Revamping Decision-Making in Digital Governance and the WSIS Framework


CGI.br - Brazilian Internet Steering Committee

Session 212

Thursday, 10 July 2025 14:00–15:00 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Plenary Room C, Palexpo Interactive Session 2 Documents

This session aims to address the gaps and opportunities of the global digital governance ecosystem, especially when it comes to the governance architecture and cooperation, with a special focus on the WSIS framework.

In the last 20 years, the World Summit on The Information Society (WSIS) has been playing the role of being the standard framework for the digital society, for Internet governance and related technologies, as well as a platform to promote the multistakeholder approach and foster collaboration between stakeholders. In recent years, several processes have been launched inside and outside the UN system to advance discussions about global digital governance and especially to improve global digital cooperation. One important example is the Global Digital Compact (GDC), which gathered commitments, proposals and endorsement from a range of States and from multiple stakeholders worldwide. The GDC and other processes have the common objective of bridging gaps in digital ecosystems, strengthening their structures, and moving towards better cooperation and decision-making.

Stakeholders have been perceiving our time as a critical juncture in the global ecosystem, with many processes carrying the potential to heavily impact the Internet, digital technologies and society as a whole. To address such challenges, a broad range of contributions have been pointing to go beyond traditional global divisions, establishing better coordination and a more intense effort in advancing the multistakeholder approach for all spaces and forums, including the multilateral ones. Collaboration, better procedures, and a revamping of the dynamics of interactions and decision making are at the menu of solutions for building a better digital future.

Initiatives such as the NETmundial+10 São Paulo Multistakeholder Guidelines are key for solving the puzzles of our time, for bolstering the governance architecture and decision making. In this session, we expect to discuss this and other efforts, towards building a common base for the decisions to come in the global ecosystem.

In this session, speakers shall address questions like the following ones: 1) How to update the WSIS Action Lines to better reflect emerging and pressing issues and a proper integration with the SDGs? 2) What are the gaps within the WSIS framework and between its different parts, such as the IGF and the WSIS Forum? 3) Does the WSIS framework governance structure follow an adequate multistakeholder approach, for instance as expressed by the São Paulo Multistakeholder Guidelines? 4) How to strengthen the IGF to better respond to the challenges of an improved WSIS process, combined with the GDC implementation and follow-up, and especially to avoid duplication of efforts and promote better coordination?

Panellists
Ms. Renata Mielli
Ms. Renata Mielli Chair CGI.br - Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, Brazil Moderator

Renata Mielli is a special advisor of the Brazilian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and chair of CGI.br, the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee. She is a journalist and holds a PhD in Science of Communications.


Ms. Timea Suto
Ms. Timea Suto Global Digital Policy Lead International Chamber of Commerce, France Remote Panellist

Timea Suto is Global Digital Policy Lead at the International Chamber of Commerce. In her role she leads ICC’s policy development and advocacy work on digital policy and Internet governance issues and works with global business experts to bring private sector views into international multilateral and multistakeholder conversations on digital policy matters. She has served on behalf of the private sector on the UN CSTD Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation (2016-2018), the IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group (2018-2020 and 2025), and is currently a member of the UN CSTD Working Group on Data Governance. ICC is the largest, most representative global business organization. During the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), ICC convened and facilitated business input and through ICC BASIS, it has continued to bring input and support engagement from business into the post-WSIS activities, whether at the UN and its various agencies or via multistakeholder activities. 


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Ms. Valeria Betancourt Manager of Advocacy and Engagement APC - Association for Progressive Communications, Ecuador

Mr. Jimson Olufuye
Mr. Jimson Olufuye Principal Consultant Kontemporary Konsulting, Nigeria

Jimson Olufuye has more than 30 years of experience in the national, regional and global digital ecosystem. He is the Principal Consultant at Kontemporary® Konsulting Ltd. Founder/1st Chair of the concerned private sector-led and over 40-nation strong Africa ICT Alliance – AfICTA, (2012-2016). He is currently the Chair of the Advisory Council of AfICTA. He was also a leading voice as a member of the UN Secretary-General’s IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group (2012-2013) and 2025. As the President of the Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria, (2007-2011), he connected the Nigerian ICT industry with the World Innovation Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), where he was later elected as the Vice-Chair of WITSA (2010-2012). He was a member of the Netmundial+10 Steering Committee 2024 and leader of AfICTA delegation to the UN Summit of the Future 2024 contributing the critical African private sector perspective to the Global Digital Compact.


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Ms. Isabelle Lois Senior Policy Advisor OFCOM - Federal Office of Communications, Switzerland

Ms. Elena Plexida
Ms. Elena Plexida Vice President for Government and IGO Engagement ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

Elena Plexida is Vice President for Government and IGO Engagement at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Prior to joining ICANN, Elena worked for the European Commission DG CONNECT on internet governance issues. Before that, she was a Telecom Attaché with the Permanent Representation of Greece to the EU. During the Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU, Elena co-chaired the Council Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society. Before joining the Permanent Representation, Elena was an international affairs officer at the Hellenic Ministry of Telecom. Her main responsibilities included EU affairs and relations of the country with a number of international organizations. Elena has followed a master’s degree at the National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens and holds a degree in economics and political science. She is also a graduate of the National School of Public Administration of Greece (ESDD).  


Mr. Jorge Cancio
Mr. Jorge Cancio Co-Director of International Relations OFCOM - Federal Office of Communications, Switzerland

Mr. Jorge Cancio is Co-Director of International Relations at the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), Switzerland. As such he has leadership, strategic, managerial and coordination duties over OFCOM’s International Relations team, and represents Switzerland in a number of international fora, and processes related to Internet Governance, digital policy and cooperation, data governance and artificial intelligence. In this regard, Mr. Cancio notably participates in UN, WSIS and GDC follow-up processes, the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), UN IGF, Council of Europe, European Union fora, the Geneva Internet Platform, the Swiss IGF, or the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Prior joining OFCOM in 2015, Mr. Cancio held different senior policy advisor positions within the Spanish Administration, in the fields of Copyright, Internet Law and Policy, including Internet intermediary liability, Open Data, Internet Governance, and Telecommunications. He holds a law degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid as well as an LL.M. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School, New York. 


Ms. Laurianne-Marie Schippers
Ms. Laurianne-Marie Schippers Technical Advisor CGI.br - Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, Brazil Moderator

Laurianne-Marie Schippers holds a Master degree from the Institute of International Relations at USP (2025). She is a Lawyer and Bachelor of Laws from FGV São Paulo Law School (2019). She is currently a Technical Advisor to the Brazilian Internet Steering Commitee (CGI.br).


Topics
Global Digital Compact (GDC) WSIS+20 Review
WSIS Action Lines
  • AL C1 logo C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
  • AL C6 logo C6. Enabling environment

One of the greatest challenges ahead in the digital cooperation and Internet governance spaces is the fragmentation of the discussion and decision-making spaces, even within the UN system. It is highly unclear to the community how the WSIS and GDC processes will evolve together. The community fears that, besides the WSIS Forum and the IGF, new spaces will be created for the implementation and follow-up of the GDC process. There is a high risk that these processes and spaces will show superposition and, even worse, will follow different proposals, targets, and outcomes in addressing exactly the same issues of extreme relevance, such as AI, cybercrime and trust, disinformation, environmental impacts, Internet fragmentation, and so on.

Internet governance and digital policy processes for tackling those issues, more than ever, require unprecedented coordination and cooperation among stakeholders to effectively unlock the benefits of the massive transformation brought by the Internet and by ICTs, for everyone, everywhere – and to collaboratively prevent and remediate abuses online and in the digital environment as a whole. But the growing fragmentation of the governance space, and the threats to a true multistakeholder approach - which were evident in the GDC preparation process, for instance - may harm any attempts to follow the right path forward.

While the IGF has a proven record as a focal point for multistakeholder debate on all issues regarding Internet governance and digital policy processes, it is highly unclear whether it will remain relevant in the coming years. The strengthening of the IGF is a must, so that it achieves its goal to its full potential.

This session will address these challenges and discuss concrete contributions deriving from the strengthening of the IGF and of the multistakeholder governance approach.

Sustainable Development Goals
  • Goal 4 logo Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
  • Goal 8 logo Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
  • Goal 9 logo Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
  • Goal 16 logo Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies

An inclusive, safe, reliable and trustworthy Internet is a vital infrastructure for the development of countries and societies, in all aspects of current life - economic growth, social inclusion, education, health, decent work, etc. It is vital for including minorities and marginalised communities. For the Internet to continue to thrive, it must remain faithful to the principles that have always governed its development, use, and governance. The multistakeholder approach, in particular, is essential for a continued collaboration among all sectors, in their respective roles and responsibilities, to promote adequate legislation, regulation, and public policies, especially with regard to emerging and potentially disruptive technologies, and to safeguard the Internet infrastructure’s critical properties.