Internet Governance Glossary

WSIS, initiated by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 56/183 and carried out by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), took place in two phases:

• First phase in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003;
• Second phase in Tunis, from 16 to 18 November 2005.

WSIS provides a platform in which multiple stakeholders including international organizations, governments, the private sector and civil society could discuss the opportunities of the new information and communication environment, and also address challenges such as the inequality in access to information and communication that is called the ‘digital divide’. WSIS output consists in a set of outcome documents and also resulted in the creation of Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS). One major follow-up activity of WSIS is the annual WSIS Forum.