The World Summit on the Information Society is a United Nations initiative jointly organized with the International Telecommunication Union. The WSIS main objective is to increase access to basic Information and Communication Technologies throughout the world. At the summit, world leaders declared the importance of bringing “information-poor” countries up to the standard of those with widespread access to communications technology, recognizing that such advances play a significant role in economic growth, social development and cohesion, and cultural identity. To measure progress in the improvement of communications capability, WSIS has created the Digital Opportunity Index. The World Information Society 2007 Report tracks the progress in digital opportunity for 181 economies since the start of the WSIS process, which was held in two phases: in Geneva in December, 2003, and in Tunis in November, 2005.
