To ensure gender balance at the WSIS Forum 2021 we encourage all WSIS Stakeholders planning to be present at the Forum to nominate the women speakers for sessions and workshops, in particular the high-level segment.

Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize

The WSIS Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize focused on ICTs that specifically address the needs of people 60+ to achieve and sustain an active and engaged life as they age. The Prize Coordination Team has selected 12 Finalists for this year's prize.

Photo Contest

Building a collage of ICT for Sustainable Development photographs from around the world demonstrating how ICTs are playing an enabling role in achieving the SDGs. The three winning entries from the WSIS Photo Contest will be awarded and presented at the WSIS Forum 2021.

WSIS Prizes 2021

From 1 November 2020 to 1 February 2021, all WSIS stakeholders are invited to submit WSIS related projects to the WSIS Prize 2021 contest. The contest was developed as a mechanism to evaluate projects and activities that leverage the power of ICTs to advance sustainable development.

Hackathon

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) will co-organize a virtual hackathon that focuses on how aging in today’s increasingly digital world can be enhanced through the use and applications of ICT’s. The heightened awareness of the need to address the challenges of older persons with ICTs was starkly highlighted during the global pandemic.

ICTs and Gender Mainstreaming

The ICTs and Gender Mainstreaming track is dedicated to the issues of bridging gender divide, women empowerment and promoting equality perspective through the use of ICTs. Striving for 50/50 gender balance participation at the Virtual WSIS Forum 2021, this track will comprise of interactive sessions such as various workshops and interviews on the subject of ICTs and gender.

ICTs and Youth

Bearing in mind the theme of this year’s WSIS Forum: ICTs for Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Societies and Economies (WSIS Action Lines for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals); the second edition of the Special Track on ICTs and Youth strives to highlight the need of the WSIS youth communities to further promote the indispensable role of ICTs in shaping the information society to better serve all stakeholders, respond adequately to the ongoing pandemic, and continue to digitally transform the social, economic, and environmental development.

ICTs and Older Persons

The ageing of the global population will be the defining demographic trend of the 21st century—yet our societies struggle to see the opportunities that this trend can unfold. The ICTs and Older Persons track will address the role of technology in achieving healthier ageing, but also how technology can help us build smarter cities, combat age-based discrimination at the workplace, ensure financial inclusion of older persons, and support millions of caregivers across the world.

ICTs and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and Specific Needs

This track aims to inform and observe how ICTs can help people living with disabilities whilst focusing on progressing towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Cybersecurity

This new track will comprise sessions that align with the WSIS Action Line C5: Building Confidence and Security in the Use of ICTs. Cybersecurity is crucial to ensuring universal, trustworthy, and equitable access to connectivity.

Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Development (Startups)

Emerging technologies are set to have a vital impact in our future. Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Big Data are already proving to hold immense potential in industries such as healthcare, education, agriculture and many more. Join us in our special track to explore how frontier technological solutions will address sustainable development challenges and help facilitate innovation in a rapidly changing world.

ICTs for Well-being and Happiness

Well-being can be subjected to health, happiness, and prosperity. This can be attributed to five types such as emotional well-being, physical well-being, social well-being, workplace well-being and societal well-being. In this enforced period of social distancing when one is bound to their homes, one’s routine life can get mundane and thus it may get hard to be at peace. ICTs for Well-being and Happiness track will bring a series of workshops focusing on efforts and success stories to promote healthy lives and well-being for everyone at all ages, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.