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World Summit on the Information Society - Tunis

Information and communication technologies (ICT) constitute an essential issue in economic, social and cultural development in the world. They are used increasingly in all sectors of activity in developed countries. In order to make these technologies accessible to everyone, and to be able to use them wisely, and in accordance with the terms of resolution 56/183, the United Nations General Assembly decided to hold in December 2001, under the aegis of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a world summit on the information society, in two phases. The first phase already took place in Geneva from December 10 to 12, 2003. It brought together at the highest level heads of state, leaders of the telecommunications sector, non-governmental organizations and representatives of the media and civil society. This first meeting aimed to formulate a perfectly clear political will and take concrete measures to lay the foundations of an information society accessible to all. The second phase of the summit, which will be held in Tunis from November 16 to 18, 2005, will aim to follow and implement the declaration of principles and the action plan adopted in Geneva, or even the development and adoption of appropriate documents with a view to consolidating the process of implementing the information society. On the sidelines of the second phase of the summit, side events will be organized. Their aim will be to encourage a dynamic of partnership and to promote the business sector and the exchange of experiences in terms of building the information society. Tunisia is already hard at work offering the media the facilities required as part of the summit. A press center capable of accommodating more than a thousand journalists will be set up at the Kram Palace where the summit work will take place. The center will include, alongside work spaces for the audiovisual press, meeting, rest and catering areas. In this context, and seizing the opportunity of this event, Algérie Poste will not fail to issue a postage stamp commemorating this historic event in the field of ICT. The congress of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in Bucharest in 2004, in its formulation of the global strategy for 2008, devoted specific treatment to the role of the post in the information society. Also, the congress adopted two resolutions: C25 and C35/2005. The first relates to the involvement of UPU bodies in the preparation of the World Information Society Summit I and II, while the second concerns the issue of a postage stamp dedicated to the event. In the spirit of the UPU resolutions, the Permanent Arab Postal Commission, during its 12th session in Cairo (Egypt) held from April 18 to 20, 2005, included on its agenda the need to adopt a common approach, given the similarity of the problems that Arab countries face. However, the emergence of the information society in developing countries can only be effective through the manifestation of firm resolutions and strong signals emanating from States and international institutions.