INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
COUNCIL WORKING GROUP ON THE
WORLD SUMMIT ON THE
INFORMATION SOCIETY
7th meeting, Geneva
Document: WG-WSIS-7/7
Date: 30 November 2004
English only
— 13-14 December, 2004
ITU Secretary-General
THE WSIS PROCESS AND PROPOSALS ON HOW ITU MIGHT ADAPT ITSELF
FURTHER TO THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
1
Introduction
1.1
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) represents a milestone in ITU’s long and
distinguished history. Although ITU has been part of the United Nations system since the UN’s inception in
1947, this was the first time that ITU had taken on the leading managerial role in a UN Summit, at the level
of Heads of State and Government. WSIS has also engaged ITU in a broader agenda of partnership with
Member States, business entities, international organisations and civil society, notably in the promotion of
information and communication technologies (ICTs) and in the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). The WSIS has given ITU a valuable opportunity to further raise awareness of
its important contributions to the emerging Information Society. This opportunity must not be wasted.
1.2
At its 2004 session, by Resolution 1222, the Council called upon the Secretary-General and the
Directors of the Bureaux, as well as the Member States and Sector Members, to make contributions
addressing the implementation of the WSIS Plan of Action. It also calls up on the Secretary-General and
Directors to play a role in addressing the key issues that emerged during the first phase, including Internet
Governance and Financial Mechanisms. Finally, the WG-WSIS is invited, on the basis of these
contributions, to make proposals on how ITU might further adapt itself to the Information Society and the
changing telecommunications environment.
1.3
This contribution is structured to provide inputs for discussion among the membership on these key
themes.
2
Implementation of the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action
2.1
The implementation of the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action is one of the key
areas of focus for the Tunis Phase, and the post WSIS Phase. Specific ITU activities aimed at
implementation and follow-up include the following:

The launch, in October 2004, of a stocktaking exercise among all WSIS partners. The stocktaking
is initially taking the form of an online questionnaire, which will be used to create a searchable
database of WSIS-related activities. The WSIS-ES in running the stocktaking and is preparing
reports to the PrepCom process. ITU’s own contributions to the stocktaking are based on the
database of WSIS-related activities compiled under the auspices of WG-WSIS.1
1 The WSIS stocktaking, questionnaire and database, can be found at: www.itu.int/wsis/stocktaking. The ITU’s own stocktaking bas
been updated and reviewed at several meetings of WG-WSIS (see, for instance, at the 6th meeting, at:
http://www.itu.int/council/wsis/Geneva2_04/Stocktaking-6June.doc). Subsequent updates are posted directly in the main WSIS
stocktaking.
1

The organisation and hosting of WSIS Thematic Meetings2. A WSIS Thematic Meeting on
Countering Spam was held on 7-9 July 20043 and a WSIS Thematic Meeting on Cybersecurity is
planned for June 2005. In addition, ITU is assisting in the organisation of other WSIS Thematic
Meetings, notably on ICT Indicators (Geneva, February 2005) and on the Ubiquitous Network
Society (Japan, May 2005).

The creation of a Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, in which ITU is working with
other international organisations, including, inter alia, UNCTAD, OECD, UNESCO Institute of
Statistics, UN regional economic commissions and the World Bank. This partnership is pursuing
some of the statistical activities identified in Para 28 of the WSIS Plan of Action, including
developing a common set of core ICT Indicators, enhancing the capabilities of national statistical
offices and developing a global database of ICT Indicators. ITU hosted a donor’s meeting for the
Partnership on 18 October 2004.4

A project on Building Digital Bridges, being conducted by ITU and the Ministry of Information
and Communication (MIC) of the Republic of Korea, under an MoU signed on 22 June 2004. A first
symposium was held on 10-11 September in Busan, Korea, and it is planned to hold a WSIS
Thematic Meeting and to undertake work on building a digital opportunities index, as called for in
WSIS Plan of Action, Para 28a.5
2.2
In addition to these highlighted activities, the Secretary-General and Directors of the Bureau are
tasked (in Res. 1222) with implementing those parts of the WSIS Plan of Action that relate directly to the
mandate of the Union and its core competencies. 6
3
ITU Contribution to the Task Force on Financial Mechanisms
3.1
The creation and membership of the UN Task Force on Financial Mechanisms (TFFM) was
announced in October 20047, and the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau is
representing ITU in its work. ITU will contribute actively to the TFFM, which is due to report to the UN
Secretary-General in December 2004.
4
ITU contribution to the Working Group on Internet Governance
4.1
The creation and membership of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) is to be
announced in November 2004. The ITU is contributing to the Secretariat of the WGIG and through other
institutional mechanisms—in particular through the WG-WSIS, through the ITU-T Working Group on
Internet Governance established at WTSA-04 and as an observer to the WGIG—will contribute actively to
the WGIG. Separate contributions to the WG-WSIS on the topic of Internet Governance from the ITU
Secretary-General and from the Director of the TSB are also available (see Documents WG-WSIS-7/5 and
6).
2 For a full list of WSIS Thematic Meetings, regional Thematic Meetings and other WSIS-related meetings, see:
http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparatory2/thematic.html.
3 See
www.itu.int/spam. The report of the
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/spam/chairman-report.pdf.
chairman,
Dr
Robert
Horton
(Australia),
is
available
at:
4 For more information, see: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/partnership/index.html.
5 For more information, see www.itu.int/digitalbridges.
6 For more information on ITU actions to implement the WSIS Plan of Action, see the SG’s “non-paper” to the 6th meeting of the
WG-WSIS, available at: http://www.itu.int/council/wsis/Geneva2_04/SG-non-paper.doc.
7 For more information, see: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/pi1616.doc.htm.
2
5
Proposals on how ITU might further adapt itself to the Information
Society
5.1
In the current strategic plan of the Union, 2004-2007, one of the six main goals of the Union is
identified as assisting in bridging the digital divide in ICTs, including taking due account of the results of the
WSIS. As 2006 approaches, it is appropriate that the membership of the Union reflect on how its future
strategic direction may reflect the decisions made, and lessons learned, in the WSIS process.
5.2
The WSIS was the biggest conference in the ITU’s history, with participation at the highest level.
The Geneva phase attracted over 1’000 media representatives and generated considerable press coverage. It
is clear that many international and regional organisations, both within and outside the UN system, are
attempting to claim a special mandate in the area of ICTs. ITU’s leading managerial role in the WSIS has
positioned it in the centre of this debate. If ITU is ineffective, or fails to follow-up on implementation of the
WSIS Plan of Action, then other organisations will willingly do so.
5.3
The WSIS confirmed ITU’s traditional role. Specifically, para 64 in the Declaration of Principles
recognises that ITU’s core competencies in the fields of ICTs—assistance in bridging the digital divide,
international and regional cooperation, radio spectrum management, standards development and the
dissemination of information—are of critical importance for building the Information Society.
5.4
The ITU Constitution calls upon the Union to promote, at the international level, a broader
approach to the issues of telecommunications in the global information economy and society (Article 1g).
The reshaping of the telecommunications industry through technical convergence, which has necessitated a
shift from sector-specific policy and regulation, as well as the WSIS, represents an ongoing shift in the
perception of ITU’s role — from development of telecommunications to a wider role in promoting the use of
information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a whole. This also represents a shift in focus from
the supply-side of the telecommunications sector to the demand-side of the wider Information Society.
5.5
What are the practical ways in which ITU should reform itself as a result of the WSIS?
a. The next ITU Strategic Plan must reflect the goals, objectives and priorities expressed in the WSIS
Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action. In particular, the successor to the Development
Sector’s Istanbul Action Plan should be realigned with the WSIS commitments, which are to be
achieved by 2015 at the latest.
b. ITU’s Strategic Plan must also reflect the relevant parts of the wider Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), which represent the common aspirations of humanity. As emphasized in Target 18
of the MDGs, ICTs can play an important role in furthering the development agenda.
c. ITU must seek ways for a closer engagement of civil society and non-governmental organisations,
particularly in the development-oriented aspects of its work.
d. ITU’s experiences with WSIS demonstrate the value of closer cooperation with the rest of the UN
system. In particular, ITU must forge partnerships with other UN agencies and align with broader
UN-wide goals. ITU must consider establishing a permanent liaison position in New York to
improve collaboration.
e. The days when legislative and regulatory frameworks were based upon distinct services running over
distinct technologies and networks are disappearing fast. ITU needs to build a strategic and systemic
understanding of the future ubiquitous communications environment and what this implies for
the future of national and international communications policy and regulation. ITU needs to
strengthen its collaborative activities with its membership in the areas of sharing information and
experiences on emerging policy and regulatory issues. In this regard, it should be emphasized that
the policy and regulatory issues arising out of convergence (e.g., demise of sector-specific
regulation) represent challenges to both developed and developing economies.
f.
The role of the ITU regional presence needs to be reconsidered. At present, ITU’s regional and area
offices lack sufficient resources to play a leading role in the implementation of the WSIS Plan of
Action or the wider scope of the MDGs. ITU should either consider strengthening the regional
presence through a decentralisation of development activities, or centralisation of these activities to
headquarters, or even consider the possibility of merger with regional organizations such as APT.
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g. A key element in WSIS follow-up and evaluation will be the collection and dissemination of a core
set of ICT indicators. ITU is working as part of a broader partnership of UN agencies, but there is a
danger that ITU will lose its leading role in this area if it does not strengthen its data collection and
dissemination activities. Specifically, there are opportunities for ITU to take a lead in the
development of a digital opportunities index, a website of ICT success stories and in the research and
publication of a World ICT Development report. These activities are closely related to the WSIS
stocktaking exercise.
h. In the specific area of Internet Governance, ITU must be ready to cooperate with the other players
in this field, and to take on whatever additional tasks are entrusted by the international community,
in particular in the areas of domain names and addresses, IPv6, internationalised domain names,
cybersecurity and countering spam.
i.
ITU must do a better job of public explanation and promotion of its activities and role,
particularly in the area of IP-based networks, transition to Next Generation Networks and promoting
general access to ICTs. Despite efforts, there is widespread misunderstanding of ITU’s activities as
restricted to ‘telephony’ or that the ITU is principally an international telecoms regulator. One
method would be to hold more regular press briefings or web-based conferences. In that regard, a
new revision of the report “ITU and its Activities Related to Internet Protocol (IP)-based Networks”
is submitted to WG-WSIS.
5.6
The proposals are put forward to promote further discussion within WG-WSIS and the Council,
with the aim of further adapting ITU to the challenges of the Information Society.
4