WSIS at 20: Successes, failures and future expectations

The event is an initiative of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), to which the UNCTAD provides secretariat services and substantive support.

Background

The General Assembly adopted the A/70/125 resolution on 16th December 2015, emphasizing the need for a high-level meeting in 2025 for a comprehensive review of the World Summit on the Information Society's (WSIS) progress known as WSIS+20 Review. The primary vision of WSIS is to form a “people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented information society” using information and communication technologies for sustainable growth. Due to rapid technological change, today’s information society differs greatly from what was envisaged in 2005. However, the WSIS vision remains highly relevant.

The Economic and Social Council, in its resolution (E/RES/2023/3),  requests the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) to collect inputs from Member States, all facilitators and other stakeholders as well as to organize, during its twenty-seventh session, in 2024, and its twenty-eighth session, in 2025, substantive discussions on the progress made in the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit during the past 20 years, and to report thereon, through the Economic and Social Council, to the General Assembly.

The launch of the CSTD open consultations took place during the 18th Internet Governance Forum held in Kyoto, Japan.

This second consultation will take place during UNCTAD’s eWeek in Geneva, as a High-level session entitled "WSIS at 20: Successes, Failures, and Expectations”.

Objective

The event is an integral part of open consultations that the CSTD secretariat will conduct, as part of the WSIS+20 Review, and aims to promote detailed discussions among diverse stakeholders (governments, civil society, the private sector, the technical and academic communities involved in ICT development and the international and regional organizations).

The discussions are expected to contribute to the CSTD secretariat’s report on WSIS+20 Review as inputs to the General Assembly's review in 2025, after being discussed at the CSTD as requested by the ECOSOC.

Questions to be addressed

• To what extent and how has the vision of a "people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society" evolved over the past 20 years since WSIS?
• How will ongoing trends and emerging technologies, particularly AI, impact progress towards human development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Moreover, how can these trends enable or hinder the realization of the WSIS vision?
• What measures should be taken to advance international cooperation, including in terms of governance, to leverage emerging technologies for sustainable development in economic, social, environmental, and cultural dimensions?

Format

The event will take place in hybrid format on 8 December 2023, from 11:30 to 13:00 in the Geneva International Conference Centre. The 90-minute discussions will be moderated by Chair of the CSTD.

Questionnaire for 20-year review of WSIS implementation

This questionnaire is open to all WSIS stakeholders (governments, private sector, civil society, international organizations, and relevant regional organizations).

Please share your experience, views, and priorities in response to a selection of questions, addressing the issues that you consider most important for the CSTD's twenty-year WSIS review.

OPEN