Union]] (ITU) initiated the idea of conducting the World Summit on the Information Society in 1998 via Resolution 73 of its Plenipotentiary conference. While the first draft of this resolution was talking of information technology (clearly an ITU theme), the final draft adopted by ITU went beyond mere technology and spoke about the Information Society as a whole. In 1999, the United Nations Secretary General expressed enormous support to the proposed Summit and the UN General Assembly created the framework for the Summit under Resolution 56/183. The resolution also defined the role of ITU as lead agency for the Summit in cooperation with all other interested organizations and partners. By 2001, ITU led the preparations for holding the WSIS and decided to conduct it in two phases.The first phase of the summits was to be held in Geneva on December 10-12, 2003 and the second phase in Tunis on November 16-18, 2005.<ref>[http://www.itu.int/wsis/basic/background.html WSIS Background and Origins]</ref>

==High-Level Summit Organizing Committee==

==High-Level Summit Organizing Committee==