What is the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)?
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a two-phase United Nations (UN) summit, first introduced by Tunisia in 1998. The summit aims to create an evolving multi-stakeholder platform to address issues raised by information and communication technologies (ICTs) at the national, regional, and international levels. The goal is to build a people-centric, inclusive, and development-oriented Information Society where everyone can create, access, utilize, and share information. The WSIS process has proven to be a well-established and functioning inclusive multistakeholder framework of implementation.
The WSIS Forum is an annual multistakeholder event within the WSIS process. It brings together various stakeholders, including governments, civil societies, private sectors, academia, international organizations, and technical communities, to network, partner, and share insights on achieving Sustainable Development Goals through the framework of WSIS Action Lines. The forum is hosted annually by the ITU and co-organized by several UN organizations. The WSIS Forum’s process aligns with that of the SDGs. The forum’s program is collaboratively curated through crowdsourcing, promoting extensive ownership and facilitating continual improvements. The WSIS Forum in 2024, branded as WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event 2024, took place on 27-31 May 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland, and served as a platform to provide multistakeholder discussions and to take stock of the achievements and key trends, challenges and opportunities since the Geneva Plan of Action in 2003.
WSIS Timeline
ITU Plenipotentiary Conference Resolution calling for a World Summit on the Information Society.
Learn more »
The UN Millennium Declaration
Learn more »
UNGA Resolution 56/183 endorsed holding of the Summit in two phases.
Learn more »
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held in two phases. The first phase of WSIS took place in Geneva hosted by the Government of Switzerland from 10 to 12 December 2003.
Learn more »
The second phase of WSIS took place in Tunis from 16 to 18 November 2005.
Learn more »
Since 2005, and following Para 109 and Para 110 of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society a cluster of WSIS-related events was held on an annual basis in Geneva.
Learn more »
In 2009, the cluster of WSIS-related events was re-branded as WSIS Forum. WSIS Forums are organized each year, hosted by the ITU, co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP in close collaboration with all WSIS Action Line Facilitators/Co-Facilitators.
Learn more »
The WSIS+10 Review Event Towards Knowledge Societies for Peace & Sustainable Development addressed the major challenges in building Knowledge Societies for sustainable development.
Learn more »
The WSIS+10 High-Level Event was an extended version of the WSIS Forum. It was designed to review the progress made in the implementation of the WSIS outcomes.
Learn more »
The UN summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda was held from 25 to 27 September 2015, in New York and convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly. Resolution A/RES/70/1 was adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015.
Learn more »
The UN General Assembly High-level Meeting on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society took place on 15-16 December 2015. The outcome document of the high-level meeting contained in resolution A/70/125 was adopted by the UNGA on 16 December 2015.
Learn more »
In 2015, the UN General Assembly Overall Review resolved to hold the WSIS Forum on the annual basis till 2025. UNGA also called for close alignment between WSIS and SDG process. In 2019 WSIS Forum celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Learn more »
Nearly 20 years since the inception of the WSIS, several achievements have been made by governments and all stakeholders. However, challenges remain, and numerous new technology trends have emerged.
The WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event 2024 marked a significant milestone of twenty years of progress made in the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society and served as a platform for multistakeholder discussions with the objective to take stock of the achievements and key trends, challenges and opportunities since the Geneva Plan of Action in 2003. The Event was held from 27 to 31 May 2024, co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD and co-hosted by ITU and the Swiss Confederation.
UNGA Resolution A/70/125 requested the General Assembly to hold a high-level meeting on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society in 2025, involving the input and participation of all stakeholders, including in the preparatory process, to take stock of progress on the outcomes of the World Summit and identify both areas of continued focus and challenges.
What is the WSIS+20 Review?
The WSIS+10 Review in 2015 marked the tenth anniversary of the Summit and provided an opportunity to evaluate the advancements in implementing the WSIS outcomes.
Similarly, the WSIS+20 Review in 2025, facilitated by the General Assembly, would assess the progress and challenges over two decades since the inception of WSIS. As we approach the 20th anniversary of WSIS, it is essential to conduct a comprehensive review, to take stock of the achievements and key trends, challenges and opportunities since the Geneva Plan of Action.
To facilitate the WSIS+20 review, the following activities have been undertaken, and additional activities will be undertaken:
Towards the WSIS+20 review, efforts have been made to establish a unified WSIS+20 review preparatory process involving all UN Agencies, including ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, UNCTAD, UN DESA, and UN CSTD. Regular meetings are organised to facilitate collaborative discussions and planning, reflecting the joint and dedicated approach towards the WSIS+20 review.
See the preparatory phases below:
WSIS+20 Review Action Lines Milestones, Challenges and Emerging Trends beyond 2025
The WSIS Action Lines serve as a key framework for advancing progress towards the achievement of SDGs. The WSIS Action Lines cover eleven areas of focus with technology serving as a key enabler for sustainable development. The WSIS-SDG Matrix, developed by the UN Action Line Facilitators, clearly shows the linkage between each Action Line and the 17 SDGs and provides rationale for each.
-
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