What was the official theme of the 2017 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD)?

Introduction / Context:
This question is about the 2017 theme for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), an annual observance that highlights key issues in the field of information and communication technologies. Themes change every year, so examinations often test whether candidates can match the correct theme with a particular year.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The observance is WTISD for the year 2017.
• The focus is on the official theme selected for that year.
• Several technology related slogans are given as options.

Concept / Approach:
Each year, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) sets a theme for WTISD that reflects a key trend or challenge in telecommunications and information society development. For 2017 the emphasis was on data. The approach:

• Recall that the official theme for WTISD 2017 was “Big data for big impact”.
• Recognise that other options are plausible sounding but were not used as the official theme for that year.
• Use elimination to discard the distractors and select the accurate theme.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the year 2017 and the observance WTISD. Step 2: Recall from ICT related current affairs that the 2017 theme highlighted the transformative potential of big data. Step 3: Match this recollection with the phrase “Big data for big impact” in the options. Step 4: Note that “Entrepreneurship for social impact”, “Reduce digital divide”, “Promote digital education for social welfare” and “Smart cities for smart future” are general sounding but not the official WTISD 2017 slogan. Step 5: Select “Big data for big impact” as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Verification can be done by consulting ITU press releases, official WTISD materials or compiled current affairs notes from 2017. They clearly state that the theme for WTISD 2017 was “Big data for big impact”, emphasising how large scale data collection and analysis can support development, decision making and innovation while also raising questions about privacy and ethics.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Entrepreneurship for social impact: Sounds relevant to ICT and development but was not the WTISD 2017 theme. Reduce digital divide: Addressing the digital divide is an ongoing concern, but this exact phrase was not used as the official theme for that year. Promote digital education for social welfare: Also an important goal, but not the chosen slogan for WTISD 2017. Smart cities for smart future: A plausible ICT related theme but not associated with WTISD 2017.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes rely on guesswork and choose a theme that sounds generally positive or similar to various ICT initiatives. Others confuse the WTISD theme with themes of other ICT or UN observances. To avoid this, it is helpful to maintain a short list mapping years to key ICT themes, such as “Big data for big impact” for WTISD 2017, and revise them periodically.

Final Answer:
The official theme of the 2017 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day was Big data for big impact.