Name: WSIS Forum 2026
Start: 2026-07-06T07:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-07-10T23:00:00+02:00
Location: Palexpo

From Dialogue to Practice: NRI-Driven Multistakeholder Labs for WSIS Implementation

AGID - Italy, APC , LAC IGF, IGF Secretariat and other stakeholders

Session 425

Thursday, 9 July 2026 ∼ 17:00–17:45 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Room L, Palexpo Interactive Session 1 Document

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Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation

Connecting Local Experiences with Global WSIS Implementation

This interactive session will explore how National and Regional IGF Initiatives (NRIs) can contribute to the implementation of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) outcomes and the Global Digital Compact (GDC) by connecting local experiences with global digital cooperation processes.

Building on paragraphs 100 and 102 of the UN General Assembly Resolution 80/173, the session will discuss and test a practical mechanism through which experiences emerging from NRIs can be shared, discussed and synthesized within the global IGF programme and subsequently made available to the WSIS Forum.

The session will focus on the concept of NRI Labs: voluntary, non-negotiating spaces within the IGF ecosystem where stakeholders can exchange experiences, foster peer learning, explore practical approaches and identify innovative ways to implement WSIS Action Lines and GDC commitments.

Following brief introductory remarks and inputs from representatives of National and Regional IGF Initiatives, participants will engage in three facilitated breakout discussions addressing:
• mechanisms to connect local experiences with global discussions;
• the design and operation of NRI Labs within the IGF ecosystem;
• pathways for transmitting lessons learned and practical knowledge from NRI Labs to the WSIS Forum and related WSIS processes.

The session will combine short interventions, interactive breakout groups and plenary reporting to identify areas of consensus, outstanding questions and possible next steps.

Confirmed speakers include Valeria Betancourt (APC, MAG Member), Jennifer Chung (IGF MAG Chair and APrIGF), Margaret Nyambura Ndung'u (Digital Policy and Innovation Expert), and facilitators from the French IGF, Portugal IGF and Brazil IGF communities (Lucien Castex, Ana Neves, Flavio Wagner). The rapporteur of the session will be Titti Cassa (Italy IGF) and Anja Gengo (IGF Secretariat)

The session aims to contribute practical recommendations on how to strengthen the transition from dialogue to implementation while reinforcing cooperation between the WSIS Forum, the IGF ecosystem and National and Regional Initiatives.

Ms. Jennifer Chung VP Policy DotAsia Organisation, H.K.S.A.R., China

Jennifer Chung is the Vice President, Policy for DotAsia Organisation. She is the Chair of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the Internet Governance Forum (MAG member 2018-2020, 2025, and the Expert Working Group 2022, 2026). She served as the co-convenor of the Informal Multistakeholder Sounding Board for the WSIS+20 review. She heads the IGFSA Secretariat which provides support to the IGF and grants to National, Regional and Youth Initiatives. She serves in the APrIGF Secretariat and amplifies APAC contributions on Internet governance.

Ms. Chung represents .Asia Registry at ICANN, is the GNSO Vice Chair. Previously, she headed the ICG Secretariat that oversaw the IANA stewardship transfer to the global multistakeholder community.

Ms. Chung is on the ISIF.asia Committee that awards grants supporting Internet development in APAC. She is in the core Secretariat of TCCM, a group of critical Internet infrastructure operators dedicated to strengthening the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance. She works on IDN policies and supports Universal Acceptance, a foundation for a multilingual Internet.

Ms. Ana Cristina F. Amoroso das Neves Head, Office for Information Society and Internet Governance Ministry of education, Science and Innovation- FCT- FCCN Portugal Co-facilitator of the breakout groups

Ana is an internationally recognised expert in digital governance, with over 30 years of experience in science, technology, public policy, and the Internet. She currently heads Portugal’s Information Society and Internet Governance Office. In 2018, she was named European Digital Leader of the Year by CIONET. In 2024, she served as Chair of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) and was a member of the High-Level Executive Committee of NETmundial+10, further strengthening her role in advancing inclusive, multistakeholder digital governance. In 2025, she was a IGF MAG member. She is a founding member of the Portugal Internet Governance Forum, EuroDIG, and the Lusophone Internet Governance Forum, contributing actively to national, regional, and global Internet governance processes.

Dr. Margaret Nyambura Ndung'u Digital Policy Expert Kenya

Dr. Margaret Nyambura Ndung’u is a distinguished Digital policy expert with close to three decades of experience spanning the public, private, and development sectors. She holds a PhD in Information Systems and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa. Over the years, she has shaped key Digital strategies and policies at the national and regional level including supporting the African Union Commission in 2025 to develop guidelines that informed the continents’ contribution to the WSIS +20 outcome document. She sits on the UN DPI Strategic Advisory Board, and the Digital Innovation Board of the ITU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development.

Mr. Lucien Castex Advisor to the CEO, Co-chair of the French IGF AFNIC, France Co-facilitator of the breakout groups

Lucien Castex is Advisor to the CEO of Afnic in charge of Internet, Governance and society. Its main missions are to address forward-looking issues relating to the evolution of the Internet and the interactions between the Internet and society, and to represent Afnic in France and abroad, particularly in the area of public policies related to development of the Internet and digital technologies.

As such, he is co-chair of the organizing committee of the French Internet governance Forum (FGI France), and since 2020, he has been co-chair of the Research Group on Internet Governance and Regulation, GDR, CIS,2091 CNRS. He was elected vice-chair of the ITU Council Working Group on international Internet-related public policy issues.

He is also an Associate Researcher at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 and has been appointed to the French national institution for human rights, CNCDH (French PM’ decree 2019, 2022).

Eng. Concettina Cassa Head of International Affairs AGID , Italy Rapporteur Remote Panellist

Concettina (Titti) Cassa is Head of International Affairs at the Agency for Digital Italy (AgID). She coordinates the Italy Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and served on the United Nations Internet Governance Forum Multistakeholder Advisory Group (IGF MAG), appointed by the UN Secretary-General. She has over 25 years of experience in digital transformation, large-scale network infrastructures, Internet governance, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), and AI governance.

Topics

Artificial Intelligence Capacity Building Digital Divide Digital Inclusion Digital Skills Digital Transformation Ethics Global Digital Compact (GDC) Human Rights WSIS+20 Review

WSIS Action Lines

C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
C3. Access to information and knowledge
C4. Capacity building
C6. Enabling environment
C11. International and regional cooperation

This session contributes to the implementation of several WSIS Action Lines by exploring practical mechanisms that can strengthen multistakeholder cooperation, peer learning and knowledge-sharing across the WSIS ecosystem.

The session is particularly relevant to:

• C1 – The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development, as it focuses on how National and Regional IGF Initiatives (NRIs) can support inclusive and multistakeholder implementation of WSIS outcomes and Global Digital Compact commitments.

C3 – Access to information and knowledge, as the session aims to facilitate the collection, sharing and dissemination of knowledge, experiences and good practices emerging from National and Regional IGF Initiatives. By creating mechanisms to aggregate and make available lessons learned, implementation experiences and practical approaches, the proposed NRI Labs can contribute to improving access to knowledge and supporting evidence-based implementation of WSIS Action Lines and Global Digital Compact commitments.

• C4 – Capacity Building, as the proposed NRI Labs are conceived as voluntary spaces for peer learning, exchange of experiences, dissemination of good practices and collaborative problem-solving among stakeholders from different regions.

• C6 – Enabling Environment, as the session discusses governance mechanisms and collaborative approaches that can facilitate the practical implementation of WSIS Action Lines and strengthen connections between local, regional and global processes.

• C11 – International and Regional Cooperation, as it explores how experiences emerging from NRIs can be shared, aggregated and brought into global discussions, fostering cooperation across regions and contributing to the implementation of paragraph 100 and paragraph 102 of UN General Assembly Resolution 80/173.

By connecting local experiences, global dialogue and practical implementation, the session seeks to strengthen the contribution of the IGF ecosystem to the achievement of WSIS objectives and to the broader digital cooperation agenda.

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

This session contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals by exploring practical mechanisms to strengthen multistakeholder cooperation, knowledge-sharing and implementation of digital development initiatives across regions.

The proposed NRI Labs are designed as collaborative spaces where stakeholders can exchange experiences, identify good practices and develop practical approaches to implementing the WSIS Action Lines and the Global Digital Compact. By connecting local experiences with global discussions, the session seeks to support evidence-based policymaking, capacity building and inclusive participation in digital governance processes.

The session is particularly relevant to SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by fostering collaboration among governments, civil society, the private sector, academia and the technical community. It also contributes to SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) by promoting inclusive, transparent and participatory governance processes; to SDG 4 (Quality Education) through peer learning, knowledge exchange and capacity building; to SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by amplifying perspectives and experiences from diverse national and regional contexts, including developing countries; and to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) by supporting the dissemination of innovative digital governance practices, facilitating knowledge transfer across regions, and strengthening cooperation around digital transformation and digital public infrastructure initiatives.

By strengthening cooperation and facilitating the sharing of practical implementation experiences, the session aims to support progress towards sustainable and inclusive digital development.

GDC Objectives

Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
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

Documents

WSIS2026_Session_Outline_(1).docx

Links

The session will be promoted through the websites and social media channels of AGID, the IGF Secretariat, APC, participating National and Regional IGF Initiatives (NRIs), and other partner organizations involved in the organization and dissemination of the event.