MONROVIA, LIBERIA-President George Weah has by proclamation declared Monday, May 17, World Telecommunications and Information Society Day, and is to be observed throughout Liberia as a working holiday.

According to a Foreign Ministry release issued over the weekend, the day is being celebrated annually since 1969.

The Day marks the founding of the International Communications Union (ITU), and the signing of the first international Telegraph Convention on May 17, 1865.

The proclamation calls on Government ministries and agencies, national and international ICT organizations concerned, as well as telecommunication companies to cooperate with the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, to execute appropriate programs befitting the occasion.

The proclamation further declared that the observance is in consonance with UN General Assembly Resolution adopted in May 2006, stipulating that World Information Society Day shall be celebrated on May 17 of each year by member states.

The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications will join member states of the ITU, to celebrate World Telecommunications and Information Society Day under the theme, ‘Accelerating Digital Transformation in Challenging Times’.