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Anguilla observes World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
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| Published on Friday, May 15, 2009 | Email To Friend Print Version
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THE VALLEY, Anguilla -- Anguilla joins with the region and world community in the observance of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on Sunday.
World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969, marking the founding of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865.
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 Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
In November 2006, the ITU Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to celebrate both events on 17 May as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
The theme this year is "Protecting children in cyberspace." It aims at ensuring that children can safely access the Internet and its valuable resources without fear of falling prey to unscrupulous predators in cyberspace.
According to Dr Hamadoun I Touré , ITU Secretary-General, in his message marking the day, "Cyberspace is the nursery for young minds to grow and expand their horizons. It is the font of knowledge and information in the digital age and the incubator of fresh ideas and new innovations."
He warned however that cyberspace has its challenges. "As children and teenagers venture into the wide open world of cyberspace, surfing the Internet, imbibing its encyclopaedic breadth of content, accessing video libraries, entering chat rooms and building social networks, they are exposed to certain elements of society that we would shun in the real world. Three in four children are willing to share personal information about themselves and their family online in exchange for goods and services. One in five is targeted by a predator or paedophile each year," he noted.
He continued: "The Internet and the growing convergence in online applications and mobile devices are global resources that must be allowed to flourish for the common good. We must endeavour to make cyberspace a safe, healthy and productive environment for our children. We have to create a global network to protect our children online by enacting national legislation, strengthening capacity building, increasing public awareness and improving national cyber responsiveness."
There have been no formal activities planned for Anguilla. However, the Ministries of Telecommunications and Home jointly are recommending that persons visit the ITU website at http://www.itu.int where they can find further resources. | | | | Reads : 1116 | | | |
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