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WSIS Forum 2016: harnessing the power of new technologies
to drive global development
1,800 international delegates with one aim: transform the world
through ICTs
Geneva, 3 May 2016 – Stakeholders from government, civil
society and industry are meeting in Geneva this week to develop strategies to
align the global connectivity targets set in
Tunis
at the UN World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) with the
17 UN Sustainable
Development Goals, with a view to harnessing the transformative
power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to accelerate global
socio-economic development.
The world’s largest annual gathering of the ICT for development (ICT4D)
community, the WSIS Forum is a unique global platform and an integral part of
the ongoing WSIS Process. Providing equitable and affordable access to ICTs –
especially in the developing world and to marginalized communities – is
essential to achieving a truly inclusive digital economy. WSIS is where the real
work of ICT4D is done, bringing together multistakeholder groups from all over
the world to share best practices and create collaborative partnerships.
The forum is hosted by ITU together with co-organizers UNESCO, UNCTAD and
UNDP in close collaboration with the UN and sister agencies including WIPO,
UNDESA, FAO, UNEP, WHO, ILO, WMO, ITC, UPU, UN Women, WFP, UNODC and the UN
Regional Commission.
This year’s event is
chaired by Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State and Coordinator for International Communications and
Information Policy in the US State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business
Affairs. The over-arching theme is WSIS Action Lines: Supporting the
Implementation of the SDGs.
Read a
blog by Ambassador Sepulveda on his hopes for WSIS Forum
2016.
Joining Ambassador Sepulveda this morning for the High-Level Opening Policy
Statements were H.E. Yasuo Sakamoto, Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination,
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan; Khalad Almanzalawy,
Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United
Nations Office in Geneva; H.E. Magdalena Gaj, President of the Office for
Electronic Communications (UKE), Poland; Akram Atallah, President and CEO,
ICANN; Raúl Echeberría, Vice President of the Internet Society; Oleg Logvinov,
Chairperson of the IEEE Internet Initiative, Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers; and Leon Strous, President of the International
Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).
View the
full list of high-level speakers.
This morning’s High-Level Segment also featured the awarding of 18 WSIS
Project Prizes to organizations which have demonstrated outstanding results in
implementing projects and strategies to meet the WSIS targets and promote
digital inclusion. A full list of awardees and descriptions of their projects is
available here.
WSIS 2016 at a glance
- An expected 1,800 participants, including over 85 government
ministers and 250 high-level representatives
- More than 150 sessions, including thematic workshops,
facilitation meetings on WSIS Action Lines; High-Level Sessions,
and Knowledge Cafés
- Two High-Level Dialogues (Cybersecurity [15:00,
Room 1, CICG] and Promoting Peaceful & Inclusive Knowledge
Societies
[13:30, Room 2, CICG])
- 16 moderated High-Level Policy Sessions
- A Ministerial Round Table on WSIS and the SDGs comprising
over 80 ministers
- The annual WSIS Prize ceremony, recognizing 70 WSIS
Champions and 18 prestigious WSIS Prize 2016 winners
- A High-Level meeting of the UN Group on the Information
Society (UNGIS)
- Hackathons on Thursday 5 May on e-agriculture and e-health
- A
TEDx Geneva event co-located alongside the forum on
the topic of New Horizons. The event is open to the public –
register here for an entry ticket.
- An exhibition space comprising over 20 stands
The WSIS-SDG Matrix,
developed by
WSIS Action Line Facilitators and launched in 2015, will
serve as the key mechanism for mapping, analyzing and coordinating the
implementation of WSIS Action Lines and the use of ICTs as enablers and
accelerators of the SDGs.
High-level speakers at the opening ceremony, which took place this morning at
ITU headquarters in Geneva, included UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (video
message); Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General, ITU; H.E. Majed El Mesmar,
Deputy Director General, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, UAE; Joakim
Reiter, Deputy Secretary-General, UNCTAD; Indrajit Banerjee, Director, Knowledge
Societies Division, UNESCO; Philipp Metzger, Director-General, OFCOM,
Switzerland; Cyril Ritchie, President, Conference of Non-Governmental
Organizations; Dominique Lazanski representing the International Chamber of
Commerce; Arancha González, Executive Director, International Trade Centre;
Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe; Pascal Clivaz, Deputy Director General, Universal Postal Union; and
Peter Major, Chairman, UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
Consult the full
5-day WSIS Forum 2016 agenda.
The WSIS agenda is the result of a comprehensive, globally inclusive open
consultation process involving all stakeholders. Spanning five phases, this
year’s process welcomed 130 contributions from stakeholders from around the
world, spanning government, UN agencies, NGOs and civil society, academia and
the private sector.
Remote participation is an integral component of the WSIS event. Each session
can be joined remotely at:
www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2016/Media/RemoteParticipation
Live and archived webcasts of key sessions can also be viewed at
www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2016/Media/RP/Webcast/Live/
The WSIS Forum 2016 programme has been strengthened thanks to the strategic
partnership and contribution of the United Arab Emirates (platinum partner); the
Ministry of Information and Communications, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
and the Swiss Confederation (partners for specific activities); and the Republic
of Poland, the Republic of Rwanda, ICANN, the IEEE, the International Federation
for Information Processing and the Internet Society (contributing partners).
Photos of the event are available on Flickr:
http://bit.ly/1WWY3CH
Watch video highlights and interviews with key participants
on ITU’s YouTube channel:
http://bit.ly/1YW9zfQ
Follow all the action and join the conversation at this year’s WSIS Forum on
Twitter at #WSIS as well as #ICT4SDG
For more information, please contact:
Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
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Jaroslaw Ponder
Strategy & Policy Advisor, ITU
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