May 17 marks World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
Baku, May 17, AZERTAC
The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) 2025 highlights the pressing need to advance digital gender equality, so that women and girls everywhere can also benefit from and contribute to digital transformation, according to UN.
As the world marks 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action, the Day is a critical moment to accelerate collective action that ensures digital transformation delivers opportunity for everyone, everywhere.
ITU’s 160th Anniversary
WTISD also marks the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – the United Nations agency for digital technologies. In 2025, ITU commemorates its 160th anniversary, highlighting its long-standing role in advancing global connectivity and fostering international cooperation. To support your outreach, explore our advocacy kit featuring shareable content for both #ITU160 and #WTISD, along with information on the ITU160 Gender Champions initiative.
The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.
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 to focus on the importance of ICT and the wide range of issues related to the Information Society raised by WSIS. The General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/252) in March 2006 stipulating that World Information Society Day shall be celebrated every year on 17 May.
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
In November 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to celebrate both events on 17 May as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The updated Resolution 68 invites Member States and Sector Members to celebrate the day annually by organizing appropriate national programmes with a view to: stimulating reflection and exchanges of ideas on the theme adopted by the Council; debating the various aspects of the theme with all partners in society; formulating a report reflecting national discussions on the issues underlying the theme, to be fed back to ITU and the rest of its membership.
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