HONORARY PATRONS

Vivienne Reding is a Member of the European Commission responsible for the Information Society and Media and honorary patron of the WSYA. After obtaining a doctorate in human sciences at the Sorbonne, she started a career as a journalist for the 'Luxemburger Wort' in 1978. She went into politics in 1979, first holding a seat in the Luxembourg Parliament before entering the European Parliament in 1989, where she was the leader of Luxembourg's European People's Party delegation

Since joining the Commission, she has launched new support programmes for culture (Culture 2000) and audiovisual policy (Media Plus and, in cooperation with the European Investment Bank, the Innovation 2000 Initiative Audiovisual). New initiatives in the education policy include above all the "European Year of Languages 2001", the "eLearning Action Plan"
and the "Lifelong Learning Action Plan". With the "White Paper on Youth", she has proposed a new method and priorities for getting young people more involved in decisions which concern them.

Viviane Reding is also involved in sport policy, tackling the problems of doping and the exploitation of young people in professional sport.

Franz Morak, Austrian State Secretary for the Arts and Media, was born in 1946 in Graz, he studied drama and film at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz and at the Reinhardtseminar in Vienna. Singer/songwriter, after 1980 production of four LPs/CDs. He worked as an actor and director at several theatres etc., including, as of 1974, the Vienna Burgtheater, and TV, radio and film productions; winner of several awards.

October 1994 to February 2000: member of the Austrian Parliament, spokesperson for cultural matters of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and member of the ORF Governing Board. In 1999, he published the anthology "Die organisierte Kreativität. Kulturpolitik an der Wende zum 21. Jahrhundert" accompanying a symposium by the same title that was held in Vienna in 1999. Franz Morak has served as State Secretary for the Arts and Media at the Federal Chancellery since 4 February 2000. He was re-appointed in that function on 28 February 2003.

Main areas of work:
Media: liberalisation of the media and strengthening of the media in Austria (ORF reform, Private TV Act, KommAustria, digitalisation). Culture: strengthening relations with South-East European countries, enhanced social security for artists and presentation of Austria’s artists abroad.

SPECIAL AMBASSADORS

Special Ambassadors to the WSYA have selected as distinguished experts in the field of ICT. They bring a wealth of experience and insight to the WSYA, and support the WSYA process with promotion, strategic development and guidance. The growing list of Special Ambassadors include the following:

John Perry Barlow Co-Founder & Co-Chair, Electronic Frontier Foundation, United States of America “Most of the young people are natives to Cyberspace, whether they live in Akron, Athens, or Abidjian. They've been online more than their parents, they understand it better than we do and they always will. The problem is, we think we know better what system works based on our seniority and experience. But this is an area where the wisdom of age doesn't count for much.”

Peter A. Bruck Chairman, World Summit Award, Republic of Austria “What we need to realize is that youth are driving the information revolution today. The World Summit Youth Award recognizes that the future is here, and that youth are active users of the internet and creative producers of outstanding content.”

Perttu Puro Ministry of Transport and Communications, Republic of Finland "Youth under 30 are a majority of the world's population. Empowering youth using digital opportunities is not simply a matter of building leaders of tomorrow, but of survival for us today."

Adama Samassekou President of WSIS Preparatory Committee for the Geneva Phase President of the African Academy of Languages and Former Minister of Education, Republic of Mali "If we take a look around us, at the digital revolution, within this information and shared knowledge society, it is young people who are at the forefront as learners, entrepreneurs, developers and agents for social change. The WSYA is a long overdue showcase of e-content and creativity by youth, for youth. I am proud to be part of the WSYA Senior Advisory Board in support of this unique and worthy undertaking."

Aziz Rabbah ICT Advisor to the Prime Minister Kingdom of Morocco “The World Summit Youth Award (WSYA) is an opportunity for the present and future generations to build the best bridge between societies, civilisations and cultures, so they will be able to avoid and reduce all the gaps, particularly the digital one. WYSA will allow ICT actors across the world to see how ICT enable innovation and development. It will allow young people from developing countries to show their talents and innovative projects. As an ICT actor and a "Believer" on ICT benefits, I do my best to support the WSYA.”