CSW 70 WSIS Side Event: Empowering Woman and Girl in the Digital Age – Action Toward WSIS 2035

ITU, UNDP, WSIS Action Line Facilitators, Albania, Women at the Table

Session 108

Thursday, 12 March 2026 ∼ 15:00–16:15 (UTC+01:00) Eastern Daylight Time 10:00–11:15 (UTC-04:00) Physical (on-site) participation only WSIS&SDG TalkX 1 Image

On-site event - Venue: Doha conference room, UNDP HQ, NY | From 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM ET

The WSIS+20 UNGA Resolution highlights urgent gender gaps in digital access, skills, leadership, and online safety, and calls for accelerated, multistakeholder action to ensure women and girls can participate fully and safely in the digital age. It mandates that gender equality be mainstreamed across all WSIS Action Lines.

To explore how WSIS partners can translate WSIS+20 gender commitments into concrete action by 2035 through:

Closing gender digital divides
Strengthening digital skills & leadership
Ensuring safety and rights online
Expanding participation of women in digital economies and governance
Aligning WSIS Action Lines with gender mandates for implementation to 2035

H.E. Ms. Suela Janina Ambassador & Permanent Representative Permanent Mission of the Republic of Albania to the United Nations

Ms. Janina serves as the Co-Facilitator of the WSIS+20 Review and Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations. She brings extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy to this role, having served as Ambassador to the European Union (2014–2024) and General Director for Multilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2012–2014). She holds a doctorate in international law from the University of Tirana.

Ms. Caitlin Kraft-Buchman CEO and Founder Women at the Table

Ms. Kraft-Buchman is the CEO and Founder of Women at the Table and Co-Founder of the A+ Alliance for Inclusive Algorithms, a leader of the UN’s Generation Equality Action Coalition for Technology & Innovation. She leads the AI & Equality: Human Rights Toolbox initiative, which works for a human rights-based approach to AI development. Additionally, she serves as the Civil Society lead for the World Benchmarking Alliance's Collective Impact Coalition for Digital Inclusion and on the Strategic Board of the Laboratory for Women's Rights Online.

Ms. Gitanjali Sah Strategy and Policy Coordinator International Telecommunication Union Moderator

Gitanjali Sah is Strategy and Policy Coordinator at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is responsible for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process. She has more than 15 years of work experience in ICT policy issues at the national, regional and international level. She is an experienced International Civil Servant having worked at several UN Agencies. She holds M.Phil. Development Studies, University of Cambridge, UK and a Masters in Political Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India.

Topics

Digital Divide Digital Inclusion Digital Skills Digital Transformation Education Ethics Global Digital Compact (GDC) Health Human Rights Infrastructure Smart Cities

WSIS Action Lines

C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
C2. Information and communication infrastructure
C3. Access to information and knowledge
C4. Capacity building
C5. Building confidence and security in use of ICTs
C6. Enabling environment
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-government
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-business
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-learning
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-health
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-employment
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-environment
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-agriculture
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-science
C8. Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content
C9. Media
C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
C11. International and regional cooperation

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

GDC Objectives

Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
Objective 2: Expand inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all
Objective 3: Foster an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights
Objective 4: Advance responsible, equitable and interoperable data governance approaches

Images