ITU

Ιnternational Telecommunications Union (ITU)

ITU is the leading United Nations Agency for information and communication technologies. ITU is the global focal point for governments and the private sector for telecommunications. Its activities concentrate in three core sectors, radiocommunication, standardization and development.

Greece is a Member since 1866 of the ITU following the first International Telegraph Convention signed in Paris in 1865 which evolved in a UN specialized agency on 15 October 1947. Greece participates in the ITU through governmental and specialized institutions namely the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the National Communications and Posts Commission, the Federation of Information, Technology and Communications Enterprises, the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA and the Greek Permanent Mission in Geneva. Greece is currently serving as Member of the ITU Council.

ITU was the lead organizing agency of the Word Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held in two phases. The first one took place in Geneva from 10-12 December 2003 and adopted the Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action. The second phase of WSIS was held in Tunis from 16 to 18 November 2005. During this second phase it has been adopted the Tunis commitment and Tunis agenda for the Information Society. In the Tunis agenda, the UN Secretary-General has been asked, in an open and inclusive process, to convene, by the second quarter of 2006, a meeting of the new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue—called the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

The IGF was held in Athens from  30 October - 2 November 2006.