Open Forum #68 WSIS+20 Review and SDGs: A Collaborative Global Dialogue

Summary

This discussion focused on the alignment between digital transformation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the context of the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS Plus 20). The European Commission hosted this global dialogue to assess progress and identify strategies for leveraging digital technologies to advance the SDGs. The session examined the SDG-WSIS Matrix created by the ITU, which maps connections between WSIS action lines and the 17 SDGs, demonstrating that digital technologies could potentially accelerate progress across all development goals.

Ambassador Bitange Ndemo from Kenya emphasized the importance of taking a systems approach to digital development, advocating for calculated risks in adopting new technologies like AI while avoiding excessive taxation that limits internet access. Director Thibault Kleiner from the European Commission highlighted the EU’s Global Gateway program, which has implemented 250 digital projects globally, emphasizing the need for holistic approaches that combine infrastructure investment with regulatory frameworks and skills development. Director Sook Jung Dofel from GIZ stressed that principles must become practice at scale, noting that one-third of people globally remain offline and calling for better translation between global norms and local realities.

ICANN’s Curtis Lindqvist acknowledged significant achievements while emphasizing the need to maintain internet stability and non-fragmentation as foundational principles. Juan Carlos Lara from Derechos Digitales advocated for embedding human rights obligations at the center of SDG strategies and ensuring meaningful participation from Global South organizations. The discussion concluded with calls for evidence-based policymaking, inclusive governance, cross-sector capacity building, and sustained funding for digital development initiatives, particularly emphasizing the importance of youth voices and local-level participation in shaping digital transformation strategies.

Keypoints

## Overall Purpose/Goal

This discussion was an open forum hosted by the European Commission focused on the WSIS Plus 20 review (20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society) and its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The session aimed to assess progress made in integrating digital technologies with SDG advancement, identify practical strategies for better alignment, and explore how diverse stakeholders can collaborate more effectively as the global community approaches the WSIS Plus 20 milestone.

## Major Discussion Points

– **Digital Infrastructure and Connectivity as Foundation**: Multiple panelists emphasized that basic connectivity and infrastructure remain fundamental prerequisites for SDG advancement, with specific focus on completing global connectivity mapping, investing in telecommunications networks, and ensuring affordable access. The discussion highlighted that physical infrastructure alone is insufficient without addressing affordability, local capacity building, and regulatory frameworks.

– **Systems Approach vs. Fragmented Implementation**: A key theme emerged around the need for holistic, systems-thinking approaches rather than siloed interventions. Panelists discussed how digital development should simultaneously consider infrastructure, capacity building, regulatory frameworks, and end-user applications (like AI for farmers) rather than implementing these elements sequentially or separately.

– **Inclusive Governance and Multi-stakeholder Participation**: Significant attention was given to ensuring meaningful participation from Global South countries, youth voices, civil society, and local communities in digital governance processes. The discussion emphasized moving beyond consultation to actual decision-making power, with calls for permanent representation in digital councils and stronger participatory mechanisms at both global and national levels.

– **Rights-Based Approach and Accountability**: Panelists stressed the importance of embedding human rights obligations and accountability mechanisms at the center of digital development strategies, rather than relying on soft principles. This included calls for transparent indicators, accessible audits, corporate due diligence requirements, and stronger enforcement mechanisms aligned with international human rights law.

– **Capacity Building Across All Sectors**: The discussion highlighted disparities between private and public sector digital capacity, with emphasis on the need for comprehensive digital literacy programs that include government workers, healthcare providers, educators, and other public sector employees to ensure equitable access to digital services and opportunities.

## Overall Tone

The discussion maintained a constructive and collaborative tone throughout, characterized by cautious optimism balanced with realistic acknowledgment of challenges. Panelists celebrated significant achievements in digital development over the past 20 years while honestly addressing persistent gaps and inequalities. The tone was forward-looking and solution-oriented, with speakers building on each other’s points and offering concrete recommendations. There was a sense of urgency around the WSIS Plus 20 milestone, but also confidence in the multi-stakeholder model’s ability to deliver results when properly resourced and implemented inclusively.

Speakers

**Speakers from the provided list:**

– **Bitange Ndemo** – Kenyan Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union, former Ministry of Communication official with experience in digital development projects

– **Nils Berglund** – Research Associate at the EUI (European University Institute), Project Lead for the Global Initiative on the Future of the Internet, Session Moderator

– **Kurtis Lindqvist** – President and Chief Executive Officer at ICANN

– **Joanna Kulezsa** – Assistant Professor of International Law and Executive Director of the Lotz Cyber Hub at the University of Lotz

– **Dr. Abdulkarim A. Oloyede** – Professor of wireless telecommunications from the University of Illorin in Nigeria

– **Dr Jimson Olufuye** – Principal consultant at Contemporary Consulting, Chair of the Advisory Council of Africa City Alliance based in Abuja, Nigeria

– **Juan Carlos Lara** – Executive Director for Derechos Digitales (civil society organization working in Latin America on human rights and digital technologies)

– **Opeyemi Ogundeji** – Program Manager for the Nigeria Youth SDGs Network

– **Thibault Kleiner** – Director for Future Networks and DigiConnect at the European Commission

– **Sook Jung Dofel** – Director General at GIZ, Member of the IGF MAG (Internet Governance Forum Multistakeholder Advisory Group)

**Additional speakers:**

– **Emy** – Representative from the Ugandan IGF (participated online with a question)

# WSIS Plus 20 and SDG Alignment: Global Dialogue Report

## Executive Summary

This discussion, hosted by the European Commission, brought together diverse stakeholders to examine the intersection between digital transformation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS Plus 20). The session featured representatives from government, international organisations, civil society, the technical community, and development agencies in a multi-stakeholder dialogue format.

Moderator Nils Berglund from the European Commission introduced the ITU’s SDG-WSIS Matrix, which demonstrates potential connections between digital technologies and all 17 SDGs, whilst acknowledging challenges including CO2 emissions and e-waste. The discussion aimed to assess progress, identify strategies for better alignment, and explore collaborative approaches as the global community approaches this significant milestone.

## Panel Discussion: Key Perspectives

### Infrastructure and Systems Development

**Ambassador Bitange Ndemo (Kenya)** emphasized the importance of comprehensive infrastructure development, drawing on Kenya’s mobile money success story. He advocated for taking calculated risks with emerging technologies, specifically highlighting AI’s potential to address poverty through applications like rainfall prediction, soil data analysis, and crop information for farmers. His key recommendations included avoiding taxation that hinders digital development, subsidizing universities to build local capacity, and developing local AI language models rather than relying solely on external solutions.

**Director Thibault Kleiner (European Commission)** presented the EU’s Global Gateway programme, which has implemented 250 digital projects globally focusing on connectivity infrastructure, data centres, and supercomputers. He emphasized that secure connectivity serves as the foundation for digital transformation but requires accompanying regulatory frameworks and competitive markets to be effective.

### Development and Implementation Challenges

**Director Suk-Jung Doful (GIZ)** provided a critical perspective on translating global frameworks into local realities. She emphasized that infrastructure alone is insufficient if it creates dependency rather than empowerment, stressing the need for digital access to be accompanied by local capacity building. She advocated for measuring WSIS impact through “moments of real change” – concrete examples like farmers receiving flood warnings via SMS or midwives in rural Ethiopia learning diagnostic skills through WhatsApp – rather than focusing solely on policy declarations.

### Multi-stakeholder Governance

**Kurtis Lindqvist (ICANN President and CEO)** highlighted achievements of the multi-stakeholder model over the past 20 years, including the doubling of Internet Exchange Points in Africa, expansion of DNS root servers from a handful to 2,000 globally, and universal acceptance work making the internet accessible in multiple scripts and languages. He argued for maintaining, properly resourcing, and trusting this governance model going forward.

### Rights-Based Approaches and Civil Society Participation

**Juan Carlos Lara (Derechos Digitales)** called for moving beyond consultation to actual decision-making power for civil society organizations. He emphasized the need for permanent representation in digital councils, stronger participatory mechanisms, and embedding human rights instruments at the center of SDG-related strategies. He introduced the concept of fiscal justice, arguing for equitable taxation of multinational corporations and cross-border fiscal measures to generate resources for digital cooperation initiatives.

### Youth Engagement and Practical Challenges

**Opeyemi Ogundeji (Nigeria Youth SDGs Network)** highlighted three key priorities: decentralizing policy processes using digital platforms for bottom-up community engagement, implementing needs-based digital services subsidization to improve affordability (citing Nigeria’s increased data tariffs as a barrier to inclusion), and building digital capacity across all sectors including government workers, healthcare providers, and educators.

### Academic and Research Perspectives

**Professor Joanna Kulezsa (University of Lodz)** emphasized the importance of informed policymaking and research-based decision making, particularly for new internet infrastructures like satellite broadband. She specifically mentioned the Global Digital Compact as part of the broader digital governance landscape requiring careful consideration.

## Audience Questions and Key Responses

**Dr. Abdulkarim A. Oloyede** posed challenging questions about Kenya’s domestic response to youth movements and ICANN’s policy changes regarding inclusivity language. Kurtis Lindqvist responded with detailed clarification about ICANN’s employment policy changes, explaining that the organization had updated its language to be more inclusive while maintaining its commitment to diversity and inclusion principles.

**Dr. Jimson Olufuye (Contemporary Consulting/Africa City Alliance)** emphasized the need to deepen WSIS discussions at subnational levels, including state and local government participation, and suggested systematic mobilization of SDG offices to participate in internet governance discussions.

## Specific Recommendations and Action Items

### Immediate Actions

– Submit contributions to the WSIS Plus 20 elements paper by **July 15th deadline**, focusing on ICT for development areas

– Complete connectivity mapping to identify gaps in digital infrastructure, particularly in Global South regions

### Civil Society Action Points (from Juan Carlos Lara)

1. Embed human rights instruments in SDG-related strategies with transparent indicators

2. Establish accessible audits and participatory review processes

3. Create permanent representation in national digital councils

4. Implement independent oversight bodies

5. Strengthen sustainable funding commitments for participation from global majority countries

### Technical and Development Priorities

– Develop local AI language models and take calculated risks with emerging technologies

– Implement needs-based digital services subsidization models

– Strengthen coordination between SDG offices and internet governance processes

– Build digital capacity across public and private sectors

## Areas of Consensus and Ongoing Challenges

### Strong Agreement

Participants demonstrated broad consensus on the effectiveness of multi-stakeholder governance, though with calls for improved implementation. There was also agreement on the need for evidence-based decision making and the importance of translating global frameworks into context-sensitive local strategies.

### Ongoing Tensions

The primary area of disagreement centered on approaches to technology regulation and innovation. While Ambassador Ndemo advocated for bold risk-taking with new technologies, allowing benefits to emerge before regulation, Juan Carlos Lara emphasized embedding human rights frameworks from the outset. However, both ultimately supported calculated rather than reckless approaches to innovation.

### Implementation Challenges

Persistent challenges include translating global digital governance norms into local contexts, addressing affordability barriers in developing countries, and ensuring meaningful participation beyond consultation in decision-making processes.

## Conclusion

This dialogue demonstrated both achievements and ongoing challenges in aligning digital transformation with sustainable development goals. The strong consensus on fundamental principles—multi-stakeholder governance, evidence-based decision making, and inclusive participation—provides a foundation for continued cooperation.

However, significant challenges remain around implementation, financing, and balancing innovation with rights protection. The emphasis on moving from declarations to concrete impacts, as articulated through examples of real-world applications helping farmers and healthcare workers, suggests that future frameworks should prioritize practical outcomes over policy rhetoric.

As the global community approaches the WSIS Plus 20 milestone, the diversity of perspectives in this dialogue demonstrates the continued vitality of multi-stakeholder approaches. The path forward requires sustained commitment to inclusive governance, innovative financing, rights-based approaches, and practical implementation strategies that translate global aspirations into local realities, with the July 15th deadline for contributions representing an immediate opportunity for stakeholder input into this process.

Nils Berglund: All right. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for this open forum and global dialogue on WSIS Plus 20 and the Sustainable Development Goals hosted by the European Commission. My name is Nils Berglund, and I’m a research associate at the EUI, where I’m also a project lead for the Global Initiative on the Future of the Internet. And as we’ve heard throughout these first days of the IGF, we’re really at a critical milestone for the broader Internet governance community, which is the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society, WSIS Plus 20. And as any important milestone, it’s also an opportunity to really assess the progress that we’ve made so far and, of course, look forward as a global community to where we go from here. So in this session, we’re trying to reflect a bit on how digital technologies can support the Sustainable Development Goals and explore whether we’re successfully integrating or translating the WSIS Action Lines into concrete policy or progress towards these goals. We’ll also try to hopefully identify some practical strategies and partnerships that can accelerate this alignment as we approach WSIS Plus 20. But before we get to this, I want to just give you a little bit of context. So when the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in 2015, the ITU created a tool in conjunction with the 10-year review of WSIS called the SDG WSIS Matrix. This matrix really mapped out the action lines of the World Summit on the Information Society. So goals like access to information, capacity building, cybersecurity, e-environment, e-governance, and tried to show the linkages that each of these had with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. And of course, the same applies for the vice versa, showing where specific SDGs, like reduced inequalities, quality of education, or even clean water, all align with different WSIS Action Lines. And the implications of this alignment is… really quite significant because effectively it indicates that digital technologies could directly accelerate every goal from eradicating poverty and hunger to gender equality to building resilient infrastructure and climate action. So it really kind of frames digital transformation as a universal accelerator and also an enabler of development and in the process makes quite a good argument for why and how these goals and their respective policy frameworks could and should be aligned. And in fact in recent years there’s been a lot of research that supports this alignment so from the UNDP and ITU themselves they’ve estimated that digital technologies directly benefit 70% of SDG targets and another global study that analyzed statistical associations between the ICT development index and the SDG index has clearly found a very strong correlation between digitalization and overall SDG progress and an even stronger correlation on economic development. And if you zoom in on specific indicators and goals there’s a lot of good examples of this so for example on SDG 1 no poverty you see that broadband expansion directly correlates with lower poverty or for SDG 3 on good health and well-being we see that indicators like universal health coverage is also strongly correlated with ICT development or with education so SDG 4 on quality education where we see that literacy and enrollment rates clearly show positive trends with higher ICT development index scores. But we also know that the alignment between these goals policies and outcomes is far from perfect and this picture comes becomes a lot more nuanced when you look at certain other goals like in the case of climate action or responsible consumption and production for example we’ve seen some persistent challenges like co2 emissions and e-waste that also come along with digital transformation. And in other cases indicators are more complex or harder to measure so different levels and different approaches to digitalization also produce differing outcomes and some digital policies like like internet shutdowns, for example, can also undermine that development. So clearly there are areas where we need to better understand how we can leverage digital technologies for specific SDG targets, but then there are also areas where we know that this alignment actually needs to be strengthened. And that brings us to these sort of overarching questions that I’d like to pose to our lovely panelists, but also to all of you in the room, which is first and foremost, reflecting on past experiences, like there was this SDG matrix, what have we learned about integrating digital technologies and SDGs, and where do we see opportunities for deeper alignment? Secondly, what specific actionable strategies can we collectively pursue to leverage digital technologies for advancing SDGs? And then thirdly, how can diverse stakeholders work together towards meaningful progress on these SDGs? So we’ve got a full panel, a great set of seven speakers with us. We have Ambassador Bitangye Ndemo, the Kenyan Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union, Director Thibaut Kleiner, Director for Future Networks and DigiConnect at the European Commission, Director Suk-Jung Doful, who’s the Director General at GIZ and a member of the IGF MAG, Mr. Curtis Lindquist, the President and Chief Executive Officer at ICANN, Mr. Juan Carlos Lara, the Executive Director for Derechos Digitales, Dr. Joanna Koleja, the Assistant Professor of International Law and Executive Director of the Lotz Cyber Hub at the University of Lotz, and lastly, Opoyemi Ogundeji, the Program Manager for the Nigeria Youth SDGs Network. And I’ll go in the order in which you’re seated. So I’ll start with you, Ambassador. You’ve personally spearheaded digital development projects over the course of many years. I wonder if you could share your reflections on some of these questions and share what you see as critical opportunities for deeper alignment between digitalizations and the SDGs.

Bitange Ndemo: Thank you so much. How many hours do I have? I’ll give you five minutes, if you don’t mind. Yeah, thank you and it’s good actually to reflect on this. Previously, before I became ambassador, I used to be in the Ministry of Communication and basically started from zero. We started with infrastructure, then started making internet available to universities, to citizens, then went into capacity building, digital literacy programs. But now, from where I sit, I think this should have been done using a systems approach, where when we went for the infrastructure, we should have thought about how would the farmers use it, how would… Of course, we did with universities because it was much easier to deal with. Data has been a very critical element. The time we opened up Kenya and created Kenya Open Data, a lot of innovations came out of it. But again, data protection laws have come. I am thinking that if we were to do, to repeat it again, is to use this systems approach, especially now as AI is coming, that we could effectively, in Africa, deal with the issues of SDG1 poverty by simply leveraging AI to teach farmers to know the predictability of rainfall, to give them data on the soils, give them information on what grows where and everything. But it is only techies who are talking about AI. and policy makers providing or talking about regulating AI and missing the opportunity. Looking back, a lot of productivity improvement has come along with the developments that we did, especially using infrastructure, but it follows after. It is not done concurrently as I would have liked. Going forward from now, I hope we could deal with this. We had a lot of problems when we were developing our contribution towards the SDGs in New York. Some of the policy makers thought that data can only be provided by government, but now we have seen we can get data from various places. If we can begin to think system-wide and say we are going to do this going forward. Right now we are discussing about the risks of AI. The voices I think we should be hearing is what are the benefits? What is it going to benefit the citizens? How can they use it to make certain things? Then others can be thinking about regulation. I’m saying this because one of the most disruptive things that we did in Kenya was to allow mobile money. A lot of people refused, but we said we don’t have the regulations, but let’s move forward and see what happens. It has become one of the most inclusive innovations ever because of the risks that we took and brought it forward without regulatory regime. Let me stop you smiling.

Nils Berglund: No, that’s perfect, I think we can come back to some of these points, but in the meantime I’ll move to Director Kleiner. So the EU has championed comprehensive digital strategies like the Global Gateway. When it comes to integrating digital policy and STGs, what do you think has worked well and what opportunities do you see to strengthen that alignment?

Thibault Kleiner: Okay, so thank you for the opportunity also to engage in this forum today. I think that for the EU the STGs are really a critical objective and we see really the benefits from digital technologies for not only development, but for basically everything we do in economy and society these days. We have this also inside the EU, we are developing our capabilities, but now our message is very much that we want this EU tech offer to be given internationally to our partners. And in that context we’ve dedicated a lot of efforts also through our program which is called the Global Gateway to actually promote investments globally. We’ve already done something like 250 projects through the Global Gateway in this area and they are very concrete benefits. A focus is for instance connectivity, secure connectivity we believe is the bedrock of everything digital and we have a lot of capabilities in the EU so we want to do more there. But we’ve done a lot of projects not only around 4G, 5G, also data centers is now a focus of attention, I mean just a striking number was given is that the whole of Africa has as many data centers as Switzerland. There is a lot of potential in Africa and I think that in the EU we actually have technology to build data centers, leading companies and we want to do more in this area. In fact we are contemplating the possibility of also having supercomputers invested in some African countries and also in Latin America, very concrete projects there. I would also say, to be short, that some elements we are bringing as part of this EU tech offer are also leaning towards the general framework, because one of the lessons we learn also looking at the SDGs is that you need to have a holistic approach. You need also to work on the regulatory framework. You need to make sure that the markets are competitive, because if you build a network but then there is a monopoly, it means that it’s too expensive to just buy connectivity. And we have very concrete examples in some African countries where we help build the networks but people are not using it because it’s too expensive. And that’s why you need also to have this approach where, you know, regulation, investment and investing in people is brought together. And that’s very much our message from the EU. We work in partnership. What we do is that we try to build local capabilities. We want to invest into skills locally so that actually the countries that work with Europe, they can also acquire the technology we provide. It’s very much open source and that’s very often also through open source software and solutions and through digital public infrastructures that we operate. This is for us the right formula and we intend to do more in the coming period.

Nils Berglund: Thank you so much. I think this point about the holistic approach also nicely echoes the ambassador’s comments and I wonder if maybe later we can also reflect on how to integrate that directly into the WSIS plus 20 process and what that means for the recommendations that we can come away from here. Mindful of gender balance also, I want to move to the other side of the table and move to Director Dofl from GIZ. GIZ has experience implementing digital development programs in a lot of diverse contexts and from your perspective, maybe you can share a bit on the lessons and critical opportunities that you see on aligning digital transformation with sustainable development,

Sook Jung Dofel: also with the view to WSIS Plus 20? Yes, thank you. I mean, when we talk about WSIS, I suggest we don’t ask what have you said, but rather what have you shifted? Because the impact of WSIS is not measured in declarations, but it’s measured in moments. Moments when, for instance, as Doreen Buckton-Martin yesterday said in her opening speech, a farmer receives an early flood warning by SMS, or when a midwife in rural Ethiopia learns to diagnose complications via WhatsApp, or even when a youth organization in Nepal builds its own open source mental health app. And these moments exist, and we should acknowledge it. And we should also celebrate, for instance, tonight at Music Nights. And tomorrow in the morning, we get up and we continue working, because we also know that still one in three people globally remain offline. We also know that in sub-Saharan Africa, 34% of women don’t use internet. And we see a clear decline in official development assistance that is at the moment of 3% that goes toward digitalization. So what does that tell us? That principles have not yet become practice at scale. At GIZ, we are not a tech company. We are not a regulator. We are Germany’s own development agency. And from where we stand on the ground in 120 countries, four things we have learned from aligning visas to the SDGs. First, capacity and code. Infrastructure matters, but digital access without local capacity creates dependency and not empowerment. Second, from global talk to local impact, because global debates often miss local complexity. At WSIS we discuss data governance, for instance, but the issue in some countries is how do we protect people’s data when there is no data protection authority? We need better translation between global norms and on-the-ground realities. Third, measure what matters and design what delivers. We need a very strong linkage between the SDGs and the digital transformation, in particular with smart indicators and mutual accountability. And of course, we have to design solutions that also achieve or help us to achieve the SDGs. And fourth, last but not least, mobilize investment for digital public good. Because, I mean, the STI for SDG roadmaps offer a very good entry, but still we need very specific financing mechanisms that combine development fund, private capital, and also local budget. And as for now, digital public goods are still underfunded and undervalued. So development cooperation plays a vital role in achieving the SDGs by strengthening local capacities or supporting the local ecosystems, and of course, translating global frameworks into context-sensitive solutions. And if we are serious about turning this vision into practice, we also need strong and inclusive platforms for dialogue and coordination. And I know that there are different views on the digital governance questions, with ideas ranging across a spectrum from strengthening the IGF to creating a digital governance council, all the way to more formal institutional anchoring within the UN system. But please, let me briefly recap what we recognize as fundamental and why the IGF… have remained so crucial to us. Global internet, global rooms. No one governs the internet alone. We also think that governance has to mirror the internet’s architecture, so decentralized by design. We think that complex problems need collective power, collective diverse perspectives. And collective diverse perspectives create innovation, and innovative solutions accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. We also think that we should level the playing field. Empowerment grows from inclusion, and inclusion drives sustainability. Leaving no one behind also means leaving no one offline. So in short, as Curtis noted in his opening speech yesterday, the model works. We need to resource it. We need to trust it and use it. And I think that WSIS has offered a promise, a promise to build a people-centered, inclusive, and development oriented information society. The SDGs gave us a deadline. And the people we serve, be it the farmer in Colombia, the midwife in rural Ethiopia, or the youth organization in Nepal, and many, many more, remind us that digital transformation is about change life. Life changed. Sorry. Thank you.

Nils Berglund: Thank you so much, Director Dofel, for these very structured feedback comments. I really appreciate it. And you hearken back to another comment that we heard from the WSIS co-facilitators this morning, which is that the WSIS process belongs to all of us with that call to action. I’ll pass the floor now to maybe Mr. Linkvist from ICANN. Could I ask you to reflect a bit on these questions from the technical community perspective and maybe what you see as the priorities to ensure that digital transformation can meaningfully advance the SDGs?

Kurtis Lindqvist: I think there’s one first important thing to do, if we often talk about what we haven’t done, but we should also reflect on what we actually have done, right, as my fellow panelists alluded to. And I think that’s also important to not just look at it, obviously we need to look at what we can do better, but we also have a remarkable success story behind us. And as we go to the approach to business plus revenue review and the progress on the SDGs comes into focus on that as well, and as well as the action lines. I think that we have achieved a lot on this, and I think, as I was quoted from yesterday, you know, the model does work, I think it’s important to recognize that, and that’s what has actually delivered over the years. And the business plus revenue review and the SDG reflection is really this reflection on the model that we have had this global coordination, not centralization, the multi-stakeholder model has delivered on the SDGs, and we have fulfilled a lot of these. We have seen a phenomenal, remarkable growth in these years, and the internet has contributed to a quite remarkable economic growth. That doesn’t mean that everyone has seen the growth, and we have more to do, we’re not done yet, right. But I also think we shouldn’t say that we haven’t achieved anything. We have, you know, yesterday was the deadline, and maybe we are still a bit to go, but we have delivered a phenomenal growth in this. And I think if you look at some of the respects from the technical communities also, you know, what has delivered in this, you know, look at IXPs in Africa, which is the glue that makes the internet work, if you want, we have seen this, you know, the first ten years we saw this double, and the last two years, two, three years, we’ve seen an explosion of this in Africa, helping to bring down costs, increase resilience, increase the robustness of the network, and we’ve seen the network being built out at a phenomenal speed in Africa, trying to reach the remaining non-users, if you want, and build it out. So I think, you know, have we achieved 100% coverage? No, but we have delivered a… The SDGs really help focus on that. A lot of the goals have helped us measure and focus on that. I also think that meaningful access is more than just about connectivity. It’s about trust, resilience and multilingual reach. There are some of the other goals, actually, in making it accessible. Having just the physical infrastructure isn’t going to make it accessible. We’ve already heard examples of what does it mean to deliver on this. I like the example of WhatsApp and the midwife. There are all these things that we are delivering, the digital payments in Kenya. To deliver on this, we also need to have a resilient working infrastructure. Again, we have seen the number of DNS root servers, which is a very technical component, gone from a handful in 20 years to 2,000 globally today. Most countries on the Earth have many of these to ensure this redundancy and resilience. We have seen a lot of work being done in the multilingual Internet. We have worked on what’s called universal acceptance to make applications, websites, web addresses accessible in many scripts and languages, which I think is another very fundamental part we often forget about. My native language is in English. My native script is kind of Latin, but not completely. We forget about this, that we also need to make it accessible. The farmers we heard about getting the weather up with an AI, they should also have accessibility to this. There’s more to it than just the concept. I think that’s something we need to do a lot more work on. That wasn’t one of your examples, but I think that’s one of the other SDGs, actually making it accessible. I think there’s a lot of work that has been done. There’s a lot more work to be done. The technical community has a very important role to play in this, to deliver on the promise of the technology and make sure that the standardization, the technical aspects of this delivers on the promise of the Internet that we just heard about. Thank you.

Nils Berglund: Thank you so much. Moving down the line, I want to pass it right away to Juan Carlos Lara. Derechos Digitales. You’re a member of civil society that’s actively contributing to the WSIS Plus 20 process. What do you see as the key priorities to strengthen this alignment between digital transformation and STGs? And how do we also ensure that this is inclusive and rights respecting in a way that also promotes transparency and accountability? Yes, thank you very much. Thank

Juan Carlos Lara: you for the invitation as well. I come from Derechos Digitales, a civil society organization working in Latin America in all things human rights and digital technologies, but also as part of several coalitions that have gone to work on the WSIS Plus 20 review process, which include the Global Digital Justice Forum, the Global Digital Rights Coalition for WSIS, and the Global South Alliance, amongst many other groups. I think most important in all of this is considering the perspective that we have as Global South organizations and Latin American organizations in which we understand that the STGs are not something that can be held by technologies, but commonly are. But the questions that we have to ask ourselves, the task that we have to go into is how to make that so-called digital transformation align with those STGs in ways that are inclusive, accountable, in ways that are enforceable, effective in essence. And many of the things that we are concerned with today have been part of the discussion on WSIS during this IGF, especially picking up on the language that we have seen throughout this process from the several consultations and also from the elements paper that we’ve seen on WSIS, and many of the discussions that we’re having these days and this week. But I want to highlight five key aspects that we see as highly relevant for this question on how we make sure that these approaches for WSIS can also be inclusive, transparent, accountable, and promote those values. And many of these can be seen in the action… that has been requested by civil society globally from the WSIS process. One has to do with the embedding of rights and obligations at the center of SDG-related strategies. Much of the current WSIS discussion and the language in the elements paper tends to reaffirm soft principles and not necessarily clear obligations or clear reference to human rights instruments in ways that are sometimes baffling in how they might be interpreted towards the future when we require that basis, that common knowledge and that common basis of international human rights law as the basis for any kind of developmental process. As we see it, digital cooperation must uphold instruments like those in international human rights law, explicitly aligned with those frameworks including the UNGPs but also picking up on economic, social, cultural, environmental rights and including clear obligations for state action, corporate due diligence as well, access to remedy and transparency standards. Second, it’s important to integrate digital policies in the national SDG implementation frameworks. This happens here and there. It’s not something that happens at every level. One of the issues that we have found in many countries including in Latin America is the fact that if there is not enough reorientation in these processes towards co-creation and we see more top-down diagnostics, those processes can become something that is not inclusive as they should. Third, it’s relevant to recognize that inclusive governance requires some degree of joint capacity to make decisions, to redistribute power. And much of the WSIS discussion has been on the weak language that recognizes multi-stakeholder approaches for decision-making and the value of the IGF. And it’s highly important that for any kind of future process not just agreeing on language but implementing and taking things forward at the national level and as well as the global level, we need to have a stronger participation that requires permanent representation and national digital councils and independent oversight bodies, real capacity to influence the shaping of policy and approve frameworks for implementation and funding and more. And this is something that, at least in Latin America, has been highlighted in general with public policy making processes and we need to pick that up for this process that’s embedded here with relation to WSIS. Fourth, it’s key to have mandates on transparency and accountability mechanisms as a baseline, which is not something that’s common to every country, but digital development plans must include public indicators, accessible audits, participatory review, which can apply both to states and corporations and avoid the corporate accountability language, but instead move towards a culture of global accountability. And fifth, this is something that’s been part of very specific demands from the global south community, is address the fiscal justice dimension of these issues. Much of this work requires funding, sustainable digital cooperation requires public investment and ad hoc funding may not do that or provide that in a sustainable way. So to link the financing for development process, to acknowledge the need for cross-border fiscal measures is also relevant here, including equitable taxation of digital services and other ways to generate resources for digital infrastructure to provide for that sustainability in the services that we value in the space. So as we have said in many cases, digital justice requires fiscal justice, especially from cross-national services and national corporations, especially for regions where underinvestment tracks historical inequities as well. So these are opportunities that we see as more than theoretical. We have an opportunity to try and influence some international language and commitments, but we also wish to see those commitments then also happen at the national level. And therefore, one of the most important opportunities that we have is not just influence at the global level, but also engage in discussions that allow us to bring these discussions back home and influence at the local level, too. Thank you.

Nils Berglund: Thank you very much, Juan Carlos. I think in your overview, your intervention also points to some ideas for addressing the gap between global norms and implementation that Director Dofl mentions, and also some issues that she raised, which kind of segues nicely to Dr. Johanna Koleja. You’ve published research on the future of the Internet and sustainable development. You’ve also worked a lot on international law. I wonder if you could reflect on this research in the context of this alignment that we’re discussing and discuss a bit maybe what we’ve learned about aligning secure and rights-based Internet governance with these SDG processes, particularly looking to WSIS plus 20, if you have time for all that.

Joanna Kulezsa: Thank you. Thank you so much, Nils. I think it’s a 90-minute lecture we’re looking at here, but I’ll try to squeeze it into five minutes. Please let me start by thanking Nils and his team for this opportunity. Indeed, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Nils and the EUI team on substantiating how we can use international law to support sustainable development, particularly in the digital era. As Nils kindly mentioned, there is a report that specifies this, but for the purpose of time, please allow me to make three points. We have mentioned the work done in the EU, naturally, with the European Commission hosting this session. We have talked about international developments. My job has been to try and identify multiple documents that support the thesis that international law requires sustainable development. One of the areas that Nils and his team have been working on is the declaration on the future of the Internet. I don’t think we’ve mentioned this here yet, but that is indeed a very specific plan. on how to weave sustainable development goals into national policies and beyond. We have looked at work done in the UN. Again, in this session, we have not yet mentioned the Global Digital Compact. I know that during our week of meetings here, the Global Digital Compact will once again be on the agenda, but it has been a vital discussion to better understand why the multi-stakeholder model for internet governance is so important for sustainable development. ICANN pioneers the multi-stakeholder model. It champions both the outcomes, the policy development processes, and the metrics behind them, but we definitely need more. Hence, the Global Digital Compact would be one of the examples. Niels requested specific examples. How do we do this? Where do we facilitate the input? And in the paper, you will find a longer narrative around how the Global Digital Compact has been one of the tools to help us convince the unconvinced, if there are any, that sustainable development is indeed required. Then I’m going to move to more specific examples. One of the regions we’ve looked at in the report are the small island states. The colleagues, the co-panelists, have mentioned developments in Africa, and that is a vital region. There is a lot of support also within European policies with the Global Gateway facilitating development in that vital region. And it seems as if equal input into the Pacific region and small island states would be needed. I know ICANN is doing a lot of work in terms of technical support and capacity building. That is the example we have used for the purpose of the report. And then last but not least, I was pleased to hear the notion of connectivity, and it is fundamental to ensure that connectivity increases, but it is also recommended for that connectivity. to be informed and once again sustainable. We would be looking at new internet infrastructures. One of the areas we’ve explored would be satellite broadband. There is a project that has been kindly supported by Internet Society Foundation and there’s a lot of work that the Internet Society has done on those new internet infrastructures. Just like AI, they are coming into new regions and haste sometimes precludes an informed policymaking. So the recommendations you will find in the report would include the need for informed decision-making both with regards to policy but also with regards to civil society consultations. Both researchers and NGOs, as my co-panelists have indicated, do have input to provide to make sure that whatever policy decisions are being made, they are rooted in international law, they reflect the multi-stakeholder model for policy development and decision-making and they do ensure sustainable development. One last component I’d like to mention within the 30 seconds remaining, I would focus on metrics and you will find this in the report as well. If we want to make sure that we’re achieving the goals, I believe this was mentioned by the director Dolfal also, mentioning that we need to be able to measure the progress we’re making and again my experience with ICANN is that the metrics are always high on the agenda and that is something that is a lesson we can carry forward. I’m going to stop here once

Nils Berglund: again, thank you for inviting me to join the panel. Thank you very much Johanna, of course you can find this report on our website but you’re also welcome to come speak to me after the event and I’ll make sure that you have a copy. Last but certainly not least Opeyemi Ogundeji, I know that your organization is working on a voluntary national review of the sustainable development goals in Nigeria so I thought maybe you could reflect also on your local context and what you see as the critical opportunities for aligning and leveraging digital technologies for advancing the SDGs.

Opeyemi Ogundeji: All right. Thank you so much, Nils, and the EUI for inviting us for this forum. And once again, my name is Opeyemi Ogundegi, and I’m the programs manager of the Network of Youth for Sustainable Initiative. We are a youth organization in Nigeria, basically advocating for meaningful youth engagement in programs and policies that enable them to lead and thrive. And for the past eight years, we’ve actually been working at the grassroots level, ensuring that young people are meaningfully engaged, and they are also contributing to advancing the SDGs. And in relating to the question Nils asked me, I would be speaking on three points, actually, as the opportunities we believe that can be leveraged on. And the first one I will speak about is decentralizing policy processes using digital platforms. We’ve actually been able to identify these in one of our projects, which we’ll actually work on, named Empowering Youth in Civil Society to Build Stronger Communities in Nigeria, especially in advancing Nigeria’s climate policies, which are the National Adaptation Plan and the Nationally Determined Contribution. What we noticed is that most policies are being made, the top to down approach are actually being made use of, and people who are at the local level who could actually take actions or actually advance those policies in order to ensure that we have more resilient communities are not really informed. And rather than making use of the top to down approach, why not make use of the bottom to top approach? And that was what we actually kind of like work with, where we decentralize the climate policies to enable people at the grassroots level who could actually take actions to get to know more about those policies and also to receive positive dialogues, consultations and engagements using the digital tools and resources in order to gather what community base needs for adaptation actually are for them, in order for them to basically… basically develop their own local adaptation plan of action for each of the states. And also, the next point I also want to make mention of is improving affordability and accessibility through needs-based digital services subsidization. Earlier this year in Nigeria, right, data tariffs were actually increased. And for a country where most of the people are actually, you know, what they prioritize most is what to, you know, how to live basically meets their daily needs, which are basically food, you know, getting shelter. And increasing that data tariff does not in any way as well help them to, you know, have the access to digital services and digital tools that we’re actually looking forward to expanding and switching and advancing the SDGs. And why young people or people at the local levels actually understand that assessing digital resources or being on digital, being accessible to digital technologies could help them gain more global opportunities and, you know, access more better opportunities to improve their livelihoods and or they would rather actually go for, you know, meeting their basic needs rather than, you know, subscribing to data or looking for internet connectivity to access all of these opportunities or even get access to quality education. And in that sense, what it means is that why don’t we make use of, you know, digital needs-based subsidization model whereby, you know, people who really need this, who really have needs for this should be given access and be enabled to afford these resources in order to advance the SDGs. And by doing so, you know, what we’re saying is that we are contributing to the SDGs that talks about reducing inequalities, quality education, and even innovation as well. And last but not the least, the last point I was going to talk about also is digital capacity building across sectors. You know, most times the private sectors work in such a way that, you know, even when you want to get hired or recruited, the first point is Most times they ask you, do you know how to use MS tools? Can you use basic digital tools and services? But it is not really most times seen in the public sector, whereby the workforce at times when we want to engage, as a youth organization now, I’m speaking from the point of view of a youth organization, when we reach out for partnerships, speaking on SDG 17, Partnership for Goals, we have to go through several bureaucratic steps and processes, which we could have basically limits all of the processes by engaging digitally. But the issue is the workforce, a little number of them actually have access or know how to make use of these digital resources. And in that sense, we asked to submit physical letters, meet physically and as opposed to their counterparts, where you can just exchange emails, get quick responses and move ahead when it comes to, you know, partnering for goals and advancing the SDGs. So what this means is that while the private sector is advancing in improving the capacity of its workforce, having access to digital tools and services, we should also look at the public sector as well. The workforce, you know, we’re speaking of the school teachers, we’re speaking of people working in the health sector, let them have access, you know, to quality capacity building session, which could actually improve their work and also advance the SDGs. Citing a personal experience now using the health sector, as a person, as a young person in Nigeria, I would rather actually go to the private, to go for private healthcare, because I know I’m not going to have a need to follow a long queue due to, which I actually experienced in the public sector where there are so many files having to be carried around. But in the private sector, they can easily take your data, enter it on the, you know, on the digital tools or make use of laptop and you have quick access to healthcare. And, you know, it’s not really that evidence in. most of the public hospitals and health care services. So what this is saying is that, basically, this is a co-opportunity for us to ensure that while private sector is growing, we also need to look at the public sector as well so that there is this capacity building across the sectors, and every sector is actually receiving the quality attention it needs to get. So in summary, and I’ll be concluding by saying that advancing the SDGs in Nigeria through digital technologies requires a deliberate focus on inclusive access, decentralized participation, and cross-sector capacity building. If we are truly committed to leaving no one behind, then digital inclusion must be treated not as a luxury, but as a foundational enabler for achieving the SDGs. Thank you.

Nils Berglund: Thank you so much, Oviyemi, for this very concrete and also local example. I’m going to open the floor now. So if anyone is interested in making a question or a comment, you can line up here on the side. You can also flag or indicate your willingness to speak online, where we have an online moderator that will communicate that to me. But in the meantime, maybe, Oviyemi, I’ll start by asking you a follow-up question just briefly. Your organization works with, I think, it’s over 1,000 volunteers, you told me yesterday. What do you see the role of youth in strengthening the development outcomes of digital technologies?

Opeyemi Ogundeji: All right, thank you so much. So we work with young people, and we actually have a large community. You can check us out online, NG Youth SDGs. And while working with youth, we know that young people, particularly young Nigerians, are actually very enthusiastic about the SDGs. And from time to time, you’re always seeing a young changemaker standing up to say, oh, I advocate for SDG 4, I advocate for SDG 6, because they are really enthusiastic about just making things work and building the community they really desire to see and actually even have. their children to take over from. So for young people in Nigeria, I’m speaking for young people in Nigeria now, what we are looking forward to is that we, our voices are actually really heard and listened to, and we’re actually giving the accurate support, you know, in terms of technical assistance. We make use of a model in our work, right? Where, you know, we work with young people who are very enthusiastic about the work in the local community, using the training model, where we actually empower them, and then they go into their local communities to empower so many other persons, and that’s more like a multiplier effect. So young people are so interested in this, but then we need to actually create that room for them to be able to sit in when it comes to decision-making processes, when it comes to conversations that actually meant for them, so that they also can actually make their voices count. And also, when they do it, when they are raising their voices, and that’s why the issue of rights comes in, because most time when young people say, this is not working, this is not being done, you know, before you know it, the voices of that young person has been saying that, oh, no, you don’t know what you’re saying, and oh, so we need to give them that room. And when they do that, we also need to spotlight them, because these people are actually very enthusiastic and eager to make something work.

Nils Berglund: All right, thank you so much. We have our first question. Please go ahead. Introduce yourself, your name, and your organization also, please. Thank you.

Dr. Abdulkarim A. Oloyede: No. Yeah. Can you hear me now? Yes. Oh, okay, yeah. Sorry, my name is Abdu Karim. I’m a professor of wireless telecommunications from the University of Illorin in Nigeria. I have two questions, and the first one is to His Excellency from Kenya. And my question is, today’s an important day in Kenya, so my question is around WSIS, SDG, and how important today is in Kenya, because the government of Kenya, how do you reconcile its international commitment to digital rights and inclusion, especially inclusive governance? with a recent domestic response to youth-led civic movement, especially in the light of today being an important day in Kenya, especially around concerns on digital access and police accountability. Then the other one is to the CEO of ICANN. I know ICANN has positioned itself as a cornerstone of global multi-stakeholder model, accountable not only to single government, but to the broader internet community. Yet recent edits to remove reference to inclusivity from ICANN’s public communication appears to reflect ideological stance on a single national administration rather than a global agreed principle. At this time, when WSIS 20 plus calls for the affirming inclusive digital development and SDG emphasizing leaving no one behind, how does ICANN justify these changes? And what safeguard exists to prevent political interference from undermining the global and inclusive character on internet governance? Thank you.

Nils Berglund: All right, let’s take the second question, and then we’ll move back to the panel.

Dr Jimson Olufuye: Thank you very much. My name is Jim Sindolufuye, a principal consultant, contemporary consulting, and the chair of the Advisory Council of Africa City Alliance based in Abuja, Nigeria. I have a comment and two questions. Let me really commend my darling sister, Delphine, for the great job you’re doing. Well done. We appreciate what you are doing. And to comment that perhaps we’re looking at WSIS plus 20 and SDG, we may need to dig deeper at the grassroots. Out of WSIS, we have IGL and other action lines. Maybe we can deepen the discussion at the subnational level, at the local level, maybe state level, local government level, to really bring in more people into the discussion. And then the question. Do we have anybody from SDG on the table? SDG office specifically? I know in some countries we have SDG offices, but we don’t usually mobilize them to be part of the discussion. So is it a good thing to mobilize the SDG offices to be part of the discussion? And the question again, the last one, yes to ICANN president. Yes, we’ve been talking about sustainable funding for IGF, which is part of which is really, what is ICANN doing? You know, we have this auction proceed, okay, fund, and there’s interest coming out of it every year. Okay, that interest, is it not possible to have a small percentage of it dedicated to IGF funding? Thank you.

Nils Berglund: All right, so a handful of questions there. Maybe we’ll take them in order. So we’ll start with you, Ambassador.

Bitange Ndemo: If I understood the question on Kenya directly, I mean correctly, the question is about the youth and access to internet or youth and… I think also what Kenya is doing more generally on digitalization and SDGs. Oh, wonderful, yes. Internet penetration in Kenya is very high, I think it’s about 80%. And because of it, a lot of young people are doing a lot of online jobs and other things. Three, Kenya is perhaps one of the countries in Africa that in spite of the unrest by the youth, internet remains open. Because of high unemployment, we have had a bit of challenges with the youth, but internet in Kenya has never gone down because of the unrest. and the number of jobs in this space. I said earlier that Kenya has witnessed huge productivity improvement just due to use of ICT. A lot of resources are coming into Kenya because resources towards supporting startups. Actually Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria are the leading. So I have no doubt that we would eventually find ways of settling the youth who are the majority now. Almost 70% is below 35. It’s a huge challenge and that’s why we brought subsidies, especially university kids to use. We provided free internet to the national, Kenya National Research Network. We subsidized laptops and other tools that they needed and we are continuing to do that to see that we create enough employment for the young people. Thank you.

Nils Berglund: Thank you, Ambassador. Sure, please go ahead, Mr. Lindqvist.

Kurtis Lindqvist: Thank you. I think I had, there was two questions. The first one was about, there are some reports about a change in policy on ICANN. Unfortunately, a lot of this reporting isn’t really quite correct. So let me frame what happened is that we have two pages on our website. One relates to employment at ICANN. That is a consolidation of representation of our employment practices across all the jurisdictions where we have employees. As for any multinational corporation with multiple employees, we update these policies to reflect changes in employment law and employment. structures. We have always had a commitment to equal employment, equal employment opportunities, and we are deeply committed to having a continuous that hasn’t changed, nothing has changed. There were some updated what’s called recommendations or employment legislation in the US. We reflected that in the page. That hasn’t changed the policy, it has to do with the wording that you’re using around this, and we reflected that change. That was all that website was. All community policies and the commitments we have made are the same. They have not changed, we haven’t changed anything regarding to this. They are developed by the community for and by the community, we remain committed to those. So I think that’s unfortunately a little bit of a representation by a blogger that was slightly taken out of context, but that’s the answer to the first question. The second question on what we do, ICANN is one of the largest donors to the IGF, so we do already contribute significantly to the to the IGF as to the donations to this. The auction proceeds are guided by a community-developed policy of how we use this community proceeds, and there are discussions in the community how this proceeds, if this current policy as set by the community is the right or should be different. I know that it’s been raised with the IGF a few times, that’s a policy process inside ICANN to decide what we do with this, and that might well be that the community have different opinions on how or when we could use this, but at the time being that is the policy we have for how that’s being used. Again, we are very committed to ICANN, and we will continue to be the donations we do as to see IGF be a sustainable venue for

Nils Berglund: dialogue. Thank you so much. We have one question from online, from the floor, from Emy from the Ugandan IGF. She asks, how can WSIS Plus 20 process better support Global South in developing digital strategies aligned with the SDGs, given the disparities in digital infrastructure and governance capacity? And we have only five minutes left, and I want to give you all a chance for kind of a closing word, so maybe let me also put my own spin on this question and add to it and ask you all to maybe highlight one priority action or recommendation that we take looking forward to WSIS Plus 20. Maybe I’ll start in the order, so I’ll give you one minute if you can give it at that Ambassador and then pass you to Director Kleiner.

Bitange Ndemo: Thank you. I think what we should do in the Global South is for governments to avoid taxation, which actually makes the cost of accessing the Internet too high. We should begin to do that first before we look elsewhere. Second, we have to subsidise universities and other tools that we require. This is the most consequential period ever with the emerging tech, that we can completely bring a lot of productivity improvement in Africa, especially what I said earlier with respect to AI. We must take risks. It is risks that pay more. I know most people say, no, we need to be careful on this, but we have to take risks, especially in AI, and move with it, develop local LLMs, and that’s how we can begin to move forward. Thank you.

Thibault Kleiner: I think, as the discussion highlighted today, the SDGs are covering a lot of ground. So I think that if we want to be impactful, we need also to have priorities, but we also need to make sure that it’s not just about investment, it’s also about the conditions for delivering. So to me, I mean, the first thing we need to do is really to complete the connectivity and we need to map where things are missing. This is what the EU is doing currently, and we want to execute these projects of investment in telecommunication networks, submarine cables, and combine these precisely with the legal framework that will give access to everyone.

Kurtis Lindqvist: I think looking ahead, the task ahead of us is quite clear, right? The Internet’s future, stability, accessibility and potential depends very much on the technical coordination being stable, that it works across borders, across sectors and across languages. I think someone at the beginning said that the current value of the Internet is that it’s non-fragmented, it’s a unique, global, reachable, accessible, ubiquitous network. And this is really a foundational principle to enable everything else we’ve talked about here today. And unless we safeguard that and protect that in the context of the visas and any other future discussions going forward, that’s at risk, right? And I think the Internet’s future and cooperation, everything we’ve talked about here is actually to understand these foundational principles. And that is what’s going to deliver very much of what we’ve talked about here today. Thank you. Thank you.

Joanna Kulezsa: I’m going to build on Ambassador’s demo contribution. I do agree we should take risks, but my one message would be for those risks to be calculated. So I’m going to argue for informed policymaking, research-based decision making. Just because the new technology is there, it doesn’t mean it should be instantly allowed and used by the people. And that’s what the SDGs are there for, to keep us safe from those who might wish to benefit from our unawareness. So I’m going to conclude it here. Thank you again.

Juan Carlos Lara: Yes, plus one to that last point, and very much in support of evidence base for decision made. But at the same time, highly relevant is participation. And for that, aside from meaningful connectivity being supported, and not just think of things as services to be provided, but also networks to be built, we also do need improved local participation. I will always emphasize that. But for this process, it’s important to maintain and to uphold sustainable commitments for participation, especially from global majority countries, both for resources for in-person attendance, as well as for meaningful remote participation for those who decide not to make the travel. But that’s a highly important point, of course, to take note.

Sook Jung Dofel: To drive STG impact, digital strategies and roadmaps must be embedded in local realities, shaped through inclusive partnerships and backed by long-term ecosystem thinking, globally and locally. That’s why the IHF, at global, regional, and local level, matters more than ever. And this is what I have to say, of course, as a MUC member.

Opeyemi Ogundeji: So what I’m going to say is that, as we look ahead, one core thing we should look at is ensuring that there is capacity building across sector. As private is growing, the public should be growing. Every sector should actually be growing alongside. The second part also is that we need to recognize that youth voices are actually very, very key and very important. And their voices should be amplified when it comes to decision-making processes, because they are basically the future. And also, lastly, what I will say is that people at the local level also need to be considered. And whatever intervention we are giving, we should actually put them in mind and target them as well, just so that they receive the adequate support that they need.

Nils Berglund: Thank you so much. So I will close by just sharing that, on Friday, the 20th of June, the co-facilitators of WSIS have shared. Elements paper which also calls for feedback on a range of areas including ICT for development and you’re able to submit those contributions until the 15th of July. So if anyone is interested in contributing I encourage you to do that. Now help me give them all a round of applause.

Agreement points

Holistic/Systems Approach to Digital Development

Speakers

– Bitange Ndemo
– Thibault Kleiner
– Sook Jung Dofel

Arguments

Systems approach needed for infrastructure development, considering all stakeholders from farmers to universities

Secure connectivity is the bedrock of everything digital, requiring holistic approach including regulatory frameworks and competitive markets

Infrastructure matters but digital access without local capacity creates dependency, not empowerment

Summary

All three speakers emphasize that successful digital development requires a comprehensive, systems-thinking approach that goes beyond just building infrastructure to include capacity building, regulatory frameworks, and consideration of all stakeholders

Topics

Development | Infrastructure | Legal and regulatory

Multi-stakeholder Model Effectiveness

Speakers

– Kurtis Lindqvist
– Sook Jung Dofel
– Joanna Kulezsa

Arguments

Multi-stakeholder model has delivered phenomenal growth and should be maintained and resourced

Complex problems need collective diverse perspectives to create innovation and accelerate SDG achievement

International law requires sustainable development and multi-stakeholder model supports this framework

Summary

These speakers strongly support the multi-stakeholder model as an effective governance approach that has delivered results and should be maintained and properly resourced

Topics

Human rights principles | Legal and regulatory | Development

Need for Evidence-Based and Informed Decision Making

Speakers

– Joanna Kulezsa
– Juan Carlos Lara
– Sook Jung Dofel

Arguments

Informed policymaking and research-based decision making should guide calculated risks

Digital cooperation must uphold international human rights law with clear state and corporate obligations

Strong linkage between SDGs and digital transformation requires smart indicators and mutual accountability

Summary

These speakers agree on the importance of grounding policy decisions in evidence, research, and established legal frameworks rather than making hasty decisions about new technologies

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Human rights principles

Importance of Local Context and Grassroots Implementation

Speakers

– Sook Jung Dofel
– Opeyemi Ogundeji
– Dr Jimson Olufuye

Arguments

Global debates often miss local complexity, requiring better translation between global norms and ground realities

Decentralizing policy processes using digital platforms enables bottom-up approach for community engagement

WSIS Plus 20 and SDG discussions should be deepened at subnational levels including state and local government levels

Summary

These speakers emphasize the critical importance of translating global frameworks into local contexts and ensuring grassroots participation in digital governance processes

Topics

Development | Human rights principles

Youth Participation and Empowerment

Speakers

– Bitange Ndemo
– Opeyemi Ogundeji

Arguments

Taking calculated risks with emerging technologies, including developing local AI models, is essential for progress

Youth voices must be amplified in decision-making processes as they are the future

Summary

Both speakers recognize the critical role of youth in digital transformation and the need to empower them with opportunities and voice in decision-making processes

Topics

Development | Human rights principles

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers support taking risks with new technologies but emphasize that these should be calculated risks – Ndemo from the perspective of seizing opportunities, Kulezsa from ensuring informed decision-making

Speakers

– Bitange Ndemo
– Joanna Kulezsa

Arguments

Taking calculated risks with emerging technologies, including developing local AI models, is essential for progress

Informed policymaking and research-based decision making should guide calculated risks

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory

Both speakers emphasize the need for genuine participation and power-sharing in governance processes, with Lara focusing on structural changes and Ogundeji specifically advocating for youth inclusion

Speakers

– Juan Carlos Lara
– Opeyemi Ogundeji

Arguments

Inclusive governance requires joint capacity to make decisions and redistribute power with permanent representation

Youth voices must be amplified in decision-making processes as they are the future

Topics

Human rights principles | Development

Both speakers focus on practical, concrete approaches to improving digital access – Kleiner through infrastructure investment and Ogundeji through targeted subsidization for those who need it most

Speakers

– Thibault Kleiner
– Opeyemi Ogundeji

Arguments

EU Global Gateway has implemented 250 concrete projects focusing on connectivity, data centers, and supercomputers

Improving affordability and accessibility through needs-based digital services subsidization is crucial

Topics

Development | Economic | Infrastructure

Unexpected consensus

Risk-Taking in Technology Adoption

Speakers

– Bitange Ndemo
– Joanna Kulezsa

Arguments

Taking calculated risks with emerging technologies, including developing local AI models, is essential for progress

Informed policymaking and research-based decision making should guide calculated risks

Explanation

It’s unexpected to see consensus between a government official advocating for bold technology adoption and a legal scholar emphasizing caution, yet both agree on the need for calculated risks – showing a balanced approach to innovation

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory

Importance of Measuring Real Impact Over Declarations

Speakers

– Sook Jung Dofel
– Kurtis Lindqvist

Arguments

WSIS impact should be measured in moments of real change rather than just declarations

Multi-stakeholder model has delivered phenomenal growth and should be maintained and resourced

Explanation

Unexpected consensus between a development practitioner and a technical community leader on focusing on concrete outcomes rather than policy rhetoric, showing shared pragmatic approach across different stakeholder groups

Topics

Development

Need for Sustainable Funding Mechanisms

Speakers

– Sook Jung Dofel
– Juan Carlos Lara
– Dr Jimson Olufuye

Arguments

Digital public goods are underfunded and undervalued, needing financing mechanisms combining development funds and private capital

Fiscal justice dimension requires sustainable public investment and cross-border fiscal measures including equitable taxation

ICANN’s auction proceeds interest could provide sustainable funding for IGF

Explanation

Unexpected broad consensus across development, civil society, and technical community representatives on the critical need for innovative and sustainable funding mechanisms for digital governance and development

Topics

Economic | Development

Overall assessment

Summary

The speakers demonstrated strong consensus on several key areas: the need for holistic approaches to digital development, the effectiveness of multi-stakeholder governance, the importance of evidence-based decision making, the critical role of local implementation, and the need for meaningful participation of all stakeholders including youth. There was also unexpected agreement on balancing innovation with informed policymaking and focusing on concrete outcomes over rhetoric.

Consensus level

High level of consensus with complementary perspectives rather than fundamental disagreements. The implications are positive for WSIS Plus 20 process as speakers from different stakeholder groups (government, private sector, civil society, technical community, development organizations) share common ground on core principles while bringing different expertise and priorities. This suggests potential for collaborative action on digital transformation for SDGs, though implementation challenges around funding, capacity building, and translating global frameworks to local contexts remain significant areas requiring continued cooperation.

Different viewpoints

Risk-taking vs. Informed Policymaking for New Technologies

Speakers

– Bitange Ndemo
– Joanna Kulezsa

Arguments

Taking calculated risks with emerging technologies, including developing local AI models, is essential for progress

Informed policymaking and research-based decision making should guide calculated risks

Summary

Ndemo advocates for taking bold risks with new technologies like AI, citing Kenya’s mobile money success where they proceeded without complete regulatory frameworks. Kulezsa agrees with taking risks but emphasizes they should be calculated and research-based, warning against instantly allowing new technologies just because they exist.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Emerging Technologies

Approach to Technology Regulation and Benefits

Speakers

– Bitange Ndemo
– Juan Carlos Lara

Arguments

Taking calculated risks with emerging technologies, including developing local AI models, is essential for progress

Human rights instruments must be embedded at the center of SDG-related strategies with clear obligations

Summary

Ndemo emphasizes focusing on benefits first and letting regulation follow, advocating for risk-taking in technology adoption. Lara insists on embedding human rights frameworks and clear obligations from the start, emphasizing the need for strong regulatory foundations before implementation.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights principles | Development

Unexpected differences

Measurement and Evidence vs. Action Orientation

Speakers

– Sook Jung Dofel
– Nils Berglund

Arguments

WSIS impact should be measured in moments of real change rather than just declarations

Research shows strong statistical correlations between digitalization and SDG progress, particularly in economic development

Explanation

While both speakers value evidence, they approach measurement differently. Dofel emphasizes qualitative, human-centered impact stories over statistical measures, while Berglund presents quantitative research and correlations. This represents an unexpected philosophical divide on how to best demonstrate and measure digital development success.

Topics

Development | Measuring Progress

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion showed relatively low levels of direct disagreement, with most speakers sharing common goals around digital inclusion, sustainable development, and multi-stakeholder governance. The main areas of disagreement centered on approaches to technology regulation (risk-taking vs. precautionary principles) and the balance between innovation and rights protection.

Disagreement level

Low to moderate disagreement level. Most disagreements were about means rather than ends, with speakers generally aligned on goals but differing on implementation approaches. The disagreements reflect healthy debate about balancing innovation with protection, and different regional/organizational perspectives on digital governance. These differences could actually strengthen the WSIS Plus 20 process by ensuring multiple approaches are considered.

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers support taking risks with new technologies but emphasize that these should be calculated risks – Ndemo from the perspective of seizing opportunities, Kulezsa from ensuring informed decision-making

Speakers

– Bitange Ndemo
– Joanna Kulezsa

Arguments

Taking calculated risks with emerging technologies, including developing local AI models, is essential for progress

Informed policymaking and research-based decision making should guide calculated risks

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory

Both speakers emphasize the need for genuine participation and power-sharing in governance processes, with Lara focusing on structural changes and Ogundeji specifically advocating for youth inclusion

Speakers

– Juan Carlos Lara
– Opeyemi Ogundeji

Arguments

Inclusive governance requires joint capacity to make decisions and redistribute power with permanent representation

Youth voices must be amplified in decision-making processes as they are the future

Topics

Human rights principles | Development

Both speakers focus on practical, concrete approaches to improving digital access – Kleiner through infrastructure investment and Ogundeji through targeted subsidization for those who need it most

Speakers

– Thibault Kleiner
– Opeyemi Ogundeji

Arguments

EU Global Gateway has implemented 250 concrete projects focusing on connectivity, data centers, and supercomputers

Improving affordability and accessibility through needs-based digital services subsidization is crucial

Topics

Development | Economic | Infrastructure

Key takeaways

Digital technologies have strong correlation with SDG progress, with research showing they directly benefit 70% of SDG targets, but alignment between goals, policies and outcomes remains imperfect

A systems approach is essential for digital development – infrastructure, capacity building, regulatory frameworks, and local implementation must be developed concurrently rather than sequentially

The multi-stakeholder model for internet governance has delivered phenomenal growth over 20 years and should be maintained, resourced and trusted going forward

Meaningful digital access requires more than connectivity – it needs trust, resilience, multilingual reach, affordability, and local capacity building to avoid creating dependency

Human rights instruments and international law must be embedded at the center of SDG-related digital strategies with clear obligations for states and corporations

Global digital governance discussions often miss local complexity, requiring better translation between global norms and ground-level realities

Youth voices and participation from Global South countries are critical for inclusive decision-making processes in digital development

Digital public goods remain underfunded and undervalued, requiring sustainable financing mechanisms that combine development funds, private capital and public investment

Calculated risks with emerging technologies like AI present opportunities to address poverty and development challenges, but require informed, evidence-based policymaking

Cross-sector capacity building is needed to ensure public sector digital capabilities grow alongside private sector advancement

Resolutions and action items

Participants encouraged to submit contributions to WSIS Plus 20 elements paper by July 15th deadline on ICT for development areas

Need to complete connectivity mapping to identify where digital infrastructure is missing, particularly in Global South regions

Develop local AI language models and take calculated risks with emerging technologies while maintaining evidence-based approaches

Embed digital policies in national SDG implementation frameworks through co-creation rather than top-down approaches

Establish permanent representation in national digital councils and independent oversight bodies for meaningful stakeholder participation

Create needs-based digital services subsidization models to improve affordability and accessibility

Implement transparency and accountability mechanisms with public indicators, accessible audits and participatory review processes

Strengthen sustainable funding commitments for participation from global majority countries in international processes

Unresolved issues

How to effectively balance innovation and risk-taking with regulatory oversight for emerging technologies like AI

Specific mechanisms for translating global digital governance norms into context-sensitive local implementation

Sustainable financing models for digital public goods that adequately combine public and private resources

How to ensure meaningful remote participation in international processes for those unable to travel

Addressing the digital divide created by increased data costs and affordability barriers in developing countries

Reconciling different stakeholder views on digital governance institutional arrangements (from strengthening IGF to creating new UN bodies)

How to measure and track progress on digital SDG alignment with appropriate indicators and accountability mechanisms

Addressing environmental challenges like CO2 emissions and e-waste that accompany digital transformation

Suggested compromises

Adopt calculated risk-taking approach that balances innovation with informed, research-based policymaking for new technologies

Combine top-down policy frameworks with bottom-up community engagement through decentralized digital platforms

Develop hybrid financing mechanisms that blend development assistance, private investment and local budget allocations

Strengthen existing multi-stakeholder institutions like IGF while exploring complementary governance mechanisms

Balance global coordination with local adaptation by embedding international frameworks in context-sensitive national strategies

Ensure both in-person and meaningful remote participation options for international digital governance processes

Integrate digital capacity building across all sectors rather than focusing solely on private sector advancement

I am thinking that if we were to do, to repeat it again, is to use this systems approach, especially now as AI is coming, that we could effectively, in Africa, deal with the issues of SDG1 poverty by simply leveraging AI to teach farmers to know the predictability of rainfall, to give them data on the soils, give them information on what grows where and everything. But it is only techies who are talking about AI. and policy makers providing or talking about regulating AI and missing the opportunity.

Speaker

Ambassador Bitange Ndemo

Reason

This comment is insightful because it identifies a critical disconnect between technological potential and policy implementation. Ndemo highlights how the focus on AI regulation overshadows discussions about AI’s practical applications for development, particularly in addressing fundamental challenges like poverty and agricultural productivity.

Impact

This comment established a key theme that resonated throughout the discussion – the need for practical, systems-thinking approaches rather than siloed technological or regulatory discussions. It influenced subsequent speakers to emphasize holistic approaches and real-world applications.

When we talk about WSIS, I suggest we don’t ask what have you said, but rather what have you shifted? Because the impact of WSIS is not measured in declarations, but it’s measured in moments. Moments when, for instance, as Doreen Buckton-Martin yesterday said in her opening speech, a farmer receives an early flood warning by SMS, or when a midwife in rural Ethiopia learns to diagnose complications via WhatsApp.

Speaker

Director Sook Jung Dofel

Reason

This reframing is profound because it shifts the evaluation criteria from policy rhetoric to tangible human impact. The concrete examples of SMS flood warnings and WhatsApp medical training illustrate how digital technologies create meaningful change in people’s lives, moving beyond abstract policy discussions.

Impact

This comment fundamentally reoriented the discussion from theoretical alignment between WSIS and SDGs to concrete, human-centered outcomes. It encouraged other speakers to provide specific examples and focus on measurable impacts rather than policy frameworks.

Much of the current WSIS discussion and the language in the elements paper tends to reaffirm soft principles and not necessarily clear obligations or clear reference to human rights instruments in ways that are sometimes baffling in how they might be interpreted towards the future when we require that basis, that common knowledge and that common basis of international human rights law as the basis for any kind of developmental process.

Speaker

Juan Carlos Lara

Reason

This comment is thought-provoking because it exposes a fundamental weakness in current digital governance frameworks – the reliance on non-binding principles rather than enforceable obligations. It challenges the effectiveness of soft law approaches in achieving meaningful development outcomes.

Impact

This critique introduced a more critical perspective to the discussion, prompting consideration of accountability mechanisms and the gap between aspirational goals and enforceable commitments. It added depth to the conversation about governance structures and their effectiveness.

Earlier this year in Nigeria, right, data tariffs were actually increased. And for a country where most of the people are actually, you know, what they prioritize most is what to, you know, how to live basically meets their daily needs, which are basically food, you know, getting shelter. And increasing that data tariff does not in any way as well help them to, you know, have the access to digital services and digital tools that we’re actually looking forward to expanding.

Speaker

Opeyemi Ogundeji

Reason

This comment is insightful because it highlights the fundamental tension between digital inclusion aspirations and economic realities. It demonstrates how policy decisions (tariff increases) can directly undermine SDG progress by making digital access unaffordable for those who need it most.

Impact

This real-world example grounded the discussion in practical challenges faced by ordinary citizens. It reinforced the need for affordability considerations in digital policy and influenced the conversation toward more nuanced understanding of access barriers beyond infrastructure.

We forget about this, that we also need to make it accessible. The farmers we heard about getting the weather up with an AI, they should also have accessibility to this. There’s more to it than just the concept… meaningful access is more than just about connectivity. It’s about trust, resilience and multilingual reach.

Speaker

Curtis Lindquist

Reason

This comment deepens the understanding of digital inclusion by expanding the definition beyond mere connectivity to encompass cultural, linguistic, and trust dimensions. It challenges the technical community to think beyond infrastructure to user experience and cultural relevance.

Impact

This expanded definition of access influenced the discussion to consider more holistic approaches to digital inclusion. It connected technical infrastructure discussions to cultural and social dimensions, adding complexity to the conversation about what true digital inclusion means.

Digital justice requires fiscal justice, especially from cross-national services and national corporations, especially for regions where underinvestment tracks historical inequities as well.

Speaker

Juan Carlos Lara

Reason

This comment is profound because it connects digital development to broader issues of global economic justice and historical inequities. It challenges the notion that digital transformation can be separated from questions of resource distribution and economic power structures.

Impact

This comment introduced a more systemic critique of current approaches, linking digital development to broader questions of global justice and resource allocation. It elevated the discussion beyond technical solutions to address structural inequalities.

Overall assessment

These key comments collectively transformed the discussion from a technical policy dialogue into a more nuanced, human-centered conversation about digital development. The most impactful interventions challenged participants to move beyond abstract frameworks toward concrete outcomes, accountability mechanisms, and systemic thinking. Ambassador Ndemo’s systems approach and Director Dofel’s focus on ‘moments’ rather than declarations established a practical foundation that influenced subsequent speakers to provide specific examples and focus on real-world impacts. Juan Carlos Lara’s critiques of soft law approaches and calls for fiscal justice introduced necessary tension and depth, while Opeyemi’s grassroots perspective and Curtis’s expanded definition of access ensured the conversation remained grounded in user realities. Together, these comments created a more sophisticated understanding of the challenges and opportunities in aligning digital transformation with sustainable development goals, emphasizing the need for holistic, rights-based, and economically just approaches to digital governance.

How can we better integrate WSIS Plus 20 recommendations into concrete policy frameworks using a holistic approach?

Speaker

Nils Berglund

Explanation

This was raised as a key question for how to translate the holistic approach mentioned by panelists into actionable WSIS Plus 20 recommendations

How do we protect people’s data when there is no data protection authority in some countries?

Speaker

Sook Jung Dofel

Explanation

This highlights the gap between global data governance discussions and local implementation realities that needs further exploration

What are the specific benefits of AI for citizens, particularly in agriculture and rural development?

Speaker

Bitange Ndemo

Explanation

The Ambassador emphasized that while risks of AI are being discussed, there’s insufficient focus on researching and articulating the concrete benefits for citizens

How can we develop better translation mechanisms between global norms and on-the-ground realities?

Speaker

Sook Jung Dofel

Explanation

This addresses the persistent challenge of implementing global digital governance frameworks at the local level

What specific financing mechanisms can effectively combine development funds, private capital, and local budgets for digital public goods?

Speaker

Sook Jung Dofel

Explanation

Digital public goods remain underfunded and undervalued, requiring research into innovative financing models

How can cross-border fiscal measures, including equitable taxation of digital services, generate sustainable resources for digital infrastructure?

Speaker

Juan Carlos Lara

Explanation

This addresses the fiscal justice dimension needed to sustainably fund digital cooperation initiatives

What are the best practices for implementing needs-based digital services subsidization models?

Speaker

Opeyemi Ogundeji

Explanation

This was proposed as a solution to affordability barriers but requires further research on implementation mechanisms

How can satellite broadband and other new internet infrastructures be deployed in ways that ensure sustainable development?

Speaker

Joanna Kulezsa

Explanation

New internet infrastructures are being deployed rapidly, but informed policymaking frameworks are needed to ensure they support sustainable development

Should SDG offices be systematically mobilized to participate in WSIS and internet governance discussions?

Speaker

Dr Jimson Olufuye

Explanation

This question highlights a potential gap in coordination between SDG implementation bodies and digital governance processes

How can WSIS discussions be deepened at subnational levels (state, local government) to bring more people into the process?

Speaker

Dr Jimson Olufuye

Explanation

This addresses the need for more grassroots engagement in WSIS Plus 20 processes

What safeguards exist to prevent political interference from undermining the global and inclusive character of internet governance?

Speaker

Dr. Abdulkarim A. Oloyede

Explanation

This question addresses concerns about maintaining the integrity of multi-stakeholder internet governance models

How can we develop smart indicators and mutual accountability mechanisms to better measure the linkage between SDGs and digital transformation?

Speaker

Sook Jung Dofel

Explanation

Better metrics are needed to track progress and ensure accountability in digital development initiatives