WSIS+20 Process

WSIS+20 review process

The year 2025 will mark 20 years since the finalisation of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and a review process looking at 20 years of WSIS outcomes implementation will conclude with a high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly.

The WSIS+20 review in a visual format | March 2025 | Diplo/GIP

Preparatory process for UNGA high-level meeting, December 2025

As requested in the WSIS+10 review outcome document, UNGA will hold a high-level meeting on the overall review of the implementation of the WSIS outcomes in 2025. The meeting is tasked with taking stock of progress on WSIS outcomes and identifying both areas of continued focus and challenges. It was also recommended that the outcome of the high-level meeting be an input into the review process for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (71). 

In the lead-up to the meeting (expected to be held in the last quarter of 2025), a process will have to be put in place for its preparation, including the negotiation of an outcome document.

In January 2025, the President of UNGA appointed the Permanent Representatives of Kenya and Lithuania as co-facilitators for intergovernmental consultations to finalise the modalities for the overall review of the implementation of WSIS outcomes. On 25 March 2025, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/79/277) outlining the modalities for the WSIS+20 review process.

According to the resolution, the WSIS+20 review is to conclude with a high-level meeting of UNGA, on 16–17 December 2025. The overall review by the GA will take stock of the progress made in the implementation of WSIS outcomes and address potential ICT gaps and areas for continued focus, as well as addressing challenges, including bridging the digital divide and harnessing ICTs for development. In the lead-up to the high-level meeting, the process will include the following components:

• An intergovernmental preparatory process that also takes into account input from all relevant WSIS stakeholders.
• The appointment, by the President of UNGA, of two co-facilitators to lead the intergovernmental negotiation process.
• An intergovernmental negotiation process, which will include preparatory meetings, and will result in an intergovernmentally agreed outcome document, for adoption at the high-level meeting.
  • This process will be based, among other relevant inputs, on submissions from member states and observer states and observers, and the final report of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
• Informal interactive consultations, to be organised by the President of UNGA, with all relevant WSIS stakeholders, to collect their input for the intergovernmental negotiation process. 

The President of the GA, in consultation with member states, will invite representatives from all relevant WSIS stakeholders to speak during the high-level meeting. 

Input into the preparatory process for the high-level meeting

An important role in the lead-up to the high-level meeting is also played by CSTD. In 2023, ECOSOC requested CSTD:

• ‘to collect input from member states, all facilitators and other stakeholders, and 
• to organise, during its twenty-seventh session, in 2024, and its twenty-eighth session, in 2025, substantive discussions on the progress made in the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit during the past 20 years, and 
• to report thereon, through the Economic and Social Council, to the General Assembly.’

In response to this request, the CSTD Secretariat prepared a report on progress made in the implementation of WSIS outcomes over the past 20 years. The report will build on input collected from member states, WSIS action line facilitators, and other stakeholders (through written and in-person consultations), as well as on discussions held in the framework of the CSTD’s annual sessions in 2024 and 2025. A draft report (made available on 20 March 2025) is to be discussed at the CSTD’s 28th session in April 2025, and finalised and submitted to ECOSOC in May 2025.

Another important contribution is represented by the annual report by the UN Secretary-General on WSIS outcomes implementation.

In terms of how all this comes together, it is expected that the outcomes of the CSTD’s discussions on WSIS outcomes implementation will be reflected in the annual CSTD draft resolution to ECOSOC. The report will be submitted alongside the draft resolution. Then both the report and the resolution (to be approved by ECOSOC) are expected to feed into the process carried out in the framework of UNGA, in preparation for the high-level meeting. 

Other activities carried out in 2024 and 2025 are also expected to provide input for consideration during the GA review process. These included, for instance, the annual IGF meetings, the annual WSIS Forums (branded as the WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event in 2024 and WSIS+20 High-Level Event in 2025), and an ITU report¹This report, to be prepared by the ITU Secretary-General, was requested in the ITU Plenipotentiary Resolution 140 from 20220 on ITU’s role in implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as in their follow-up and review processes: ‘[…] instructs the Secretary-General to […] prepare and present a WSIS+20 report on ITU’s contribution to the implementation of and follow-up to the WSIS outcomes and its role in achieving the SDGs (2015-2025) for submission to the 2025 session of CSTD and UNGA, and to submit this report to the 2025 session of the Council through CWG-WSIS&SDG’. on its contribution to the implementation of and follow-up to WSIS outcomes.

Decisions at WSIS+20 review?

 Issues that member states could be expected to discuss and agree on in the context of preparing this document include:

• Reflections on progress made in the implementation of WSIS outcomes and areas requiring improvements and strengthened efforts.

• Reflections and, in some cases, decisions, on the key processes and mechanisms emanating from WSIS (internet governance, enhanced cooperation, IGF, WSIS Forum, etc.) and their future post 2025. A decision will have to be made regarding the IGF, whose current mandate expires in 2025.
  • It is worth highlighting that in 2024, the Chair’s Summary issued at the end of the WSIS Forum noted that  ‘the time has come to think boldly and widely about a “WSIS Plus”, a strengthened and further developed inclusive framework for digital governance and cooperation which will be fit-for-purpose and serve us well as we enter an era of fast and uncertain AI and digital developments’. 

• A decision on whether and when a third high-level meeting on the overall review of WSIS outcome implementation will be held at UNGA level.

• Issues related to the interplay between WSIS and GDC implementation and review. 
  • Firstly, issues related to how WSIS processes and forums – in particular the IGF, NRIs, and the WSIS Forum – can support the contribution of all stakeholders to the implementation of the Compact (as requested by the GDC). 
  • Broader issues exploring the interplay between WSIS and GDC processes, considering that high-level review meetings for both WSIS outcomes implementation and GDC implementation are held at the GA level.

• Issues related to the interplay between WSIS and 2030 Agenda process (as it was also the case with the WSIS+10 outcome document). 

The outcome of the WSIS+20 review will serve as an input into the 2030 Agenda review process, as already recommended in the WSIS+10 outcome document. So we can expect it to be considered during the HLPF in 2026 and the SDG Summit in 2027.

Milestones towards the WSIS+20 review high-level meeting

The illustration below maps several milestones in the lead-up to the UNGA high-level meeting to be held in 2025. While some of these are a formal part of the WSIS+20 review process (e.g. the CSTD report), others have relevance for the process, without being formal part of it. Also included in the timeline are elements related to GDC follow-up.

GDC and WSIS processes interplay

Since the start of the GDC process, one issue that has been raised repeatedly in various discussions is the (potential) interplay between (a) the mechanisms and processes for GDC implementation and review, and (b) the mechanisms and processes associated with the implementation and review of WSIS outcomes (in particular the IGF, and the WSIS Forum, as well as the GA-level review). 

The GDC notes the following:

68. We will build on the processes and forums emanating from the World Summit on the Information Society, in particular the Internet Governance Forum and its national and regional initiatives, as well as the WSIS Forum, to advance implementation of this Compact. We look forward to the WSIS+20 review in 2025 and invite it to identify how these processes and forums can support the contribution of all stakeholders to implementation of the Compact.

Building on this request, the WSIS+20 review process in 2025 is expected to look at the interplay between WSIS and GDC processes, and potentially provide a way forward that leverages existing mechanisms, avoids parallel processes, and maximises the use of already strained resources and limited capacities. 

Additional information

Read more about the GDC process.

Official WSIS+20 process coverage

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) – serving as the Secretariat for the WSIS+20 review – is maintaining a webpage with official information about the WSIS+20 process.

Upcoming events with relevance for the WSIS+20 process

• CSTD 28th session | April 2025
• IGF 2025 | June 2025
• High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development | July 2025
• WSIS Forum 2025 | July 2025

Background information

WSIS at a glance

The idea of a summit on the information society

In 1998, in Minneapolis (USA), the Plenipotentiary Meeting of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) adopted a resolution proposing a world summit on the information society (WSIS). Resolution 73 instructed the ITU Secretary-General to place the question of holding a world summit on the information society on the agenda of the UN Administrative Committee on Coordination; it also instructed the ITU Council to consider and decide on the Union’s contribution to the holding of such a summit. 

This was followed, in 2000, by the ITU Council Resolution 1158, which instructed the ITU Secretary-General to ‘pursue coordination with other international organisations and with partners concerned (member states, sector members, etc.) with a view to holding the World Summit on the Information Society in 2003’. One year later, in 2001, the ITU Council endorsed a proposal by the ITU Secretary-General to hold WSIS in two phases, in Geneva in 2003, and in Tunis in 2005 (Resolution 1179). In the same year, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) endorsed the holding of the two phases of WSIS in 2003 and 2005 (Resolution 56/183).

WSIS phases and outcomes documents

WSIS was held under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, with the ITU taking a leading managerial role in the preparatory process in cooperation with other UN and international agencies and the host countries for the two phases (Switzerland and Tunisia). The summit – as well as the preparatory meetings leading to its two phases – were multistakeholder in nature, allowing the participation of non-governmental stakeholders (e.g. non-governmental organisations, civil society, the private sector).

Additional information

Details about the preparatory process and other WSIS-related information are available on this dedicated web space, which is maintained by ITU.

The first WSIS phase, held in Geneva in 2003, concluded with the adoption of two key documents:

• The Geneva Declaration of Principles. This declaration outlined the vision of a ‘people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities, and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality of life’. It introduced key principles for building an inclusive information society that benefits all, emphasising, among other issues, the importance of access to information, promotion of human rights, and bridging the digital divide to ensure that no one is left behind.
• The Geneva Plan of Action. Building on the Declaration, the Plan of Action translated the principles into practical steps, known as action lines, designed to help governments, international and regional organisations, and other stakeholders harness the power of ICTs for development.

The report of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) was used as the basis for negotiations during the second phase of the summit. Held in Tunis in 2005, this led to the adoption of:

• The Tunis Commitment. The Commitment reaffirmed the principles laid out in Geneva and emphasised the need for ongoing international collaboration to address the evolving challenges of the digital world.
• The Tunis Agenda for the Information Society. Building on the previous three documents, the Agenda contains provisions on financial mechanisms for bridging the digital divide, internet governance and related issues, and the implementation and follow-up of the WSIS outcomes. It deals extensively with the concept of internet governance (including providing a definition), provides a formal set of framework principles for the multistakeholder approach to internet governance, establishes the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and introduces the process of enhanced cooperation, which was later entrusted to two Working Groups on Enhanced Cooperation (WGEC) operating under the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD).

WSIS documents with a twist 

We have modified the WSIS outcomes adopted in 2003 and 2005 in the following ways:

• ‘Information and communication technology’ is replaced with ‘digital technology’.
• ‘E-‘ is replaced with ‘digital’.
• ‘Information society’ is replaced with ‘digital society’. 

The main goal of these changes is to figure out how relevant WSIS policy documents are to our time, two decades later. These simple changes demonstrate the continued relevance of the WSIS documents for our era and future digital and AI developments.

WSIS mechanisms, implementation, and follow-up

WSIS outcome documents highlighted a ‘common desire and commitment to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality of life, premised on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and respecting fully and upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.’

Various mechanisms and processes were put in place to support and drive the implementation and follow-up of these and other WSIS commitments and actions.

WSIS Action Lines

To put the WSIS vision into practice, 11 action lines (AL) were agreed upon in 2003. The Tunis Agenda in 2005 then provided an indicative list of UN agencies to act as facilitators for their implementation; some changes regarding these roles were made over the years.

WSIS Forum & WSIS Action Lines Facilitators Meetings

The Tunis Agenda called on ITU, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Development Pogramme (UNDP) to ‘play leading facilitating roles in the implementation of the Geneva Plan of Action and organize a meeting of moderators/facilitators of action lines’ (para 109). In February 2006, these three agencies organised the first consultation meeting of all WSIS AL moderators/facilitators, open to all interested stakeholders. Such AL facilitators’ meetings have been held on an annual basis, along with a series of other events related to AL implementation.

Between 2006 and 2008, all these meetings and events were held under the umbrella of an annual ‘cluster of WSIS-related events’. In 2009, they were brought together under the umbrella of a new WSIS Forum, co-organised by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Organised on an annual basis since 2009, the WSIS Forum serves as a platform for multistakeholder discussions and for taking stock of the achievements, key trends, challenges, and opportunities related to the implementation of WSIS outcomes. The forum also provides stakeholders with an opportunity to reflect on the achievement of the SDGs through the framework of WSIS action lines.

In 2015, during the WSIS+10 review process, the UNGA recognised that the WSIS Forum ‘has been a platform for discussion and sharing of best practices in the implementation of the World Summit outcomes by all stakeholders, and it should continue to be held annually’ (para 69, WSIS+10 outcome document).

UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS)

The Tunis Agenda called for establishing a UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS) ‘consisting of the relevant UN bodies and organizations, with the mandate to facilitate the implementation of WSIS outcomes’ (para 103).

Created in 2006 within the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB),²The UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) serves as a high-level coordination forum of the UN system. It is chaired by the UN Secretary-General, includes the heads of 31 entities in the UN systems, and is supported by a High-level Committee on Programmes and a High-level Committee on Management. UNGIS ‘serves as an inter-agency mechanism to coordinate substantive policy issues facing the UN system’s implementation’ of WSIS outcomes. The leadership of UNGIS for the period 2024–2025 is ensured by UNESCO as chair, and ITU, UNDP, UNCTAD, and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC) as vice-chairs. 

UNGIS aims to develop collaboration among CEB members to achieve WSIS objectives, keep ICT and science and technology at the top of the UN agenda, and mainstream ICT for development within the mandates of CEB entities. In achieving this objective, the group contributes to WSIS implementation in particular at an international level, works to strengthen the role of the UN system in supporting developing countries’ access to new technologies, and facilities synergies within the UN system ‘in order to maximise joint efforts, avoid duplication and enhance effectiveness in achieving the WSIS outcomes’.

UNGIS’s coordination role was reinforced during the WSIS+10 review, as member states called for the group to continue to coordinate the work of UN agencies, according to their mandates and competencies (paragraph 68 of the WSIS+10 outcome document).

Internet governance and Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

During the WSIS preparatory phases, internet governance (IG) sparked several controversies. The primary debate centred around whether IG should be defined narrowly as the management of technical internet resources, or more broadly, to include economic, societal, and other issues arising from the internet’s use and evolution. There were also discussions on whether governments should play a stronger role in managing critical internet resources, such as the domain name system and internet protocol addresses.

Following a request made during the Geneva WSIS phase, the UN Secretary-General established a  multistakeholder Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) to look into these issues. Building on the group’s report, the Tunis Agenda adopted a working definition of internet governance (IG):

• ‘the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet’ (para 34).

The Agenda also requested that the UN Secretary-General to convene a new forum for multistakeholder policy dialogue – the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The forum’s mandate is outlined in paragraph 72 of the Agenda, and it includes a relatively long list of functions, from discussing public policy issues related to key elements of internet governance (72a) and contributing to capacity building for internet governance (72h), to identifying emerging issues and making recommendations, where appropriate (72g). Throughout the years, IGF activities have focused on some of these functions more than on others, for a variety of reasons ranging from limited financial resources, to disagreements as to whether and how the forum should pursue functions such as the issuance of recommendations.  

Enhanced cooperation

The Tunis Agenda introduced the concept of ‘enhanced cooperation’, aimed to enable governments to carry out their roles and responsibilities in international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet, and called for the launch of a ‘process towards enhanced cooperation’ (para 69–71).

The role of ECOSOC and CSTD in WSIS follow-up and review

The Tunis Agenda requested the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to oversee the system-wide follow-up of the Geneva and Tunis outcomes of WSIS (para 105). 

Through a resolution adopted in 2006, ECOSOC decided that CSTD is to assist the Council as the focal point in the system-wide follow-up to WSIS. To this aim, CSTD was tasked with reviewing and assessing progress made in implementing the outcomes of the Summit and advising ECOSOC on this matter, including through recommendations to the Council on furthering the implementation of outcomes (4, 6).

Three other provisions in the 2006 ECOSOC resolution have shaped the current process for review of WSIS outcomes implementation:

• Annual reports by the Secretary-General. The Council requested the UN Secretary-General to inform CSTD on the implementation of WSIS outcomes (18). In line with this request, the Secretary-General prepares annual reports on progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to WSIS outcomes. In practice, these reports are prepared on behalf of the Secretary-General by the secretariat of UNCTAD, based on information provided by entities in the UN systems, international organisations, and other stakeholders. The Secretary-General’s annual report is submitted to both CSTD (which considers them during its annual session) and ECOSOC. (These reports can be consulted on UNCTAD’s website.)
• Resolution on WSIS implementation. ECOSOC requested the Commission to submit to the Council, within its annual report, information on progress made in WSIS implementation and follow-up at the regional and international levels (19). It also decided to keep the GA informed on such progress, through its annual report, and taking into account CSTD work (20). In practice, this means that, at its annual sessions, CSTD adopts draft resolutions on WSIS outcomes implementation, which are submitted to ECOSOC for adoption. 
• Both the Secretary-General’s annual report and the annual ECOSOC resolution serve as input into – and are referenced in – the annual UNGA resolutions on ICT for sustainable development.

One example of this flow is the following: The Secretary-General’s Report on progress made in WSIS implementation in 2023 was considered by CSTD during its April 2024 meeting. At this meeting, the Commission adopted a draft resolution on WSIS implementation and included this in its overall report on the twenty-seventh session, submitted to ECOSOC. Building on this recommendation from CSTD,  in July 2024 ECOSOC adopted Resolution E/RES/2024/13, Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit. This ECOSOC resolution, as well as the Secretary-General’s report, are reflected in the UNGA 79 (draft) resolution on ICT for sustainable development.

The roles of ECOSOC and CSTD were reinforced during the WSIS+10 review in 2015, as the outcome document called for the continuation of annual reports on the implementation of WSIS outcomes, through CSTD, to ECOSOC (67).

It is worth noting that ITU also prepares annual reports on its contribution to the implementation of WSIS outcomes (based on a request by its Plenipotentiary Conference). These are discussed in the ITU Council Working Group on WSIS and SDGs, and submitted to CSTD; they serve as input into the preparation of the annual report on WSIS outcomes implementation by the UN Secretary-General. 

WSIS Stocktaking

During the Tunis Phase of WSIS, a WSIS Stocktaking process was initiated – in 2004 – to ‘leverage the activities of stakeholders working on the implementation of WSIS outcomes and share knowledge and experience of projects’. This process provides ‘a register of activities – including projects programmes, training initiatives, conferences, websites, guidelines, toolkits, etc. – carried out by governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, and other entities’ in relation to the 11 WSIS AL.

Over the years, the process has come to comprise a WSIS Stocktaking Database – maintained by ITU – containing ‘exchanges of information on projects; sharing of best practices of certain regions; initiatives related to the implementation of the 11 WSIS AL; linkage between the 11 AL and the SDGs’.

Also part of the process are Global WSIS Stocktaking reports which include information on WSIS-related activities as contributed by stakeholders.

This process has its origins in para 28e of the Geneva Plan of Action and para 120 of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.

WSIS+10 review process

The WSIS process was designed to be continuously evaluated to ensure its relevance and effectiveness in an ever-changing digital landscape. The Tunis Agenda (111) itself called for a ten-year review of the implementation of WSIS outcomes; in response to this call, UNGA decided in 2006 to conduct an overall WSIS review in 2015. 

The review process included multiple elements, among which were:

• A report by the CSTD secretariat on the 10-year review of progress made in the implementation of WSIS outcomes. The report was submitted to ECOSOC, who decided to also submit it as input into the preparatory process for the UNGA high-level meeting on WSIS+10 review. 
• An intergovernmental process at the UNGA level, which was led by two co-facilitators and included:
  • Intergovernmental preparatory meetings and informal sessions. 
  • Several drafts of the outcome document.
  • Contributions by other stakeholders (in line with a UNGA resolution, which decided that the intergovernmental process shall also take into account input from ‘all relevant stakeholders of WSIS’), through written submissions, interactive consultations, and the possibility for stakeholders to speak during the high-level meeting.
  • A high-level meeting of UNGA, on 15–16 December 2015, which marked the adoption of the outcome document (endorsed through UNGA Resolution A/RES/70/125). 

Some of the decisions taken in the context of the WSIS+10 review include the renewal of the IGF mandate, the establishment of a working group on enhanced cooperation (covered above, under the Enhanced cooperation section), and a request for a new high-level meeting on WSIS review in 2025.

Additional information

The Geneva Internet Platform followed the WSIS+10 process carefully and documented it.

WSIS, Agenda 2030, and digital cooperation

Since the adoption of WSIS outcomes documents in 2003 and 2005, several other processes and initiatives have been launched that are of relevance as we move into the WSIS+20 process. Below is a short overview: 

• 2015: Adoption of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development
  • The UNGA recommended that the outcome of the WSIS+20 high-level meeting in 2025 be an input into the review process for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (para 71 of the WSIS+10 outcome document). 
• 2018: The UN Secretary-General creates a High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.
• 2019: The Panel publishes its Age of digital interdependence report.
• 2020: The UN Secretary-General issues a Roadmap for digital cooperation.
• 2021: Establishment of Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology (OSET).
• 2021: The UN Secretary-General issues Our Common Agenda report.
  • The report includes a call for a Global Digital Compact to ‘outline shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future for all’ and be adopted at the Summit of the Future in 2024. 
• 2024: UN member states adopt the Global Digital Compact, annexed to the Pact for the Future.

Also relevant are the annual resolutions adopted by the UNGA on ICT for sustainable development (the most recent being Resolution 78/132 from December 2023) and on science, technology and innovation for sustainable development (the most recent being Resolution 78/160 from December 2023).

Additional documents and information

• CSTD Roadmap for the WSIS+20 review 
•  ITU Roadmap for the WSIS+20 Review
• UNESCO Report by the Director-General on the implementation of WSIS outcomes
• CSTD: WSIS+20 review