The best of the best in supporting SDGs with ICTs: Meet the 2020 WSIS Prizes winners
One of the major highlights of the annual World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS) Forum is the awarding of the prestigious WSIS Prizes. These highly sought-after awards recognize outstanding initiatives from governments, the private sector, civil society and academia that channel the contributions of information and communication technologies (ICTs) towards the betterment of society. Now in its ninth edition, the WSIS Prizes winners represent the year’s most innovative and high-impact projects from around the world that demonstrate the vital role of ICTs in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
• Action Line C2 – Information and communication infrastructure Winner: Digital Inclusion – Free WiFi, Agencia Digital de Innovación Pública, Mexico
• Action Line C3 – Access to information and knowledge Winner: UAE Infrastructure Geo-spatial Platform, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, United Arab Emirates
• Action Line C4 – Capacity building Winner: Siberkreasi (Indonesia’s National Movement for Digital Literacy), Siberkreasi, Indonesia
• Action Line C5 – Building confidence & security in the use of ICTs Winner: Global Accredited Cybersecurity Education Scheme: Centre of Excellence for Capacity Building and Lifelong Learning, CyberSecurity Malaysia, Malaysia
• Action Line C6 – Enabling environment Winner: Start-up Tunisia, Ministry of Communication Technologies, Tunisia
• Action Line C7 – E-government Winner: Sabooj Sathi Online 3.0, Backward Classes Welfare Department, India
• Action Line C7 – E-business Winner: Business Digital Transformation Centers, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Colombia
• Action Line C7 – E-learning Winner: The First International CyberSchool of the future for the new IT generation, KIBERone, Russian Federation
• Action Line C7 – E-health Winner: Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ministry of Health, Oman
• Action Line C7 – E-employment Winner: Recruitment Process Management as a Shared Service for Govt Agencies of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Computer Council, Bangladesh
• Action Line C7 – E-environment Winner: China Unicom “Smart Blue” public service big data platform, Network Intelligent Operation Research Center of China Unicom Research Institute, China
• Action Line C7 – E-agriculture Winner: Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the Ground, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP EU, Netherlands
• Action Line C7 – E-science Winner: Open Data Policy and Portal, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Qatar
• Action Line C8 – Cultural diversity & identity, linguistic diversity Winner: Attaa initiative (العطاء الرقمي), Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Saudi Arabia
• Action Line C9 – Media Winner: Voices of Women Media, Voices of Women Media, Nepal
• Action Line C10 – Ethical dimensions of the Information Society Winner: ICT and Media: Efficient tools for youth to Counter Violent Extremism, Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications, Ghana
• Action Line C11 – International & regional cooperation Winner: Asociación Innovactoras, Spain
The World Summit on the Information Society Forum (WSIS) is the world’s largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community. WSIS Forum has taken place entirely online this year, for the first time ever. This year’s theme, ‘Fostering digital transformation and global partnerships: WSIS Action Lines for achieving SDGs,’ featured an innovative programme of virtual events and special tracks that focused on the role of ICTs in improving the lives of specific groups such as older persons, youth, and persons with disabilities and specific needs. Since 22 June, a series of virtual sessions have been held, including the High-Level Track and virtual exhibition in addition to special tracks of ICTs and Sports, ICTs and Youth, ICTs and Older Persons, ICTs and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and Specific Needs, ICTs and Gender Mainstreaming, Photo Contest, and virtual sessions of the WSIS TalkX. Approximately 12,000 users from over 150 countries have taken to the WSIS Forum platform so far with the aim of fostering digital transformation and forging global partnerships. The WSIS Forum is co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP, and in close partnership with other UN organizations. Discover the WSIS Forum 2020 Highlights and Outcomes here.
Header image: ITU
