The World Summit on the Information Society, held in two phases, was the recognition that the digital revolution and the digital divide required a global discussion and was convened to “marshal the global  consensus and commitment required to promote the urgently needed access of all countries to information, knowledge and communication technologies for development so as to reap the full benefits of the information and communication technologies revolution, and to address the whole range of relevant issues related to the information society, through the development of a common vision and understanding of the information society and the adoption of a declaration and plan of action for implementation by Governments, international institutions and all sectors of civil society” (General Assembly resolution 56/183).

The first phase of the WSIS took place in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003, and the second phase took place in Tunis from 16 to 18 November 2005.

In Geneva, the foundations of the WSIS where laid by reaching agreement on a Declaration of Principles and a Plan of Action. In Tunis, the Tunis Commitment and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society were adopted, focusing on finding solutions and reaching agreements in the field of Internet governance, financing mechanisms, follow-up and implementation of the mentioned documents.