160 years since the founding of the International Telecommunication Union

Every year, on May 17, World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is celebrated, with the aim of raising awareness about the opportunities that the use of the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICT) offers to individuals and societies, and about ways to overcome the digital divide.

It all started on May 17, 1865, when twenty European countries signed the first International Telegraph Convention in Paris. On the same day, the International Telegraph Union was established, which in 1932 became the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Today, the ITU has the status of a specialized agency of the United Nations with the task of encouraging the development of telecommunications in the world. This year marks the 160th anniversary of the founding of the International Telecommunication Union. Serbia was among the first countries to join the International Telegraph Union and has since continuously participated in the work of all international bodies in the field of telecommunications.