Agenda

UNGIS serves as an inter-agency mechanism to coordinate substantive policy issues facing the United Nations system’s implementation of the Geneva Plan of Action and Tunis Agenda for the Information Society adopted by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), thereby contributing to improving policy coherence in the UN system, as requested by the 2005 World Summit. Subsequently, pursuant to Para 46 of the GA Resolution 62/208, UNGIS also ensures coordination within the United Nations development system in order to respond to the international attention being given to science and technology transfer as reflected by the outcomes of the 2005 World Summit. UNGIS consists of 31 UN system entities as members (i.e., those represented at the CEB) and 17 UN entities as observers. 

UNGIS Members emphasize that the WSIS process is a continually evolving process involving many UN agencies, guided by mandates from annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolutions, as well as resolutions from several UN agencies involved in the implementation of the WSIS process.

UNGIS’ objective is to develop extensive collaboration and partnerships among the CEB members in order to contribute to the achievement of the WSIS objectives, to help to maintain ICT-related issues as well as science and technology at the top of the UN Agenda and finally to mainstream ICT for Development issues in the mandate of CEB members. 

UNGIS represents a valuable and well-established interagency mechanism for cross-sector cooperation in the area of digital development, with two decades of experience in the field and reaffirm its commitment to assisting Member States in implementing WSIS outcomes and preparing for the upcoming WSIS+20 review process.