{"id":584,"date":"2025-03-18T21:28:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T21:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itu.int\/160\/?page_id=584"},"modified":"2025-09-10T23:53:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T23:53:35","slug":"strengthening-global-digital-cooperation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.itu.int\/160\/vision\/strengthening-global-digital-cooperation\/","title":{"rendered":"Strengthening global digital cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \"Background\n
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Strengthening global digital cooperation

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\n As digital technology use grows, so does the need for international governance to guide safe and sustainable digital practices. ITU forges multilateral cooperation to safeguard the world\u2019s digital future.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/h3>\n

\n Today, we have entered a new era, with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) transforming many walks of life. Quantum information technologies, still on the horizon, promise to boost the power of digital technologies further, reshaping societies and offering hope for major strides in sustainable development for the benefit of humanity and our planet. But, like other technologies, quantum, too, entails risks, including unprecedented cybersecurity threats, that require international cooperation to address.

Digital use, by its nature, cuts across borders and sectors. Yet digital governance remains fragmented. Mis- and disinformation rank among top global risks. From deepfakes, data privacy breaches, and security disruptions to electronic equipment waste and digital access divides \u2013 the challenges as tech advances are many and growing.

If digital challenges span borders, then the solutions must too. With 194 national governments and over 1000 companies and organizations from across the tech sector, ITU fosters global cooperation to ensure digital technologies benefit all. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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\"ITU<\/span>
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Legacy in technology governance<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n For 160 years, ITU has helped establish and shape the global frameworks that enable communications and connectivity across borders.

ITU\u2019s work\u00a0began in 1865<\/a>\u00a0with the coordination of telegraph networks, ensuring that messages could travel seamlessly between countries. This foundational role in harmonizing governance frameworks and technical standards has continued through the eras of the telephone<\/a>, radio<\/a>, television<\/a>, satellite<\/a>, and internet<\/a>.

ITU continues driving vital cooperation in the age of AI, 5G and emerging quantum solutions, bringing governments, industry, technical experts, and civil society together to address new technological frontiers.

As a\u00a0UN agency since 1947<\/a>\u00a0and headquartered in Geneva since 1949, ITU has continued its tradition of technical cooperation on issues of common global concern.

Geneva, now a hub for digital diplomacy, offers a unique ecosystem of collaboration among nearly 500 non-governmental organizations as well as universities, research institutions, and international bodies.

ITU\u2019s regional offices across Africa, the Americas, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe, as well as its liaison office at UN Headquarters in New York, help extend its impact and strengthen digital cooperation globally. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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The signed International Telegraph Convention and the founding members of the International Telegraph Union,  the first international organization dedicated to regulating and improving technology on a global scale \u2014 and the beginning of today\u2019s ITU<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
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Shaping the future of digital governance<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n Through international agreements, technical standards, capacity development, and regulatory frameworks, ITU ensures that digital technologies serve the common good. Its work spans across the entire digital ecosystem, from fostering infrastructure development to strengthening cybersecurity and ensuring everyone is included in the global digital economy and society. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Delegates attend the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-25) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Digital regulation<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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ITU’s annual Global Symposium for Regulators<\/a> (GSR) lays important groundwork for international standards and coordination amid rapid tech evolution. Started in 2000, GSR is the premier annual platform for telecom and tech regulators from around the world to share their views and experiences on pressing regulatory issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Each year, GSR attracts the heads of national regulatory authorities, industry leaders, policymakers, and other key tech stakeholders. The symposium produces annually updated Best Practice Guidelines<\/a> that define regulatory and economic incentives to stimulate digital infrastructure deployment for everyone, everywhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n \n Read the GSR-25 Best Practice Guidelines\u200b <\/a>\n <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n Digital development <\/h3>\n

\n The two-phase\u00a0World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)<\/a>\u00a0in Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005) focused global tech policy on closing the digital divide, catalyzing efforts across the public and private sectors to bridge inequalities in digital access and use. The summit laid the groundwork for digital regulations and treaties and launched thousands of technical cooperation projects that continue to shape global digital development today.

WSIS has continued as a multistakeholder platform where governments, the private sector, civil society, and international organizations collaborate on digital initiatives aimed at achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals. The\u00a0WSIS Forum<\/a>, held annually in Geneva, is the largest UN platform dedicated to digital technologies for development, bringing together more than 550 high-level guests, including ministers, regulators, mayors, and parliamentarians.

The\u00a0WSIS+20 Review in late 2025<\/a>\u00a0is expected to set the \u00a0direction for digital cooperation under the WSIS architecture, including the UN Pact for the Future<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Global Digital Compact.<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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WSIS Prizes ceremony during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 Forum High-Level Event 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
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\n WSIS in numbers <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
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50%<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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In 2024, women formed 50%<\/strong> of WSIS participants, a large change from 2003, where women were just under 30% of the total.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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13,000+<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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digital projects<\/strong> are charted in a WSIS Stocktaking Database, aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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2 million<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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subscribers<\/strong> of the WSIS Stocktaking Database<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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50+<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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UN entities<\/strong> working together through WSIS to advance global digital cooperation<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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5,000+<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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submissions<\/strong> from 112 countries<\/strong> for WSIS prizes, launched in 2012<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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800+<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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awardees<\/strong> of the WSIS prizes since 2012, including 234 <\/strong>winners and 576 <\/strong>champions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A collective commitment<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n Join us to advancing global digital cooperation<\/strong> <\/h3>\n

\n Governments<\/strong> <\/p>\n

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