Open Forum #18 Digital Cooperation for Development Ungis in Action

Summary

This discussion focused on the United Nations agencies’ collaborative efforts in implementing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process as it approaches its 20-year review, particularly in relation to the Global Digital Compact (GDC). The session was moderated by representatives from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and featured participation from multiple UN agencies working together through the UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS).

UNESCO, serving as the current chair of UNGIS, emphasized the enduring relevance of WSIS’s technology-neutral framework, which has successfully adapted across successive waves of digital innovation from early internet adoption to today’s artificial intelligence era. The organization highlighted its role as lead facilitator for six WSIS action lines and its commitment to ensuring digital transformation serves humanity rather than the reverse. UNDP, as vice-chair of UNGIS, outlined its extensive on-ground presence in over 170 countries, supporting governments with digital transformation initiatives, AI assessments, and digital public infrastructure development.

Regional UN commissions played a significant role in the discussion, with representatives from Africa (UNECA), Latin America (ECLAC), and Asia-Pacific (UNESCAP) describing their regional implementation efforts. The African perspective particularly emphasized the need for continued WSIS expansion and addressing connectivity challenges, while ECLAC presented innovative tools like digital complexity simulators to support productive digital transformation.

Specialized agencies including WIPO, UNIDO, FAO, and UNU described their sector-specific contributions to digital development, from intellectual property databases and AI-powered manufacturing solutions to digital agriculture initiatives and academic research networks. A key theme throughout the discussion was the importance of avoiding duplication between WSIS and the GDC while ensuring coherent integration of both frameworks. The session concluded with stakeholder questions about digital health access in marginalized communities, demonstrating the practical implementation challenges these agencies collectively address in their coordinated approach to global digital cooperation.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **UN Agency Coordination and Collaboration**: The discussion emphasized how various UN agencies (UNESCO, UNDP, UNCTAD, UNECA, ECLAC, UNU, WIPO, UNIDO, FAO, UNESCAP) are working together through UNGIS (United Nations Group on the Information Society) to avoid duplication and ensure coordinated implementation of digital development initiatives across different regions and sectors.

– **WSIS Plus 20 Review Process**: A central focus was the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), highlighting how the framework has remained relevant and evolved with technological changes from early internet adoption through AI, and the need to strengthen it as a multi-stakeholder platform for digital cooperation.

– **Integration of Global Digital Compact (GDC) with WSIS Architecture**: Multiple speakers stressed the importance of integrating GDC commitments into the existing WSIS framework to avoid duplication and ensure a cohesive approach to digital cooperation, as recognized in recent ECOSOC resolutions.

– **Regional Implementation and Capacity Building**: Significant attention was given to how regional UN commissions (UNECA for Africa, ECLAC for Latin America, UNESCAP for Asia-Pacific) are implementing WSIS action lines at regional levels, with emphasis on addressing connectivity challenges, digital skills development, and supporting developing countries in digital transformation.

– **Practical Applications and Innovation**: Discussion of concrete initiatives including AI for development, digital public infrastructure, technology transfer, startup incubation, digital health solutions, and evidence-based policy tools that demonstrate how UN agencies are translating global frameworks into on-ground impact.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to showcase how UN agencies are collaboratively implementing the WSIS process and preparing for its 20-year review, while demonstrating coordination mechanisms to avoid duplication and ensure effective integration with newer frameworks like the Global Digital Compact.

## Overall Tone:

The tone was consistently professional, collaborative, and forward-looking throughout the session. Speakers demonstrated mutual respect and emphasized partnership approaches. The moderator maintained an encouraging and inclusive atmosphere, and there was a strong sense of shared purpose among participants. The tone remained constructive even when technical difficulties occurred with remote participants, and concluded on a positive note with appreciation for collaboration and an invitation for group photography.

Speakers

**Speakers from the provided list:**

– **Moderator** – Gitanjali (ITU representative), coordinates UN agency collaboration and WSIS process implementation

– **Participant 1** – UNESCO representative, Chair of UNGIS (United Nations Group on Information Society), lead facilitator for six WSIS action lines

– **Yu-Ping Lien** – UNDP (United Nations Development Program) representative, Vice-Chair of UNGIS, focuses on digital cooperation and AI for sustainable development

– **Liping Zhang** – UNCTAD CSTD representative, involved in WSIS plus 20 review process and ECOSOC resolutions

– **Participant 3** – Maghtar, UN regional commission representative (likely UNECA), works on African digital development and Internet Governance

– **Sebastian Rovira** – UN ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) representative, Vice-Chair of UNGIS, focuses on digital transformation in Latin America

– **Morten Langfeldt Dahlback Rapler** – United Nations University (UNU) representative, works on technology research, capacity building, and policy advice

– **Richard Gooch** – WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) representative, focuses on intellectual property and innovation databases

– **Jason Slater** – UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) representative, Chief AI Innovation Digital Officer, co-chair of Global Digital Compact implementation

– **Dejan Jakovljevic** – FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) representative, WSIS Champion, focuses on digital transformation in agri-food systems

– **Participant 4** – Siope, UNESCAP representative from Thailand, works on Asia-Pacific regional digital cooperation

– **Audience** – Multiple audience members including:

– Tsolofelo Mugoni – Internet Governance Coordinator from South Africa

– Ashling Lynch-Kelly – Foundation The London Story representative, Indian diaspora-led human and digital rights organization

**Additional speakers:**

None identified beyond those in the provided speakers names list.

# UN Agency Collaboration in WSIS Implementation and Global Digital Compact Integration

## Executive Summary

This discussion brought together representatives from multiple United Nations agencies to examine their collaborative efforts in implementing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process as it approaches its 20-year review milestone. Moderated by Gitanjali from ITU and featuring participation from UNESCO, UNDP, UNCTAD, regional UN commissions, and specialized agencies, the session focused on coordinated approaches through the UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS) to integrate the recently adopted Global Digital Compact (GDC) while avoiding duplication of efforts.

*Note: This summary is based on a transcript with significant technical audio issues that affected the clarity of several speakers’ contributions, particularly from UNESCO. Some speaker identifications and detailed content may be incomplete due to these recording limitations.*

## Opening Framework

Gitanjali from ITU established the context of WSIS as a unique multi-stakeholder platform that has evolved over two decades. She emphasized that UNGIS serves as a coordination mechanism bringing UN agencies together to drive digital transformation while avoiding duplication. The timing was significant as member states prepare for the WSIS Plus 20 review process and work to integrate Global Digital Compact commitments into existing frameworks.

The moderator highlighted the challenge of ensuring that diplomats and stakeholder communities understand how WSIS has evolved with technology over the past 20 years, moving beyond basic connectivity to encompass artificial intelligence, digital rights, and comprehensive digital transformation.

## Agency Perspectives

### UNESCO’s Coordinating Role

As current chair of UNGIS and lead facilitator for six WSIS action lines, UNESCO’s representative (Participant 1) emphasized that digital transformation must serve humanity rather than the reverse. They highlighted WSIS’s technology-neutral framework, which has successfully adapted across successive waves of digital innovation. UNESCO mentioned producing evidence-based policy tools, including Internet Universality indicators and AI governance assessments to support member states.

*Note: Large portions of UNESCO’s contribution were affected by audio quality issues in the original recording.*

### UNDP’s Development Approach

Yu-Ping Lien from UNDP, serving as vice-chair of UNGIS, outlined the organization’s presence in over 170 countries and support for over 130 countries with digital and AI programs designed to advance sustainable development goals. UNDP has developed a digital public infrastructure approach emphasizing interoperable, inclusive, and rights-based digital transformation through AI readiness assessments and capacity-building initiatives.

Yu-Ping acknowledged that “it is a difficult time for the multilateral system and the international collaborative spirit,” emphasizing the need to leverage existing institutions and collaborative partnerships that deliver measurable impact.

## Regional Implementation

### African Priorities

The UNECA representative presented African perspectives, requesting expansion of WSIS for the next 10 years in Africa alongside continuation of the Internet Governance Forum. They emphasized Africa’s ongoing connectivity and infrastructure challenges, including electricity access issues that impact digital development. The representative called for mechanisms to integrate WSIS with the Global Digital Compact while establishing evaluation and monitoring systems, and requested institutionalization of the Internet Governance Forum.

### Latin American Innovation

Sebastian Rovira from UN ECLAC, joining virtually, presented approaches for the Latin American region, including digital complexity simulators to support productive digital transformation. ECLAC’s digital agenda aligns with the WSIS process while focusing on productive development and digital transformation challenges unique to the region.

### Asia-Pacific Cooperation

Siope from UNESCAP, joining from Thailand, outlined the Asia-Pacific region’s approach to promoting regional cooperation through steering committee meetings and best practice sharing, emphasizing collaborative learning and knowledge exchange.

## Specialized Agency Contributions

### WIPO – Intellectual Property and Innovation

Richard Gooch from WIPO provided data on AI-related patent applications, which increased by 3,000% between 2010 and 2024, with a 60% increase between 2021 and 2022. WIPO’s databases serve as resources for innovation and technology transfer, particularly through Technology and Innovation Support Centers helping innovators in developing countries access patent information.

### UNIDO – Industrial Applications

Jason Slater from UNIDO, serving as Chief AI Innovation Digital Officer and co-chair of Global Digital Compact implementation, presented applications of digital transformation in manufacturing. UNIDO helps small and medium enterprises integrate AI-powered solutions into production lines to improve energy efficiency and productivity. The ScaleX program supports startups and scales solutions for member states through accelerator programs and innovation challenges.

### FAO – Agricultural Transformation

Dejan Jakovljevic from FAO, recognized as a WSIS Champion, emphasized digital transformation of agri-food systems and production of digital public goods. FAO advocates for fundamental transformation of agricultural systems rather than simple efficiency improvements, addressing challenges like food security through integrated digital solutions.

### UNU – Research and Capacity Building

Morten Langfeldt Dahlback Rapler from United Nations University outlined UNU’s contributions through independent research, capacity building, and policy advice. UNU provides intellectual foundation for evidence-based digital governance, with approximately 1,000 experts across multiple global locations.

## Integration and Coordination Challenges

### Global Digital Compact Integration

Liping Zhang from UNCTAD CSTD emphasized that recent ECOSOC resolutions expect UNGIS to play a bigger role in the WSIS Plus 20 review process and develop implementation mapping for GDC integration. The consensus was that UNGIS provides the appropriate coordination mechanism for this integration, leveraging existing inter-agency relationships rather than creating new structures.

### Avoiding Duplication

Multiple speakers emphasized avoiding duplication between WSIS and GDC implementation, reflecting broader multilateral system challenges where overlapping mandates can reduce effectiveness. The solution involves leveraging existing successful mechanisms like UNGIS while adapting to new requirements.

## Audience Engagement

The discussion included audience questions, notably from Tsolofelo Mugoni from South Africa and Ashling Lynch-Kelly representing Foundation The London Story, who highlighted challenges in digital health implementation in India. Lynch-Kelly noted that while digital health democratizes healthcare access, marginalized communities often remain excluded, emphasizing the gap between policy aspirations and ground reality.

## Next Steps and Future Directions

The discussion identified several priorities:

– Enhanced UNGIS role in the WSIS Plus 20 review process

– Development of comprehensive implementation mapping for GDC integration

– Continued regional engagement through ministerial conferences

– Expansion of joint capacity building programs

– Youth engagement through networking events, including a youth party mentioned at the ITU Maubriant building

## Conclusion

This discussion demonstrated ongoing UN inter-agency collaboration in digital development while highlighting challenges in ensuring inclusive digital transformation. The emphasis on leveraging existing mechanisms like UNGIS rather than creating new structures reflects both resource management considerations and recognition of proven partnerships. The path forward requires continued attention to inclusive implementation and development of concrete mechanisms for measuring progress, building on the foundation of 20 years of WSIS implementation.

Moderator: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is after lunch. Try to keep it as interesting as possible. We have our UN agency colleagues here with us today to talk a bit more about what the UN is doing with reference to the WSIS process. As you all know, the WSIS is a UN process because we have the UNGA resolutions, ECOSOC resolutions. Within our own UN agencies, we have several resolutions that our membership have approved. So we are here to tell you more about what we are doing and what we think of the future of the WSIS process. The United Nations Group on the Information Society, it plays a pivotal role in advancing the mandates of WSIS on digital for development. It was created by the chief executive board to ensure that the UN system works together to drive digital transformation and sustainable development. We are a very effective and well-coordinated outcome-oriented group. We have chairs, vice chairs, and members of the CEB who are members of the UNGIS. We have extended it to observer members as well that include new UN entities like ODET. Well, the key mandates of UNGIS include policy coordination, multi-stakeholder engagement like we are doing today, supporting internationally agreed global development goals, monitoring and reporting, and of course UNGIS has been instrumental in supporting the Global Digital Compact and making sure that we deliver UNGIS inputs into the Global Digital Compact. So without any further delay I would like to invite of course our Chair UNESCO and our Vice-Chairs UNCTAD, UNDP, I represent ITU to kind of let us know what they are doing, what our vision is and of course aligning it with the GDC without duplications. UNESCO, I’ll pass the floor to you first, over to you, please.

Participant 1: Thank you very much Gitanjali. So just to highlight that indeed the 20-year review of WSIS is a pivotal moment to assess the progress and explore future directions and for us one of the enduring strengths of WSIS framework lies in its technology neutral and principle-based design. The action lines of WSIS and the outcome documents were deliberately crafted to transcend specific technologies and this design philosophy has allowed the WSIS framework to remain relevant across successive waves of digital innovation from the early days of the internet adoption through the rise of mobile phones and social media into today’s transformative era of the AI and at UNESCO as the lead facilitator for six action lines out of ways that up-to date and unique technologies can transform humanity into the best version. And what we mean by that in terms of validity efforts Technology by UNESCO together with the row and Ito Nomura. They launched a referendum by October 20th, and UNESCO’s report for the 20 years of WSIS contributing to the 28th session of the CSCD called for reinforcement of WSIS as a central multi-stakeholder platform that facilitates international cooperation in the digital policy. And for us, WSIS can strengthen its position as a hub for dialogue on emerging technologies, on issues such as misinformation, gender equality, and digital rights. To this end, it’s essential to further expand WSIS’s unique multi-stakeholder engagement with grassroots organizations, with youth, with marginalized communities. Our work is indeed guided by a singular vision that digital transformation must serve the humanity, not the other way around, as it has been highlighted and stated from UNESCO’s report. And we’re also committed to building capacity, training, and education for WSIS, as it has been highlighted and stated from various UN agencies, and in this vein, UNESCO is supporting Member States, for example, with evidence-based policy tools, such as the Internet Universality, RomEx indicators, to readiness assessment methodology for AI governance, just to give a few concrete examples. We’re also committed to working with educators, civil servants, and judicial actors to navigate the complexities of the digital era. like we can therefore grow these technologies further and further in the future, and then where we have been in India or in the U.S., it’s a resource again for employing individuals, 31% of the population. And we are also very grateful to the UN, we also served as the first consultation of the review process, and we are thankful to the co-facilitators of the representatives of Albania and Kenya to the UN for their engagement and cooperation, and of course our key partners of ITU and UNDP, and it is important to point out that UNESCO is a key partner of ITU and UNDP, and UNESCO is also a key partner of ITU and UNDP, and we are very grateful to the UN for this approach and in partnership with our UN colleagues, and our engagement within UNGIS, the UN group on the information society is central to this effort, and as a current chair of the group alongside with vice chairs ITU, UNDP and UNGTAT, UNESCO helps ensure that we maintain peace and harmony after the international agreement was agreed between the two Governments. We keep that in mind, and we hope through the exchanges in some sense to Flagler’s problems, he has brought the opportunities in the new shapes to cylinder open up.

Moderator: Thank you very much. Supervisors Tata, Conference comment please join us on the podium as well. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. which will feed into the WSIS Plus 20 overall review, highlighting the importance of the work that UNESCO is doing to implement the WSIS process and the vision of WSIS. So really, as you mentioned, the United Nations Group on Information Society, UNGIS, is a digital cooperation in action. We have been working together, not only to provide inputs to other UN processes and events happening, but also showing how UN can work together and avoid duplication. Thank you so much. I’d like to pass on to Yuping from UNDP, who is also vice chair of UNGIS. Yuping, over to you.

Yu-Ping Lien: Thank you so much, Gitanjali, and really thank you to colleagues for all being here today and to the stakeholders for spending so much of your time with us. As the United Nations Development Program, we’re very proud to be a co-convener of the WSIS Forum and also to work in partnership with all our sister and brother UN agencies, really thinking about how we deliver directly to communities and countries in the area of digital cooperation. So the United Nations Development Program is the UN’s development wing. We’re present in over 170 countries and territories around the world, and we have been, in many countries, the face of the UN in terms of accompanying a national government through all phases of its development, and particularly in countries where sometimes it is a little bit more of a challenging environment. And the United Nations Development Program has functioned as the right hand of government in implementing public services, supporting institutional operations, and really helping to deliver public services to the citizens and people of that country. So right now, for instance, we are in over 130 countries with supporting on programs or implementing programs on leveraging digital and AI to achieve the sustainable development goals. We have supported over 60 countries, I think, at last count in more specific areas, such as AI and digital assessments, digital capacity building, supporting the rollout of digital public infrastructure, technical advisory support to governments, in really thinking about how digital can be leveraged for a transformation. of their countries in support of development itself. And then we work very closely with our UN agency partners in many specific areas. So with the ITU on global AI skills and capacity building, with UNESCO colleagues on AI landscape and readiness assessments, and really looking at how there are specific areas in which we can really turn global discussions into concrete areas of work. I’ve touched on the various areas. We work at all levels, national, in-country, regional, through our regional bureaus, as well as the global sort of convening areas, as well as in thought leadership around digital public infrastructure, around AI for sustainable development, around sort of thinking about how AI and digital can be leveraged to achieve development with very practical delivery aspects. I want to really emphasize this idea that in some ways, because UNDP has such a broad developmental mandate, we can work across all these sectors to really bring together digital transformation, digital cooperation in a holistic and comprehensive way. So we work, for instance, with the technical expertise of our different colleagues that focus on the particular sectors. We’re bringing into a overall, all of government type developmental approach, whereby it’s not really just looking at one piece in isolation, but trying to bring it all together in a development perspective and a whole of government approach. So in that way, we serve as an integrated in-country, partnering with a lot of our colleagues that bring that level of technical expertise to the support of member states directly in-country itself. I just want to also support the point that’s been made by my other colleagues that in the implementation of the WSIS action lines and the WSIS framework, this coming together of the UN agencies through this type of interagency collaboration has been very powerful. The role of the United Nations Group on Information Society that UNESCO had highlighted and currently chairs has been critical in bringing about this kind of policy coherence, alignment, information sharing, and then the collaboration that can really bring to bear the cooperative strengths, the comparative advantages and expertise of the various UN systems. And then on the final point, I do also note that it is a difficult time for the multilateral system. and the international collaborative spirit that has brought us all together. The fact that WSIS is 20 years old, that we’re coming still together to discuss such aspects as capacity development, and the need to make sure that everyone, every way, including developing countries and the global South, are part of this global conversation, is really important. But that is why we in the WSIS Plus 20 review process need to double down on the idea of delivery of impact, of leveraging existing institutions, interagency mechanisms, and collaborative efforts and partnerships that have worked, that have delivered, and really continue to see how we can further support them at this critical moment. Alain and Dan, I really look forward to hearing from other colleagues and stakeholders.

Moderator: Thank you, Yu-Ping. UNDP is not only a close partner of the WSIS process, but also one of our main voices in New York, along with the New York offices that each one of us have. Thanks a lot for keeping us all updated about what’s going on in New York. We have made several efforts to ensure that the diplomats and the wider stakeholder community in New York is also abreast of what’s happening within the WSIS process, because finally the negotiations are going to take place in New York in December, and we would need each one of you to be advocates in New York for us, to be able to explain the importance of the WSIS process, the multi-stakeholder elements that it has, and also that it’s evolved with the evolution of technology. So the framework of WSIS Action Lines, the UN Framework, and so on and so forth, it all has evolved with the evolution of technology in these 20 years, and it’s not that we were set 20 years back and we are old and we have not evolved. As you can see, we are all standing here in front of you, ensuring that we are agile in digital. cooperation and that we are delivering. So, thank you very much. I have Ms. Liping Zhang from UNCTAD CSTD with us online. Liping, can you hear us? The floor is yours, Liping.

Liping Zhang: Can you hear me? Yes, Liping, please go ahead. Thank you, Gitanjali. Well, it’s a great pleasure to participate in this event at IGF again because we launched the CSTD consultation on WSIS plus 20 at IGF in Kyoto in October 2023. So, we are very happy to participate in this event organized by ITU at the IGF.

Moderator: Liping, we lost you. We don’t hear you anymore. Okay, we do hope we’ll get Liping back. As you all know, member states negotiated the ECOSOC resolution at the annual CSTD and one of the main paragraphs which were approved was that it recognizes the importance of integrating the implementation of GDC commitments into the WSIS architecture in order to avoid duplication and ensure a cohesive and consistent approach to digital cooperation. So, this really shows us the way member states are thinking currently of including the GDC objectives into the WSIS architecture. Liping, are you back? I just referred to the resolution that was adopted. Okay, while we get Liping back, maybe we could move to Maghtar because we are also working with the UN regional commissions that have a mandate to implement WSIS.

Participant 3: governance of cyber security with human rights and security european countryment meeting, these are the two events that start at the regional level. Mack fist he ask Mack privy TA , we are meeting we are very good progress in several areas challenges. meeting was adoption of the declaration Just, we are a large to make sure we align and integrate all this what is important we requested and framework in the wishes for the next outcome of this meeting. And also, we have adopted a declaration on African Internet Governance Forum in Tanzania end of May, and also, we have adopted a declaration on African Internet Governance Forum. This declaration call upon the continuation of IGF also for ten years to align with the request we have done in Cotonou, and also to align with the interpretation by the receipt authorities. And the organization need to come up and work on ways to avoid any duplication, with this framework. and the challenges faced by African countries, such as this issue of connectivity. It’s the issue of electricity also should be included in the next phase of which is because it’s something very important. Issue of data governance, of course, is covered in the Global Digital Compact, and AI also as a key issue. And also, the inclusion of people with disability on the general process of the digital economy in the world. Also, as the youngest review, we have several activities with our sister agency. I can highlight some. We already developed. We launched two weeks ago. We’ve entered the report on technology and innovation. It went very well. We are working also closely with ITU to develop this Africa Digital Gap to be ready by September. It is requested by the sector general to work closely with ITU to develop this Africa Digital Gap. Also, ICA has developed a taxation for the ICT sector model. This taxation show how, when we optimize the taxation on the ICT sector, we can increase the GDP, the job creation, as well as connectivity. And we agree with ITU to work together to expand this taxation report and taxation calculator in other regions across the world. Also, we work closely with ITU on the digital public infrastructure, also for Africa. We also organized with UNESCO and ITU, also the SEAS Technology Innovation Forum for Africa, held in Uganda in April. It went very well. And a lot of discussion was around how we can promote innovation using AI across the continent in line with the implementation of the five objectives of the GDC. On digital ID, also, we work. We have a good example with UNDP in UNICEF in Malawi to develop their strategy and their project on digital ID. Also on data governance, we are working closely with some UN agencies in four countries, namely DRC, Mozambique, Tanzania and Burundi to support them to develop their national data governance strategy as well as to build their capacity on data governance. In conclusion, I think we need to work all together and more efficiently given this budget issue and UNICEF and IT work closely and UNCCAD and UNDP and I think we can replicate this in several countries with other organizations and in conclusion, for Africa, the message is very clear. We request the expansion of WSIS for the next 10 years in Africa and the IGF also for the next 10 years and of course to avoid any duplication with global digital compact, we should put in place a mechanism for integration of this framework as well as a mechanism for evaluation and monitoring for WSIS, for IGF to measure the progress and where we can correct it because we have a target in WSIS but we don’t have it in the Internet Governance Forum as well as we need also to institutionalize Internet Governance Forum. It is a summary of key activity undertaken in Africa under the committee. Thank you.

Moderator: Thank you, Magtar and thank you for emphasizing on the important role that regional commissions are playing at the regional level to implement WSIS. I do have Sebastian. Sebastian Roviria on our list from UN ECLAC, the Latin American Commission. Colleagues, the production company, could we know if Sebastian is online? Yes, I can see him on the screen. Sebastian, it’s really late for you. Over to you.

Sebastian Rovira: Thank you very much, Ms. Jethahali. Nice to be here. Actually, it’s a pleasure to share. I’m also trying to be online here with you. Just to bring some issue related to what we have been doing in ECLAC related to digital transformation in the last, in the last, maybe in the last year. As you know, ECLAC has been indeed very at the forefront of design and analytical to support government in navigating the digital transformation. So we have been put a strong emphasis on evidence-based policy. And one of our flagship initiative in this is how we call simulator of productive digital transformation for support. The, actually the design and implementation of new tools to support digital transformation in the region. As you know, this is a tool very, actually is grounding the concept of digital complexity. Something, this is something new for the region. And actually we’re trying to seek to understand the capacity of a country that, or sector also, to be integrate and absorb advanced digital technologies based on its productive and technology capacity. This is important also to our digital agenda to implement the ECLAC agenda. This is a regional project that we have been working in the last 20 years. I’m very in line with the WSIS process. And these tools are actually, we’re trying to actually support the identification of digital pathway for different sectors of the economy. I also try to quantify the. distance to be more complex in the digital technology. I also design target intervention by matching technology demand with the institutional and productive readiness of the territory. So in this, in the context of the WSIS plus 20 review process, this approach trying to contribute to concretely to several dimension of the digital development agenda. This is important also to scale up the cell for and require not just technical collaboration but also political alignment and resources mobilization. You know, the WSIS plus 20 provide a unique opportunity to formalize these kind of synergies and embedded digital complexity approach into the global digital cooperation architecture and particularly in the context of the GDC and the SDG implementation. So I think this is very important also to try to identify new tools and also how we can collaborate in this process since, you know, the digital transformation actually accelerate is important also to trying to identify new ways on how we can support and also collaborate in this process. Up to you, Jitha, how are you?

Moderator: Thank you, Sebastian. And thank you for being the vice chair of UNGES this year bringing the regional perspectives and ECLAC is one of the regional commissions that organizes the ministerial conference on information society in Latin America and the Caribbean region and covers WSIS through that ministerial session as well. So this year it was, last year it was held in Chile. So thank you so much.

Sebastian Rovira: Absolutely, absolutely. Now we have, you know, we have this new agenda. This is the agenda for these two years, the ECLAC 2026. It was approved last year in 2024 with some key elements in the agenda. You know, the agenda is organized and actually. We have three main pillars, one related to productive development, another with well-being, and another with the transformation of the state. And there are other axes that are more transversal to the agenda. One is related to the meaningful connectivity and digital infrastructure. This is something that really important that we have identified. This is not enough, obviously, to count on you have the infrastructure of being connected. It’s also other elements that must be important also to be assured that you are using the connectivity in a proper way, and you can also appropriate from the value that this technology could bring to the people. Another one is related to the governance of digital security. And this is every day is being more and more important, particularly related to the advance of artificial intelligence. How you are governance, the data that is generated in this space, and also the IGF count and it started to be much, much more important. And the last one is related to this innovation and this emerging new technology. The old artificial intelligence and these other aspects, how you are using these to support the sustainable development. The agenda, as Gitanjali says, is organized on these three main pillars and these three main axes, and the idea is how you use this also to accelerate the transformation, digital transformation, but this acceleration must be inclusive and that the same way allowed countries and the region to transform their productive process and also the inclusion process. We also, for sure, have new instrument to implement this agenda. One, as was saying, is this related to this simulator. This is part of the digital transformation lab. Another one, and I think this is very important, is an observatory on digital development. because, you know, and this is obvious for developing regions, you need data, you need, you must do evidence-based policies and every day is being more and more important. Another one is related to this, the necessary and importance of, you know, support capacity building and we have some digital schools, digital formation school for the Latin America and for the Caribbean. And the last one is related to these working groups that we have in the framework of the ELAG process, one related to digital economy, another artificial intelligence, another meaningful connectivity, data governance, and the Caribbean are some of the instruments that we’re working in the process of this ELAG because it’s not just a political agenda, it’s also an implementing agenda that’s trying to support the countries in this digital formation process.

Moderator: Thank you so much, Sebastian, for joining us virtually, even though you couldn’t be here with us physically this time, and we really appreciate the implementation of the WSIS process at the regional level and you also won the WSIS prize one year, I recall, and really like the Latin American region is much more engaged in the WSIS process, thanks to the advocacy that ELAG has been doing. Thank you so much. I can, there’s light, but I do see Mr. Slater from UNIDO also there. Slater, if you’d like to join us here, that would be great. I would now like to pass on the floor to Martin from United Nations University. Martin, tell us what’s happening in that world.

Morten Langfeldt Dahlback Rapler: Thank you. It’s not a short answer, but I’ll try and highlight a few things. So, first of all, UNU has long recognized the potential of technology and it’s been a core focus across all our work since the late, early 1990s. This is anything from water management and natural resource management to peacekeeping and the transformation of society or the public sector at large. Naturally, we’ve been supporting the WSIS process from the onset and we generally link this to the SDGs and the GDC. So for instance, we contribute to the WSIS process, we participate in the WSIS forum every year, we bring our partners there, but we also contribute to the formulation of the pact of the future, and we facilitated the data deep dive consultation for the GDC to ensure that it’s aligned, and in fact we worked with Makta and his team to do that on AI and data governance in the African context. Today, we actively collaborate with all UN agencies essentially, and we also work with regional and national partners. Uniquely, UNU is not funded by the UN general budget. It is funded directly by our national partners, our regional partners. So we are instead funded by member states who relies on us or entrust us with independent research, capacity building, policy advice and assessment, and of course we bring the WSIS objectives and other objectives from the UN system into that work. Today we are about a thousand experts, not officials, but experts working in 19 different locations across 14 countries. We do that in different ways. We usually do that in local collaboration with research entities, so we’re usually co-hosted with a university or research organization and enjoys the support from national or local or regional government in terms of our financing. We are also deeply embedded into the UN digital cooperation architecture and contribute to a various number of forums. So our rector… is a member on the UN Secretary’s General Scientific Advisory Board. Our UN office is working with the Office for ICT on this year’s Digital Technologies Report. We are also leading research support for the Advisory Board for Artificial Intelligence. Together with ITU, we are developing the AI for Good flagship project. We are also working on AI in cities with U4SSE, which is another ITU initiative, but targeting local authorities and AI in the city context. We ran a series of webinars with the International Social Security Association on all things AI in social security protection and universal coverage, and that culminated on a report with policy recommendations for social security agencies last year. We are also part of the Working Group on Data Governance from the SCDD. We are actually in the Working Group on Digital Inclusion for the Islamic Development Bank, and on Sunday, we are launching a five-day virtual training on that with their member states and partners from there. We work closely with the UNDP DPI Safeguards Group. We are part of the Open Source Convex project that is being launched quite recently by the Office of the ICT, together with RISE, the Swedish Research Institute. In the regional context, we have set up a number of member state networks on digital transformation. We already launched one a few years ago for West Africa together with UNECA and also the African Union and UNDESA. That led to the launch of a South and East African Governance Network last year in South Africa. And Tuesday, we launched a Central Asian Governance Network sponsored by the government of Turkmenistan. Lastly, we also run a number of different type of online networks, so again local government, service online is a network that was also presented earlier today by the Tunisians together with UNDESA, we do the same with innovation in health led by technology in the hospice and we run a number of conference series bringing both practitioners, civil society and decision makers and researchers together, so the next one is in October, the AI conference series in Macau and our ISCOF conference hosted by the government of Nigeria in Abuja in November. So essentially we support WSIS and the process and the objectives throughout our work, again we’re focusing on independent evidence based insights, particularly tailoring the implementation on some of our objectives in the member states and always try and link that from governance to practical implementation.

Moderator: Thank you Martin for that really comprehensive response and in fact I recall we’ve been working with UNU, not only your eGov centre but also there’s a centre in Macau that has been working with us since really the inception of WSIS and we’ve always been exploring the academic training angles, not only that I think we’ve been in joint sessions with countries to also explore the implementation of WSIS action lines on the ground, so thank you so much for this excellent collaboration that we have here for WSIS. I’ll move on to Richard from WIPO, who’s not only our good neighbour in Geneva but has been working very closely with us on various issues, Richard over to you.

Richard Gooch: Absolutely, thank you very much Geetanjali for inviting me and of course we’re confirming that as a good neighbour from across the street we always work very closely with WIPO. our good friends from ITU. So just to say that as the UN Agency for Intellectual Property, WIPO serves, of course, these world’s innovators and creators. We do this through our international IP registries that help them transform the ideas from across borders or by setting international IP standards and norms. So this includes, of course, the two new international multilateral treaties that have been concluded last year. One of the more exciting also work of our organization is our ability to track intellectual property activity across the world. And our databases include among others, well, 120 million patent documents, 17 million designs, 68 million trademarks. And all of this data is available for anyone to use and it is powered by different AI tools that help search and translate it to different languages. So examples, what you can do with this IP information. So you can find among others that over the past 20 years, patent applications have grown the fastest in computer technologies and digital communication with an average annual growth of around 8%. Between 2010 and 2024, the number of patent grants for AI technology was up over 3,000% and only between 21 and 22, it was 60%. And this is just a snippet of all the information you can find within this IP information. This is all the findings, the insights you can get from this IP information. This is just a snippet of it. Through our patent information insight reports, we leverage all this patent information to explore a number of technologies such as AI, of course, but also assistive technologies, transportation or health and safety tech. And on many of these, we are working very closely with a lot of our UN family partners. as well as beyond. Perhaps to also say that equally important is that all this information is also used by our innovators and creators, because by accessing this data, accessing this information, then they can avoid duplication of R&D, build on existing knowledge and improving inventions, assess potentiability of their inventions, identify licensing and collaboration opportunities, and many more. So at WIPO, we really want to make sure that all innovators from across the world have access to this knowledge gathered in these databases, and that they know how to use it. So this is why we continue to expand our technology and innovation support centers in short disks. Typically, they are located in the patent office, universities, and science and tech parks in developing and least developed countries, and they enable the researchers and inventors to get access and to use the technological information gathered in this database, and a score of scientific and technical publications which is linked to it. In recent years, also, the disks have been starting developing additional innovation support services, such as technology transfer, IP management, or commercialization. And since disks were launched back in 2009, 93 countries have established these networks, helping innovators develop new innovations across local communities. This is just one of the wide examples that I could be giving. We have submitted, of course, our VCs plus 20 review, where you can find all our work on digital and development. But being here, also, just to mention that being here in IGF and hearing all the discussions, including on AI, let me just mention that we also have our WIPO conversation, which is a forum intended to provide everyone with a leading global setting to discuss all the impacts of frontier technologies and all the many different IP rights, and to also bridge that information gap. What is also important is that following the different versions of the conversations, we provide a range of tools and on-the-ground projects, such as the AI and IP Policy Toolkit, or the upcoming AI and Infrastructure Interchange. And I know the time is always running short, and I’m always looking at the clock and the moderator, but I just want to finish by saying that WIPO is always looking forward to supporting all our stakeholders and countries in ensuring that every innovation creator can thrive. And we love doing this together with our UN family and our partners from across the world. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Moderator: Thank you very much, Richard. I’ll move on to Jason Slater from UNIDO. Jason, I recall once the SDGs were adopted in 2015, UNIDO got together with us and we wanted to highlight resilient infrastructure, the SDG 9. And we had a great partnership within the WSIS process. There were also several high-level dialogues in 2017, and so on and so forth. So really, UNIDO plays a very important role in terms of the resilient infrastructure part. Not only that, but much more. We’re also partnering for the youth track this year. UNIDO is bringing some young people to the WSIS high-level events, so please do join us to see the spirit of the youngsters and what they want us to do beyond 2025. Over to you, Jason.

Jason Slater: Thank you very much. And thank you for putting me on the spot. So I don’t have any prepared speaking notes whatsoever. But, yeah, no, I mean, understanding what the topic is, which is key around collaboration. As you pointed out, we’ve been working together with yourselves, ITU now for a number of years, with my colleague next door now in FAO. How are we collaborating on agriculture, supply chains, et cetera, looking at certain value chains such as coffee and what have you. But just to take a slight step back. You know, we hear about the spirit of cooperation, we hear about what WSIS has been doing. As you mentioned, we’ve been collaborating now in a number of years with WSIS on some of the action lines. Last year we had the adoption of the Global Digital Compact. UNIDO has been appointed as one of the co-chairs, along with our colleagues from UNTAD, on inclusive sustainable digital economy. And what we are doing, and we’re using forums such as WSIS and AI for Good, is how can we have a call for solutions? From UNIDO’s perspective, we’re really looking at how can we build up this multi-stakeholder approach through the private sector, through academia, through think tanks, to ultimately identify solutions that can solve problems of our member states. And that, of course, is not something that’s unique to us. A number of us are doing this on the panel, and I’m sure we’re all working with similar ecosystems, and that’s something that I think we can come together more and more and amplify, because if we do this collectively, with each of our unique mandates and specializations, we will have a much, much greater impact. So just, if I may just touch on a few specific areas that we are now prioritizing. So in my role as Chief AI Innovation Digital Officer, providing services to our 172 member states, we realized that we are having to focus on areas that, when we talk about AI, that’s perhaps not as what’s so commonly known at the moment, when we think about Gen AI and what’s going on around Copilot, Gemini, GPT, et cetera, but really about what can you do when you’re leveraging AI in, for example, smart manufacturing? How can you help a small-medium enterprise who’s got a relatively old-aging production line and inject it with AI-powered chips that can make their production line more energy-efficient? etc. So, this is an area that we’ve seen that we want to start to support even more, so we’re establishing a number of centres of excellences, for example in Addis in Ethiopia in collaboration with the Chinese government, in Morocco, in Tunisia. We have a number of others that will be coming up in Latin America in the coming months, in Cuba, in Venezuela and what have you, and really to see how can we build up this partnership-based approach to bring those solutions from technology providers, from industry, etc. so that our member states can ultimately benefit from this. Last but not least, I would just like to also mention that in this space of innovation, how can we also harness what’s going on around start-ups and innovators. We have a programme that’s referred to ScaleX, which is basically Free Fold. It has an accelerator programme. Actually, again, we did this in collaboration with FAO last year. We had an innovation challenge. We had wonderful people who actually won the award that developed an AI chip that could smell food loss, which we’re now actually looking to deploy in some of our projects. So, in addition to this, we have the innovation side as well, which is a collaboration between ourselves as UN agencies with the corporate sector and, in particular, with fund managers as well, so that we can ultimately support and help start-ups scale their solutions and become investable. With that, I will just take a minute to pause, knowing about the time, and say thank you very much for inviting me to this stage and looking forward to continuing with our collaboration and see you in a couple of weeks.

Moderator: Thank you, Jason, and just for those of you who will join the high-level event, as part of the youth track, we will have a youth party. It’s a youth networking event, so all of us are invited. We’re all young at heart, so you’re all invited to the ITU Maubriant building on the 7th for the youth party. So, Jason, you mentioned the hackathons and the smart challenges. These are really great. But one thing we really need to look at is also the incubation of this good work. You did touch upon it, like how do we incubate these startups? So that’s something we would really like to explore more with FAO and UNIDO. And while we are talking about FAO, Deyan, congratulations, you’re a WSIS champion this year. WSIS prizes champion. Can you tell us more about the project and the work that you’re doing?

Dejan Jakovljevic: Yes, of course. Before I mentioned the project, first of all, thank you for inviting me also to the stage. So Food and Agriculture Organization, our focus is to basically end hunger. And the way we approach that is by looking at having better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life. And to achieve that, we know that technology or the digital opportunities offer us enablement, but also acceleration of the urgently needed transformation of agri-food systems. So how do we do that? We basically don’t look only at one sector and, for example, only to improve production, but we also look into improving production and opportunities to transform. And I think this is maybe common, what I’m hearing also with our colleagues from our agencies. The opportunities we see and we need to take advantage of require transformation, not simply doing the same thing, but maybe more efficient, but actually transformation. And this is some of the projects that you’re mentioning as well from UNIDO. If we look at FAO contribution, what we focus on is producing the digital public goods. We are also contributing to digital public infrastructures. We also provide advisories and enablement mechanisms for countries to transform agri-food system sector. So, digitalization on different elements. But also, if I look around just this panel, most of the enabling elements is actually among us. So, this is where we see a huge benefit of UNGIS and this is also GDC and other instruments that we use for the enabling elements. I’ll just give a few examples. We do know we still need to work on connectivity, so we heavily rely on broadband commission and work of ITU on that and we really appreciate all the efforts. We also know we need to step up the educational elements and we have UNESCO here as well. So, we have jointly all together, how to say, the mandates and the instruments to move forward. One of the other areas that is very important to mention is that we need to work cross-sectorial. FAO cannot cover all the sectors, our mandate is clear, so we do depend on others and we see that as opportunity, so we will continue to work in this way. And yes, I think this is our second or third WSIS Champion Award. So, that particular project is focusing on avoiding food loss, in fact, and this is one area that is not really fully explored and a lot of food is being wasted even before harvest and before it gets to the table. So, this is one of the examples. But some of the major capabilities we provide are for stakeholders, so for targeted interventions and for investment cases. So, this is something that we do every October at the World Food Day, at the 80th birthday also of FAO this year. And also, we provide digital public goods to the farmers. So knowledge products in hand, or what we refer to as extension services. So again, looking at the clock, thank you very much, but I’ll be around if any questions come up. Thank you.

Moderator: Thank you, Dejan. A colleague from UNSCAP messaged me that he’s also online. So production team, if you can get COP, the floor, it’s 8.30 in Thailand. So COP, thank you so much for being there. COP, can you hear us? The floor is yours, COP. This is… Hi, Kirtanjali. Please go ahead, COP. Hi.

Participant 4: Well, first of all, thank you so much, Kirtanjali, for inviting ESCAP. I’m pleased to be part of the conversation this evening. ESCAP looks forward to working closely with ITU, and we have done in the past. Through our regional programs, we have worked together with ITU on the regional review of WSIS. And of course, every year, we hold the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Steering Committee, of which we work together with ITU to bring in the champions in the Asia-Pacific region to share their projects with other Asia-Pacific countries and try to promote best practices and lessons learned from other countries. So we look forward to doing that this year as well. I think the next API Steering Committee meeting is planned for November of this year. So we look forward to working together with ITU on that and also other agencies. As you may know, ESCAP continues to work with member states in the region to promote regional cooperation on connectivity. through capacity building and also policy advisory on digital transformation. We look forward to working together with other agencies through UNKISS to promote digital cooperation and transformation in the region. So thank you so much for the opportunity to contribute to today’s conversation. Thank you.

Moderator: Thank you, Siope, and thanks for being with us. It’s so late in Thailand, so thank you so much. With that, we’d like to open the floor. I do see some of you who were raising your hand earlier. Was it – guys, this is your chance to raise your – oh, ma’am, please introduce yourself and please take the floor.

Audience: Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Tsolofelo Mugoni. I’m Internet Governance Coordinator from South Africa. Firstly, let me start by saying it is very pleasing to see a wide range of UN agencies take the floor and talk to us about the work that they do. So thank you to the facilitator and the coordinator for coordinating this session. At South Africa, we recognize and commend the work of UNJUS, particularly in driving digital cooperation within UN systems. We particularly acknowledge and commend the work of UN agencies such as UNEKA, which have played a critical role in supporting developing countries, especially across Africa, to access emerging technologies. By promoting technology transfer and facilitating the integration of ICTs, international strategies, UNEKA has helped ensure that digital transformation contributes meaningfully to inclusive growth. will be as good as next, and the authorities will need to set the tone to go from a day to a month. But the table assessment of the conditions we can hold will be as good and brackish and difficult as next, and the caps need to prepare to rent by six months. Thank you.

Moderator: Thank you very much. We look forward to continuing working with you. Thank you so much. Yes, ma’am, please go ahead.

Audience: Thank you so much for this very interesting and fruitful discussion. I’m Ashling Lynch-Kelly from Foundation The London Story. We’re an Indian diaspora-led human and digital rights organization. So we recently commissioned the first ever baseline study on the challenges and possible solutions for accessing digital health in India. While digital health is undoubtedly democratizing access to healthcare in India, we know that much of the population in India is marginalized, and that people in marginalized communities as well as those who live in rural areas without adequate internet access or internet infrastructure remain largely excluded, and thus unable to access good-quality healthcare. Given these persistent barriers and the significant potential of digital health to advance SDG 3 and SDG 10 in India, we’d be interested to know if and how UNDP and UNGIS other members are working with stakeholders to ensure that the world’s largest democracy can fully benefit from the transformative power of digital healthcare, and work to ensure that access to healthcare in India expands to become fully inclusive, high-quality, and accessible for all. Thank you very much.

Moderator: Thank you very much.

Yu-Ping Lien: Thank you for the question. So we actually have quite an extensive UNDP country office in India, which is working to implement a variety of programs, including, I believe, on digital health. But the overall approach that we take to digital health is really founded on a digital public infrastructure approach, which emphasizes interoperable, inclusive, rights-based approaches to digital transformation. So as part of that, we actually worked very closely with the India G20 presidency two years ago around this particularly groundbreaking approach to digital transformation and really thinking about how digital public infrastructure and really embedding this notion of a rights-based, inclusive, people-centered approach to digital public infrastructure should be part of that conversation. So we’re looking forward to actually continuing the work with the Indian government. We actually had the Indian government and the additional secretary, Abhishek, who’s here at the Internet Governance Forum on the panel just, I think it was two days ago, around AI implementation at the country level, where he reiterated this particular approach and outlined a little bit around the examples of the use cases where he also highlighted digital health. This will continue to be an area of collaboration between UNDP, particularly to our country offices, emphasizing the need for such a rights-based, inclusive approach. And we also welcome this kind of stakeholder input. So feel free to reach out to us if you have any specific suggestions of how we could improve this type of collaboration, any messages that we should continue to press forward as really a global thought leader in the area of digital public infrastructure, especially as we look towards next year’s AI Action Summit that will be hosted by India New Delhi. UNDP is actually working on making sure that this intersection between AI and digital public infrastructure, always grounded in UNDP’s approach on being rights-based, inclusive, and people-centered, will take root.

Moderator: Thank you very much, Yuping. We are also working with WHO on various standards. ITU is working on various standards, and you can get in touch with us also for further details. Can we try to bring in Liping Zhang from UNCTAD, please? She is there, and she would like to just very quickly finish her intervention. Liping Zhang. Liping, can you hear us? I can hear you. Please go ahead. Please go ahead.

Liping Zhang: Well, given the time constraint, I’ll be very brief. Basically, I want to inform you that the CSD has completed its work on their WISC plus 20 review, which will be reported to the General Assembly through ECOSOCO and the outcome of the discussions at the initiation of CSD in April this year was reflected in the WSIS resolution. The resolution will be approved by ECOSOCO in July at its management segment and then will be submitted to the General Assembly as kind of inputs to its review to be held in December. And in that resolution, the only contribution to the WSIS was highly appreciated and was recognized. In particular, it also places expectation on ONGIS to play an important role in the after 20 years review of the WSIS, which is basically to have a bigger role as an outcome of the review at the General Assembly. That’s what the CSD resolution has recommended. The ONGIS should integrate the GDC into its action lines, and it should also play a bigger role in developing kind of implementation mapping relating to the GDC. The overall purpose is basically to align the WSIS with the Sustainable Development Goals and the GDC implementation. So, well, I don’t have anything else to add because of the time constraint. It’s already after 3.45. If you have any questions, I’m ready to answer.

Moderator: Thank you very much, Liping. And we thank all UN agencies who have joined us here today. We’d like to invite you for a group photograph in the front. you can join us, please. And thank you to the audience for your wonderful questions and participation. Thank you. Well, did I cut? Thank you. Thank you.

Agreement points

Need for UN inter-agency collaboration and coordination to avoid duplication

Speakers

– Moderator
– Yu-Ping Lien
– Participant 3
– Jason Slater

Arguments

UNGIS serves as effective coordination mechanism bringing UN agencies together to drive digital transformation

Inter-agency collaboration through UNGIS has been critical for policy coherence and leveraging comparative advantages

UN agencies should work together more efficiently given budget constraints and avoid duplication

UNIDO appointed as co-chair for inclusive sustainable digital economy under GDC

Summary

Multiple speakers emphasized the critical importance of UN agencies working together through mechanisms like UNGIS to avoid duplication, leverage comparative advantages, and maximize impact despite budget constraints.

Topics

Development

Integration of Global Digital Compact into WSIS framework to ensure coherence

Speakers

– Moderator
– Liping Zhang
– Jason Slater

Arguments

Member states recognize importance of integrating GDC commitments into WSIS architecture to avoid duplication

UNGIS should integrate GDC into WSIS action lines and develop implementation mapping

UNIDO appointed as co-chair for inclusive sustainable digital economy under GDC

Summary

There is strong consensus that the Global Digital Compact should be integrated into the existing WSIS framework rather than creating parallel structures, with UNGIS playing a key coordination role.

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory

WSIS framework needs to continue evolving while maintaining its foundational principles

Speakers

– Moderator
– Participant 1
– Participant 3

Arguments

WSIS Plus 20 review provides opportunity to assess progress and explore future directions while maintaining multi-stakeholder approach

WSIS framework’s technology-neutral design has allowed it to remain relevant across digital innovation waves

WSIS should be expanded for the next 10 years with mechanisms to avoid duplication with Global Digital Compact

Summary

Speakers agreed that WSIS should continue for another decade, building on its technology-neutral foundation while adapting to new challenges and integrating with newer frameworks like the GDC.

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory

Importance of inclusive, rights-based approach to digital transformation

Speakers

– Yu-Ping Lien
– Audience

Arguments

Digital public infrastructure approach emphasizes interoperable, inclusive, rights-based digital transformation

Digital health democratizes healthcare access but marginalized communities remain excluded

Summary

Both speakers highlighted the need for digital transformation initiatives to prioritize inclusion and rights-based approaches, ensuring marginalized communities are not left behind.

Topics

Development | Human rights | Infrastructure

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the critical role of research, evidence-based policy making, and capacity building in supporting digital transformation, particularly for developing regions.

Speakers

– Sebastian Rovira
– Morten Langfeldt Dahlback Rapler

Arguments

Need for evidence-based policies and data availability for developing regions

UNU contributes through independent research, capacity building, and policy advice across multiple locations

Topics

Development

Both speakers highlighted the importance of collaborative approaches and innovation ecosystems, recognizing that no single agency can address all aspects of digital transformation alone.

Speakers

– Jason Slater
– Dejan Jakovljevic

Arguments

Innovation challenges and accelerator programs help scale startup solutions for member states

Cross-sectoral collaboration needed as individual agencies cannot cover all sectors

Topics

Development

Both regional commission representatives emphasized the importance of regional cooperation and coordination in implementing digital transformation initiatives aligned with global frameworks.

Speakers

– Participant 4
– Sebastian Rovira

Arguments

Asia-Pacific region promotes regional cooperation through steering committee meetings and best practice sharing

ECLAC has digital agenda aligned with WSIS process focusing on productive development and digital transformation

Topics

Development | Infrastructure

Unexpected consensus

Strong support for institutionalizing and formalizing digital cooperation mechanisms

Speakers

– Participant 3
– Liping Zhang
– Moderator

Arguments

Need to institutionalize Internet Governance Forum and establish evaluation mechanisms for measuring progress

CSTD resolution expects UNGIS to play bigger role in WSIS Plus 20 review and GDC integration

UNGIS serves as effective coordination mechanism bringing UN agencies together to drive digital transformation

Explanation

It was unexpected to see such strong consensus on the need for more formal institutional structures and evaluation mechanisms, given that many digital governance discussions often favor flexible, informal approaches. This suggests a maturation of the field toward more structured governance.

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory

Universal recognition of the need for cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder approaches

Speakers

– Dejan Jakovljevic
– Jason Slater
– Richard Gooch
– Yu-Ping Lien

Arguments

Cross-sectoral collaboration needed as individual agencies cannot cover all sectors

Innovation challenges and accelerator programs help scale startup solutions for member states

Technology and Innovation Support Centers help innovators in developing countries access patent information

UNDP supports over 130 countries with digital and AI programs for sustainable development goals

Explanation

The unanimous agreement across diverse UN agencies on the necessity of cross-sectoral collaboration was unexpected, as agencies often focus on defending their individual mandates. This consensus suggests a significant shift toward integrated approaches in digital development.

Topics

Development

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion revealed strong consensus on key structural and operational aspects of digital cooperation, including the need for continued UN inter-agency collaboration through UNGIS, integration of the Global Digital Compact into existing WSIS frameworks, and the importance of inclusive, rights-based approaches to digital transformation.

Consensus level

High level of consensus with significant implications for the future of global digital cooperation. The agreement suggests a mature understanding among UN agencies of the need for coordinated, non-duplicative approaches to digital development. This consensus provides a strong foundation for implementing the WSIS Plus 20 review outcomes and integrating the Global Digital Compact effectively. The unexpected areas of consensus, particularly around institutionalization and cross-sectoral collaboration, indicate a readiness for more structured and integrated approaches to digital governance at the global level.

Different viewpoints

Timeline and scope of WSIS expansion

Speakers

– Participant 3
– Other UN agencies

Arguments

WSIS should be expanded for the next 10 years with mechanisms to avoid duplication with Global Digital Compact

Various approaches to WSIS Plus 20 review without specific 10-year expansion commitment

Summary

Participant 3 (representing Africa) specifically calls for a 10-year expansion of WSIS, while other speakers discuss the WSIS Plus 20 review process without committing to specific timeline extensions

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory

Unexpected differences

Institutionalization approach for Internet Governance Forum

Speakers

– Participant 3
– Other speakers

Arguments

Need to institutionalize Internet Governance Forum and establish evaluation mechanisms for measuring progress

Various approaches to IGF continuation without specific institutionalization calls

Explanation

While most speakers discuss IGF as an ongoing process, Participant 3 specifically calls for institutionalizing IGF, which represents a more formal structural change that other speakers don’t explicitly address. This is unexpected as IGF has traditionally operated as a more flexible, multi-stakeholder forum

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion shows remarkable consensus among UN agencies on core objectives of digital cooperation, WSIS continuation, and GDC integration, with only minor disagreements on implementation approaches and timelines

Disagreement level

Low level of disagreement with high collaborative spirit. The main differences are tactical rather than strategic, focusing on specific mechanisms, timelines, and institutional arrangements rather than fundamental goals. This suggests strong potential for unified implementation of WSIS Plus 20 outcomes, though some negotiation may be needed on specific procedural and timeline issues raised by regional representatives

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the critical role of research, evidence-based policy making, and capacity building in supporting digital transformation, particularly for developing regions.

Speakers

– Sebastian Rovira
– Morten Langfeldt Dahlback Rapler

Arguments

Need for evidence-based policies and data availability for developing regions

UNU contributes through independent research, capacity building, and policy advice across multiple locations

Topics

Development

Both speakers highlighted the importance of collaborative approaches and innovation ecosystems, recognizing that no single agency can address all aspects of digital transformation alone.

Speakers

– Jason Slater
– Dejan Jakovljevic

Arguments

Innovation challenges and accelerator programs help scale startup solutions for member states

Cross-sectoral collaboration needed as individual agencies cannot cover all sectors

Topics

Development

Both regional commission representatives emphasized the importance of regional cooperation and coordination in implementing digital transformation initiatives aligned with global frameworks.

Speakers

– Participant 4
– Sebastian Rovira

Arguments

Asia-Pacific region promotes regional cooperation through steering committee meetings and best practice sharing

ECLAC has digital agenda aligned with WSIS process focusing on productive development and digital transformation

Topics

Development | Infrastructure

Key takeaways

WSIS framework’s technology-neutral design has proven effective over 20 years, remaining relevant across successive waves of digital innovation from early internet to AI era

UNGIS (UN Group on Information Society) serves as an effective coordination mechanism that demonstrates successful inter-agency collaboration and avoids duplication of efforts

Strong consensus exists among member states and UN agencies to integrate Global Digital Compact (GDC) commitments into the WSIS architecture rather than creating parallel processes

Regional implementation through UN regional commissions has been crucial for WSIS success, with each region adapting the framework to local needs and challenges

Digital transformation must be inclusive, rights-based, and people-centered, with particular attention to marginalized communities and developing countries

Cross-sectoral collaboration is essential as no single UN agency can address all aspects of digital development alone

Evidence-based policy making and capacity building remain fundamental requirements for successful digital transformation

Innovation ecosystems involving startups, academia, and private sector partnerships are critical for scaling digital solutions

Resolutions and action items

UNGIS to play a bigger role in WSIS Plus 20 review process and develop implementation mapping for GDC integration

Establish mechanisms to avoid duplication between WSIS framework and Global Digital Compact implementation

Continue regional ministerial conferences and steering committee meetings to maintain regional engagement

Expand WSIS and Internet Governance Forum for next 10 years as requested by African region

Develop evaluation and monitoring mechanisms for WSIS and IGF to measure progress against targets

Institutionalize Internet Governance Forum to ensure continuity

Continue joint capacity building programs and evidence-based policy tool development across UN agencies

Maintain youth engagement through networking events and high-level participation in WSIS processes

Unresolved issues

Specific mechanisms for integrating GDC commitments into WSIS action lines remain to be developed

How to ensure adequate funding and resources for expanded WSIS and IGF mandates given budget constraints

Addressing persistent digital divides, particularly connectivity and electricity challenges in Africa and other developing regions

Ensuring marginalized communities and rural populations can access digital health and other services despite infrastructure barriers

Balancing innovation acceleration with inclusive development to prevent further marginalization of vulnerable populations

Establishing concrete metrics and evaluation frameworks for measuring WSIS implementation progress

Coordinating multiple regional approaches and priorities within a coherent global framework

Suggested compromises

Integrate GDC objectives into existing WSIS architecture rather than creating new parallel structures to avoid duplication

Leverage existing successful inter-agency mechanisms like UNGIS rather than establishing new coordination bodies

Combine global frameworks with regional adaptation to address local challenges while maintaining coherent approach

Balance technology innovation with inclusive development by embedding rights-based approaches in all digital initiatives

Use existing UN agency comparative advantages and expertise through collaborative partnerships rather than expanding individual mandates

Align WSIS continuation with SDG timelines and GDC implementation to create coherent development agenda

Our work is indeed guided by a singular vision that digital transformation must serve the humanity, not the other way around… WSIS can strengthen its position as a hub for dialogue on emerging technologies, on issues such as misinformation, gender equality, and digital rights.

Speaker

Participant 1 (UNESCO)

Reason

This comment reframes the entire discussion by establishing a human-centered philosophy for digital transformation. It challenges the often technology-first approach by explicitly stating that technology should serve humanity rather than the reverse. This philosophical grounding provides a critical lens through which all subsequent technical discussions should be viewed.

Impact

This comment set the foundational tone for the entire session, establishing that despite the technical nature of WSIS processes, the ultimate goal is human welfare. It influenced subsequent speakers to frame their contributions in terms of human impact and inclusive development, rather than purely technical achievements.

I want to really emphasize this idea that in some ways, because UNDP has such a broad developmental mandate, we can work across all these sectors to really bring together digital transformation, digital cooperation in a holistic and comprehensive way… trying to bring it all together in a development perspective and a whole of government approach.

Speaker

Yu-Ping Lien (UNDP)

Reason

This insight highlights the critical importance of breaking down silos in digital cooperation. Rather than treating digital transformation as a separate technical domain, it advocates for integration across all development sectors. This systems thinking approach challenges the traditional compartmentalized approach to UN agency work.

Impact

This comment shifted the discussion from individual agency contributions to collaborative, cross-sectoral approaches. It prompted other speakers to emphasize their partnerships and collaborative efforts, moving the conversation toward more integrated solutions rather than isolated technical interventions.

I do also note that it is a difficult time for the multilateral system. and the international collaborative spirit that has brought us all together… we in the WSIS Plus 20 review process need to double down on the idea of delivery of impact, of leveraging existing institutions, interagency mechanisms, and collaborative efforts and partnerships that have worked, that have delivered.

Speaker

Yu-Ping Lien (UNDP)

Reason

This comment introduces crucial political realism into what could have been a purely technical discussion. It acknowledges the broader geopolitical challenges facing multilateral cooperation while advocating for pragmatic focus on proven mechanisms. This adds urgency and strategic thinking to the conversation.

Impact

This observation brought a sobering reality check to the discussion, prompting speakers to emphasize concrete deliverables and proven partnerships rather than aspirational goals. It influenced the tone to become more focused on practical implementation and measurable outcomes.

We request the expansion of WSIS for the next 10 years in Africa and the IGF also for the next 10 years and of course to avoid any duplication with global digital compact, we should put in place a mechanism for integration of this framework as well as a mechanism for evaluation and monitoring for WSIS, for IGF to measure the progress.

Speaker

Participant 3 (Regional Commission representative)

Reason

This comment introduces critical governance and accountability dimensions that were missing from earlier technical discussions. It challenges the assumption that good intentions automatically lead to good outcomes by demanding concrete monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. The call for integration rather than duplication addresses a key inefficiency in international cooperation.

Impact

This intervention shifted the discussion from what agencies are doing to how effectiveness can be measured and ensured. It introduced the crucial question of institutional architecture and accountability, influencing subsequent speakers to address coordination mechanisms and measurable outcomes.

How can you help a small-medium enterprise who’s got a relatively old-aging production line and inject it with AI-powered chips that can make their production line more energy-efficient?… We have a programme that’s referred to ScaleX, which is basically Free Fold. It has an accelerator programme.

Speaker

Jason Slater (UNIDO)

Reason

This comment grounds the abstract discussion of digital transformation in concrete, practical applications. It moves beyond high-level policy discussions to address the real challenges faced by small businesses in developing countries. The focus on practical AI applications for manufacturing represents a shift from consumer-focused digital discussions to productive sector transformation.

Impact

This intervention brought the discussion down from policy level to implementation reality, prompting other speakers to provide more concrete examples of their work. It demonstrated how digital transformation can address real economic challenges, influencing the conversation toward practical solutions rather than theoretical frameworks.

We basically don’t look only at one sector and, for example, only to improve production, but we also look into improving production and opportunities to transform… The opportunities we see and we need to take advantage of require transformation, not simply doing the same thing, but maybe more efficient, but actually transformation.

Speaker

Dejan Jakovljevic (FAO)

Reason

This comment introduces a crucial distinction between efficiency improvements and fundamental transformation. It challenges incremental thinking by arguing that digital technologies require rethinking entire systems rather than just optimizing existing processes. This systems transformation perspective is critical for addressing complex challenges like food security.

Impact

This insight elevated the discussion from technical implementation to strategic transformation thinking. It influenced other participants to consider how their work contributes to fundamental system changes rather than just incremental improvements, adding depth to the conversation about digital transformation’s potential.

Overall assessment

These key comments fundamentally shaped the discussion by introducing three critical dimensions that elevated it beyond a routine inter-agency coordination meeting. First, they established a human-centered philosophical foundation that grounded all technical discussions in human welfare considerations. Second, they introduced political realism and accountability demands that challenged participants to focus on measurable outcomes and proven mechanisms rather than aspirational goals. Third, they bridged the gap between high-level policy discussions and practical implementation challenges, forcing speakers to provide concrete examples and address real-world constraints. Together, these interventions transformed what could have been a series of agency reports into a substantive dialogue about the future of digital cooperation, emphasizing integration, transformation, and accountability as core principles for the WSIS+20 process.

How can we better incubate startups and good work from hackathons and smart challenges?

Speaker

Moderator (Gitanjali)

Explanation

The moderator specifically mentioned this as something they would like to explore more with FAO and UNIDO, indicating a need for better mechanisms to support innovation beyond initial challenges

How can UNDP and UNGIS members work with stakeholders to ensure India can fully benefit from transformative digital healthcare while making it inclusive and accessible for all?

Speaker

Ashling Lynch-Kelly (Foundation The London Story)

Explanation

This question addresses the gap between digital health democratization and the exclusion of marginalized communities in India, seeking specific collaboration approaches

How can we develop better mechanisms for integration of WSIS framework with Global Digital Compact to avoid duplication?

Speaker

Maghtar (UN Regional Commission representative)

Explanation

This addresses the need for practical implementation of the policy directive to integrate GDC commitments into WSIS architecture without creating redundancies

How can we establish mechanisms for evaluation and monitoring for WSIS and IGF to measure progress and make corrections?

Speaker

Maghtar (UN Regional Commission representative)

Explanation

This highlights the need for accountability and progress tracking systems, noting that WSIS has targets but IGF lacks them

How can we institutionalize the Internet Governance Forum?

Speaker

Maghtar (UN Regional Commission representative)

Explanation

This addresses the need for more formal structures and processes within IGF to ensure continuity and effectiveness

How can we scale up digital complexity approaches and tools for supporting digital transformation?

Speaker

Sebastian Rovira (UN ECLAC)

Explanation

This requires not just technical collaboration but also political alignment and resource mobilization to implement new analytical tools across regions

How can we better leverage existing institutions, interagency mechanisms, and collaborative partnerships that have proven effective?

Speaker

Yu-Ping Lien (UNDP)

Explanation

This addresses the need to strengthen and expand successful collaboration models during a difficult time for the multilateral system

How can we ensure diplomats and stakeholder communities in New York are better informed about the WSIS process evolution?

Speaker

Moderator (Gitanjali)

Explanation

This is crucial for the upcoming negotiations in December and requires advocacy efforts to demonstrate that WSIS has evolved with technology over 20 years