World Telecommunication and Information Society Day was observed on 17 May every year to celebrate the power of telecommunication and its importance in building relationships across cultures around the world.
The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day aims to raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information communications technology (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, and the ways to bridge the digital divide.
The theme for the year 2020 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
The theme focuses to achieve five SDGs and aim for environmental, economic, and social sustainability. These five plans include growth, inclusiveness, sustainability, innovation, and partnership.
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day was initiated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The Day has been celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969.
The day commemorates the establishment of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 17 May 1865. ITU was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference held in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973.
Until 2015, it was just regarded as World Telecommunication Day. But, later, the UN renamed it as “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day”