World Information Society Day was proclaimed to be on 17 May by
a United Nations General Assembly resolution, following the 2005
World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis. The day had
previously been known as World Telecommunication Day to
commemorate the founding of the International Telecommunication
Union in 17 May 1865. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary
Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973. The main objective of
the day is to raise global awareness of societal changes brought
about by the Internet and new technologies. It also aims to help
reduce the Digital divide.