May 17 marks the anniversary of the founding of the International Telecommunication Union in 1865, when the first International Telegraph Convention was signed in Paris. The date began being observed as "World Telecommunication Day" in 1969, following a decision by the ITU's 1973 Plenipotentiary Conference. In March 2006, the UN General Assembly designated 17 May also as "World Information Society Day," and later that year the ITU's Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to merge the two observances into a single "World Telecommunication and Information Society Day." The day raises awareness of the potential the internet and information and communication technologies hold for social and economic development, and of ways to narrow the digital divide between countries and communities. Telecom bodies and governments hold annual conferences and events built around a different theme each year, such as artificial intelligence, digital inclusion, or cybersecurity.