Secretary-General, in Message to WSIS Forum, Calls for Innovations to Translate

Targets into Equitably Distributed Achievements

 

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the WSIS [World Summit on the Information Society] Forum 2011, to be held in Geneva on 16 May:

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this year’s WSIS Forum.

This multi-stakeholder event is testament to the WSIS vision of collaborative action to bridge the digital divide.  I am encouraged that more than 30 United Nations agencies are involved, joining forces and contributing their expertise.

The WSIS process aims to promote synergies between WSIS and other relevant programmes and initiatives in order to harness the great power of ICTs [information and communications technologies] in our efforts to reach the internationally agreed development goals.

By engaging Governments, the United Nations family, civil society and the private sector, we have been able to accelerate the achievement of targets to improve access to ICTs for people and communities worldwide.

ICTs have become essential enablers of socio-economic development.  Through e-learning, e-health, e-government, climate monitoring and more, today’s and tomorrow’s technologies will help bring the Millennium Development Goals within reach.

The power of fixed and mobile broadband will further improve our ability to extend basic services to communities — even those in the remotest places – in ways that were inconceivable when the [Goals] were first articulated more than a decade ago.

With the agreed international deadline of 2015 fast approaching, our priority must be to translate the partnerships and progress generated by the WSIS process into tangible achievements that are globally and equitably distributed.

I encourage you to reach out to new partners, and to come up with new innovations that can help us rise to this challenge.  I look forward to continuing to work with you to turn the WSIS targets into meaningful, transformational improvements in people’s lives.

Please accept my best wishes for a successful forum.

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For information media • not an official record