World Telecommunication Day or World Telecommunication and information society day are marked on May 17 every year. This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of this day which has been celebrated annually since 1969. It also marks the anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The history of the day dates back to November 2005, the world’s government took a meeting on Information Society called upon the UN General Assembly to declare May 17 as World Information Society Day.
This day highlights the role of Information and Communication Technology in today’s world. This day was declared to focus on the importance of ICT and the wide range of issues related to the Information Society. World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is celebrated by organizations like UNESCO, with a different theme every year.
Theme
This year the theme focuses on the power of Big Data for development and aims to explore how to turn imperfect, complex, and often unstructured data into actionable information in the context of development. The celebration of this day increases awareness of the positive communication technology among people. It has the purpose to make the information and communication accessible easily to more people in remote and rural areas.
Significance
The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.
