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Annan appoints special adviser for world information summit

Annan appoints special adviser for world information summit

Nitin Desai
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, as his Special Adviser for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which aims to bridge the digital divide between rich and poor.

The WSIS is the first summit to deal with the information society, including critical issues in the use and dissemination of information and communications technology in development programmes and policies. Taking place in two phases – first in Geneva starting 10 December, then in Tunis in November 2005, it is being held under Mr. Annan’s patronage and has been welcomed by the UN General Assembly.

“The existing digital divide threatens to exacerbate the gaps between rich and poor, within and among countries,” Mr. Annan said in a statement issued by a spokesman. He called on “leaders from the developed and developing world, private sector and civil society to use the unique opportunity provided by the Summit to forge an action plan that will put technology at the service of human development.”

Mr. Desai was the Secretary-General of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg last year.

“We are delighted Mr Desai has agreed to assist us in the successful completion of WSIS,” Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said. The General Assembly has invited the ITU to take the lead responsibility in organizing the WSIS, with full support from the UN family.

A WSIS intersessional meeting, underway in Paris this week, has gathered 700 delegates in preparation for the Summit. It is an important step toward a meaningful declaration of principles and action plan to bridge the digital divide and address key policy issues and objectives of the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut poverty and hunger around the globe in half by 2015 and improve access to education and health services.