WSIS Forum 2026 Inaugural session
WSIS (ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, UNCTAD)
Session 121
Twenty years after the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) reached its landmark WSIS+20 milestone, the global community enters a new chapter for digital cooperation. The adoption by consensus of the United Nations General Assembly WSIS+20 Outcome Document (A/RES/80/173) reaffirmed the enduring value of the WSIS vision and extended the WSIS mandate through 2035, recognizing the Forum as a central platform for advancing an inclusive, people-centred, and development-oriented digital future.
WSIS Forum 2026 marks the first global gathering of the WSIS community following this historic decision. It provides a unique opportunity to move from reflection to action, translating renewed commitments into concrete outcomes, strengthening multistakeholder collaboration, and accelerating progress toward universal and meaningful connectivity, digital inclusion, sustainable development, and emerging technologies.
Over the past two decades, digital transformation has reshaped societies and economies worldwide. Internet use has grown from 1 billion people in 2005 to more than 5.5 billion today, mobile networks have evolved from dial-up connections to 5G and beyond, and digital technologies have become essential tools for education, healthcare, commerce, public services, and innovation. These achievements reflect the collective efforts of governments, international organizations, the private sector, technical communities, academia, and civil society working together through the WSIS framework.
As we embark on the WSIS Action Lines vision toward 2035, WSIS Forum 2026 serves as a platform to operationalize the outcomes of the WSIS+20 Review and will bring stakeholders together to exchange knowledge, showcase innovations, build partnerships, and shape the next decade of digital cooperation.
- Opening Remarks by co-hosts: ITU and Swiss Confederation
- Remarks by Under-Secretary-General for Policy at the United Nations representing the UN Secretary-General
- Handover of Chair and the Appointment of Chair of WSIS Forum 2026
- Spotlight Session
- High-Level Dialogue Multistakeholder
- Co-organizers' Remarks: UNESCO, UNDP, and UNCTAD
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C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
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C2. Information and communication infrastructure
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C3. Access to information and knowledge
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C4. Capacity building
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C5. Building confidence and security in use of ICTs
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C6. Enabling environment
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-government
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-business
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-learning
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-health
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-employment
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-environment
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-agriculture
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C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-science
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C8. Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content
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C9. Media
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C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
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C11. International and regional cooperation
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Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
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Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
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Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all
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Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
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Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
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Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
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Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
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Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
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Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
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Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
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Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
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Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
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Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
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Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
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Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
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Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
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Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
- 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
- Objective 5: Enhance international governance of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity