Highlights, Announcements, and Key Outcomes
The WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025, co-hosted by ITU and the Swiss Confederation and co-organized with ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, and UNCTAD, was held from 7 to 11 July 2025 at Palexpo, Geneva. Marking two decades since the inception of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the event served as a multistakeholder platform for reflecting on the pressing need for global collaboration, digital inclusion, and leveraging technology for development. It also provided an opportunity for multistakeholder dialogue on 20 years of digital progress and to shape a shared vision for the future.
The Event, held in conjunction with the AI for Good Global Summit, welcomed over 11,000 participants from 169 countries onsite, with many more joining virtually. The gathering brought together a rich and diverse mix of stakeholders, including 59 ministers and deputies, 56 regulators, more than 60 UN representatives, as well as CEOs, civil society leaders, youth, technical experts, and academics.
The Event laid the groundwork for the United Nations General Assembly's 20-year review of the WSIS, a multistakeholder platform addressing challenges in digital development driven by advancing technologies.
Participants at the event reaffirmed the WSIS principles focused on building people-centered, inclusive, and development-oriented information and knowledge societies, which continue to shape digital policy and implementation through multistakeholder collaboration.
Throughout the five days, participants took part in high-level discussions, interactive sessions, and knowledge exchanges covering a broad spectrum of topics across all WSIS Action Lines. These included the WSIS+20 review, emerging technologies, digital inclusion, digital governance processes, capacity building, sustainable digital transformation, cybersecurity, and digital public infrastructure, among many others.
The Event was chaired by H.E. Mr. Solly Malatsi, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies of South Africa. At the closing ceremony, H.E. Malatsi presented the Chair’s Summary, capturing the key messages and outcomes that emerged from the programme of the Event.
As captured in the Chair’s Summary, looking ahead, the WSIS architecture must continue working to close gaps, particularly with respect to creating a robust monitoring system, establishing clear targets for the Action Lines, and incorporating these into the existing WSIS framework to track progress in an ever-changing landscape. This would help establish a clear way to measure progress and gauge needs. As such, the WSIS Forum must continue to provide this proven, effective multistakeholder platform for consultations, sharing, and partnerships, which is an important mechanism for planning the work of the WSIS Action Lines.
“WSIS remains a cornerstone of global efforts to shape a digital future that prioritizes inclusion, human rights, and sustainable development," said Solly Malatsi, Chair of WSIS+20 and South Africa's Minister of Communications. “The commitments made this week will inform the next chapter of WSIS's journey, which must be underpinned by an increased emphasis on inclusivity, equity and sustainability."
The Chair’s Summary and the outcomes of the Event will feed into the WSIS+20 Overall Review by UNGA in New York in December 2025.