What to see at WSIS

World Summit Awards (18:30 - 20:30, 16 November)

An extensive programme built around the 2005 World Summit Awards includes a gala evening, to be held in the Central Place of the Kram Palexpo, celebrating the World's best e-Content and announcing this year's 40 WSA winners. More info: www.wsis-award.org .

ICT Regulation Toolkit - Breaking New Ground (15:00 - 15:30, 16 November)

ITU and InfoDev will be highlighting their collaborative efforts to develop the new ICT Regulation Toolkit on the ITU Partnership Pavilion. Over the past few years, profound changes have transformed the ICT sector, affecting everything from markets and technologies to regulatory models and practices. This on-line toolkit resource provides invaluable information and resources for regulators, especially in the developing and Least Developed Countries. Conceived as a constantly evolving resource, the toolkit is designed to reflect regulatory realities as they unfold across the sector. 

Launch of the WSIS Stocktaking Report (12:30 - 13:00, 16 November)

The WSIS Stocktaking Report will be officially launched in the ITU Partnership Pavilion on Day Two of the Summit. Designed to show the progress being made in implementing work aimed at bridging the digital divide, the report is conceived as an online database covering more than 2'500 projects in the field of ICT. With a special focus on multi-stakeholder partnerships, it is the world's biggest inventory of activities related to expanding connectivity worldwide. WSIS stocktaking is a continuous process, and the database remains open for new submissions even after the summit in Tunis. It is intended to be a lasting legacy of the WSIS process.

The Internet of Things (10:00 - 11:15, 17 November)

Our daily lives have already been transformed by the Internet; now, the world is fast heading towards the brave new world of the "ubiquitous network society", where networks and networked devices are omnipresent. ITU will launch visionary report on this new communications paradigm, The Internet of Things, at a press conference featuring presentations by ITU's Head of Strategy and Policy, Dr Tim Kelly, MIT Media Lab's Professor Nicholas Negroponte, and a moderated TV-style debate featuring top technology gurus from Alcatel, KDDI, Microsoft, Nokia and Sun Microsystems.

Digital Opportunity Index Launch (09:00 - 09:30, 17 November)

ITU's Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) is a composite index measuring each economy's progress in bridging the digital divide, as mandated by the WSIS Plan of Action. It has been developed through a multi-stakeholder partnership involving ITU, MIC Korea, KADO and UNCTAD, and is based on the common set of core ICT Indicators developed by the Partnership for Measuring ICT for Development". This launch will explain the coverage of the Index, the findings and the future plans for its development.

CCBI Business Community Panel Session (10:00 - 13:00, 17 November)

A lively panel discussion in two parts, the event features business leaders from four continents, who will set out their vision for the future of information and communication technologies. Participants include representatives from industry giants such as Intel, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Vivendi Universal, as well a dynamic ICT players from the Arab States, China, India, Pakistan and South Korea.

ITU Global Symposium for Regulators: 2005 Outcome (13:15-13:45, 17 November)

New wireless broadband technologies promise faster rollout of services, helping narrow the broadband divide between developing and developed countries and between rural and urban areas. But while technologies can offer much, the pace of change will hinge on each country's regulatory framework. This media event brings together participants in the 6th annual Global Symposium for Regulators to announce an innovative pro-broadband regulatory framework designed to harness the potential of broadband as a mass-market service.

ICT Opportunity Index Launch (10:10-12:30, 17 November)

ITU's ICT Opportunity Index, developed in partnership with Orbicom as part of a larger collaborative project, is based on the Infostate conceptual framework that allows for linkages of ICTs to economic development through each country's productive capacity and use of ICTs. This truly global index provides for evaluation of 192 economies for networks (covering 98% of the world population), and 139 economies for overall Infostates (covering 94% of the global population). The index, which is published as part of the publication "From the Digital Divide to Digital Opportunities: Measuring Infostates for Development", will be launched at the ICT4All exhibition, Room 9.

Stockholm Challenge: WSIS Challenge Award (18:00 - 20:00, 17 November)

The establishment of the WSIS Challenge Award for 2005's best African development project will be announced by the organizers of the celebrated Stockholm Challenge at Centre Stage in the ICT4All exhibition. The programme will begin with a reception hosted by Tanzania, and will include a lively and colourful dance performance by members of Tanzania's Bagamoyo College of the Arts.

Report Launch: Building Digital Bridges (10:00 - 10:30, 18 November)

In support of the WSIS goal of bridging the digital divide, ITU, alongside the Ministry of Information and Communication of the Republic of Korea, the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion and UNCTAD, will launch its new Building Digital Bridges report at a press conference on the ITU Partnership Pavilion. The report presents best practices in bridging the digital divide, includes the methodology for the Digital Opportunity Index, country case studies of Australia, Hong Kong-China, India and Malaysia, and information about the use of emerging wireless technologies and multi-stakeholder partnerships to promote ICTs deployment and use.

ITU Partnership Pavilion

ITU has organized this exhibit on WSIS partners who are working to bring the benefits of information and communications technologies to all. The pavilion will be sited near the venue of the summit's plenary sessions, and will be open throughout the event.

ICT4All Exhibition

Also throughout the conference, there will be an exciting exhibition about efforts to bridge the digital divide that are being made by governments, civil society and industry. It will be a showcase of projects and solutions from across the world, as well as the latest technologies.