World Telecommunication day – May 17

Context:

• The day marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the establishment of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
• It is celebrated every year with a new theme to raise awareness about the importance of communication and focuses on to increase the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The day also focuses on how information travels across the world.

What is the purpose of celebrating the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD)?

• The main purpose of celebrating World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is to help in raising awareness in generating possibilities of using the internet, other information and communication technologies (ICT), bring them to societies and economies and create a way to bridge the digital divide.

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day: History

• The Day commemorates the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 17 May, 1865.
• On 17 May, 1969 first time World Telecommunication Day was celebrated annually, marking the founding of ITU and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973.
• In November 2005, The World Summit on the Information Society called upon the UN General Assembly to declare 17 May as World Information Society Day.
•  In March 2006, the General Assembly adopted a resolution that World Information Society Day shall be celebrated every year on 17 May. 
• In November 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey decided to celebrate together World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on 17 May.
• The theme was adopted by the Council annually and celebrates it by exchanging ideas and methods for making communication better.
• We can’t ignore the fact that modernisation through the use of telephones, radio and computers has brought people closer. For the development in any field, it is important that information should travel around the globe.
•  Therefore, The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is dedicated to the evolution of communication and how information travels across the world.

What is Telecommunication?

• Communication which is done over a distance by cable, telegraph or broadcasting is known as telecommunication.
• In other words, we can say that it is the transmission of signals, messages, words, writings, images and sounds or any kind of information. Without technology, the exchange of information between communication participants is not possible.
• World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2020: Theme
• The theme of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) 2020 is “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
•  The theme focuses on ICT advances necessary for a transition to smart and sustainable development. It also highlights the importance of specific ICT enabled solutions and the trend that are emerging for enhancing economic, environmental and social sustainability.
• The theme of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2019 was “Bridging the standardisation gap”.
•  The theme focuses on setting the standards which are a fundamental pillar of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) mission as the specialised agency of the United Nations for information and communication technologies (ICTs). The standards of ITU will help in accelerating ICTs for all Sustainable Development Goals.

The theme of 2019 provides opportunities for:

• Participation of the developing countries in ITU’s standards-making process.
  At the national, regional and international level, it will empower local experts in the standardisation process.
  In developing countries to promote the implementation of international standards.
• The theme of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2018 was “Enabling the positive use of Artificial Intelligence for All” to focus on the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to increase the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Artificial Intelligence technology progresses made possible enormous advances in the contributing fields like Big Data, machine learning, computing power, storage capacity and cloud computing etc.