World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (17/05)

World Telecommunications and Information Society Day was established by a resolution of the UN General Assembly (№A/RES/60/252) in March 2006 and is celebrated annually on May 17.

This day is a — professional holiday for all programmers, system administrators, Internet providers, web designers, editors of online publications and all other people involved in the field of information technology.

Until 2006, this Day was celebrated as International Telecommunication Day or World Telecommunications Day. It has been celebrated since 1969 by decision of the session of the Administrative Council of the International Telecommunication Union.

The date was chosen due to the fact that on May 17, 1865, after two and a half months of difficult negotiations, the first international Telegraph Agreement was signed in Paris, and the International Telegraph Union was founded, since 1932 — International Telecommunication Union (ITU, English. International Telecommunications Union, ITU).

The purpose of the — holiday is to raise awareness of the opportunities that the use of the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and countries, as well as ways to bridge the «digital divide».

Information technology has noticeably changed the face of civilization. They caused a real explosion in the global economy, as a result of which the quantity and quality of products sharply increased. The importance of computer science, the field of human activity associated with the processes of transforming information using computers and other computer technology, is much broader. It provides humanity with previously incredible luxury: the main riches are information and knowledge, and unprecedented opportunities for self-education are opened up.

Over the past decade, the task of providing communications has become more complex and important. Just giving everyone access to the Internet is no longer enough. A new imperative is a meaningful — link to enjoy safe, responsive, enriching, productive and accessible online experiences. For the least developed countries (LDCs), this remains a major challenge. The digital divide between LDCs and the rest of the world is not narrowing. As the rest of the world becomes increasingly adept at using the Internet to create value, LDCs risk falling further behind.

... the main riches become information and knowledge, unprecedented opportunities for self-education open up... (Photo: nmedia, licensed from Shutterstock.com)

Over the years, the holiday was held under different themes, including: «Promoting the development of global cyber security», «Provide communication between people with disabilities», «Protecting children in cyberspace», «Improving the lives of rural communities thanks to ICT», «Women and girls in ICT», «ICT and improving road safety», «Electrical communications and ICT: drivers of innovation», «ICT entrepreneurship for social impact», «Ensure positive results from the use of artificial intelligence for all», «Bridging the standardization gap», «Global connectivity 2030: the role of ICT in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)», «Accelerating digital transformation in difficult times», «Digital technologies for older people and healthy aging» and others.



• Infographics — poster «World Telecommunications and Information Society Day» • Story: «How trusting grandmother Nina suffered from social networks»

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