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Summary

This discussion, titled “More Truth Less Trust,” focused on the growing challenges of misinformation and disinformation in the digital age, particularly as AI technologies become more sophisticated. The panel featured Christine Strutt as moderator, along with Tara Harris from Prosus, Mike Mpanya from Newbie.ai, and Lori Schulman from INTA, examining how false information impacts public trust and exploring potential solutions.

The conversation began by distinguishing between misinformation (unintentional spreading of false information) and disinformation (deliberate deception intended to cause harm). Tara Harris highlighted how bad actors increasingly use deepfakes and AI impersonation to create investment scams targeting consumers, noting that current IP laws don’t adequately address these emerging threats. She emphasized the need for multi-faceted enforcement approaches and welcomed regulatory developments like France’s ban on sharing deepfakes and Denmark’s consideration of granting copyright to faces and physical likeness.

Mike Mpanya addressed a critical but often overlooked issue: how large language models trained primarily on data from the Global North create inherent biases that disadvantage users in the Global South. He explained that AI systems trained on historically biased datasets can perpetuate discrimination, particularly in healthcare and financial services, and stressed the need for testing data integrity before deployment. Mpanya advocated for establishing global frameworks and best practices for AI development, similar to engineering standards in other fields.

The discussion revealed tension between the desire for harmonized global AI regulation and the reality of fragmented regional approaches. While speakers agreed that harmonization would benefit smaller companies and startups, they acknowledged that current regulatory diversity actually favors large tech companies with resources to navigate multiple legal frameworks. Lori Schulman emphasized that solving AI’s trust and safety challenges requires multi-stakeholder collaboration, noting that these technological disruptions, while challenging, are not unprecedented and can be successfully managed through inclusive cooperation.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **Distinction between misinformation and disinformation**: The panel explored how misinformation involves unintentional spreading of false information (like a “mistake”), while disinformation is deliberately created to cause harm. They discussed how both concepts manifest in AI-generated content, deepfakes, and executive impersonation scams.

– **Bias and representation in AI training data**: A significant focus on how large language models are predominantly trained on data from the Global North (US and Western Europe), creating inherent biases that disadvantage users from the Global South. This affects everything from healthcare diagnostics to financial services, with historical biases (like apartheid-era data in South Africa) being perpetuated in AI systems.

– **Regulatory fragmentation vs. harmonization**: The speakers debated the challenges of navigating multiple, fragmented AI regulations across different jurisdictions. While harmonized regulation would benefit scaling and innovation, the current reality forces companies (especially smaller ones) to spend more time with lawyers than engineers, potentially favoring big tech companies over startups.

– **Enforcement challenges in current IP law frameworks**: Discussion of how existing intellectual property laws inadequately address AI-generated deepfakes, voice cloning, and executive impersonation. The panel noted emerging solutions like France making deepfakes illegal and Denmark considering granting copyright to faces and physical likeness.

– **Solutions and future outlook**: The conversation concluded with optimism about small language models, open-source AI development, and the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration. Speakers emphasized the importance of creating resource hubs and interdisciplinary cooperation to address these challenges.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to examine the growing threat of AI-powered misinformation and disinformation, explore current challenges in combating these issues through existing legal frameworks, and identify potential solutions through better regulation, improved data practices, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. The panel sought to bridge perspectives from legal, technical, and policy domains to address how false information erodes public trust and what can be done about it.

## Overall Tone:

The discussion maintained a professional, collaborative tone throughout, with speakers building on each other’s points constructively. While the conversation began with a somewhat concerning overview of the misinformation landscape, it evolved into a more optimistic and solution-oriented discussion. The speakers demonstrated mutual respect and expertise, with the tone becoming increasingly hopeful toward the end as they discussed emerging technologies like small language models, open-source AI, and the potential for better resource sharing and collaboration to address these challenges.

Speakers

– **Christine Strutt** – Intellectual property attorney and partner at Fonsidals (IP law firm focusing on African region), Chair of the Global Governance Subcommittee of the International Trademark Association (INTA’s Internet Committee), Session moderator

– **Lori Schulman** – Former board member and senior director of Internet Policy at INTA, General counsel and intellectual property counsel for Fortune 100 companies and major non-profit organizations, Immediate past president of the IPC, High-level facilitator at WSIS

– **Mike Mpanya** – Entrepreneur and AI strategist, Founder and CEO of Newbie.ai, Former leader of Africa’s largest youth organization, Has a foundation that trains young leaders, Background in engineering and public policy

– **Tara Harris** – Group IP Lead for Digital and Regulatory at Prosus (global consumer internet group and technology investor), Responsible for intellectual property strategy, enforcement, and risk management across global portfolio, Provides strategic support for digital policies and regulatory initiatives and AI governance frameworks

**Additional speakers:**

– **Audience** (specifically **Nanya Sudhir**) – Works at the ILO (International Labour Organization)

# More Truth Less Trust: Comprehensive Discussion Report

## Executive Summary

The panel discussion “More Truth Less Trust” examined the challenges of misinformation and disinformation in the digital age, particularly as artificial intelligence technologies become increasingly sophisticated. Moderated by Christine Strutt, an intellectual property attorney and partner at Fonsidals, the session brought together diverse expertise from Tara Harris (Group IP Lead for Digital and Regulatory at Prosus), Mike Mpanya (Founder and CEO of Newbie.ai), and Lori Schulman (former INTA board member and Internet Policy senior director).

The conversation evolved from initial concerns about AI-powered fraud and deepfakes to a broader examination of systemic biases in AI training data and regulatory challenges. Speakers generally agreed on the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration and better resources for smaller companies, while discussing various approaches to regulatory frameworks and technical solutions.

## Key Themes and Definitions

### Distinguishing Misinformation from Disinformation

The discussion began with establishing clear definitions between two related but distinct concepts. Tara Harris explained that misinformation involves the unintentional spreading of false information—essentially mistakes that propagate through digital channels. In contrast, disinformation represents the deliberate creation and dissemination of false information with the intent to cause harm.

Mike Mpanya introduced a more nuanced perspective, arguing that the most widespread form of misinformation stems from large language models themselves, which are trained on internet data that reflects “the most widespread information” rather than “the most correct information.”

### The Scope of AI-Generated Threats

Christine Strutt presented statistics demonstrating the rapid acceleration of AI-generated deceptive content, noting that video deepfakes tripled between 2022 and 2023, while voice deepfakes increased eightfold during the same period. However, she acknowledged getting some statistics from ChatGPT and invited skepticism about the data.

Tara Harris provided concrete examples of how bad actors exploit these technologies, describing how Prosus has been targeted by sophisticated schemes where criminals use deepfakes and voice cloning to impersonate their executives for Bitcoin scams and fraudulent investment schemes. These attacks target consumers through social media platforms, creating convincing audio and video content that appears to feature trusted business leaders endorsing fake investment opportunities.

## Systemic Bias and Global Representation

### The Global North Bias Problem

Mike Mpanya delivered one of the discussion’s most significant insights by highlighting how large language models perpetuate systemic bias through their training data. He explained that most large language models are trained predominantly on information from the Global North, particularly the United States and Western Europe, creating inherent disadvantages for users in the Global South.

This bias manifests in critical applications such as healthcare diagnostics and financial services. Mpanya provided a particularly striking example from South Africa, where AI systems trained on historical credit data perpetuate apartheid-era discrimination in lending decisions. As he explained, these systems continue to reflect historical biases that systematically disadvantaged certain populations.

### Generational Shifts in Information Verification

Mpanya identified a fundamental shift in how AI-native generations approach information verification. Unlike previous generations who might consult libraries or search engines to verify information, younger users increasingly turn to AI systems as their primary source of truth. This creates a circular problem where biased AI systems become both the source of misinformation and the tool used to verify information.

The implications of this shift extend beyond individual decision-making to broader societal trust in information systems. As Mpanya noted about the regulatory complexity: “Some weeks I spend more time with lawyers than I do with engineers. And I don’t think that’s a great position to be in as a founder of a technology company.”

## Legal and Regulatory Challenges

### Inadequacy of Current IP Frameworks

Tara Harris emphasized that existing intellectual property laws prove inadequate for addressing AI-generated impersonation and deepfakes. Current legal frameworks were not designed to handle sophisticated AI-generated content that can convincingly replicate voices, faces, and mannerisms. This forces companies to pursue creative multi-jurisdictional enforcement approaches, often with limited success.

Christine Strutt highlighted a particular vulnerability: while celebrities and public figures have some recourse through defamation laws, everyday people lack similar protections against AI-powered impersonation.

### Emerging Regulatory Responses

The discussion revealed some encouraging developments in certain jurisdictions. France has made sharing deepfakes illegal, and Tara Harris mentioned that Denmark is considering granting copyright protection to faces and physical likeness. These initiatives represent early attempts to adapt legal frameworks to address AI-generated threats.

However, Lori Schulman raised fundamental questions about the regulatory rush, asking: “Do we know enough about how things work to regulate? What we’re seeing now is a lot of regulations come into place, and then either the ability to technically enforce them, or the principle behind the enforcement isn’t syncing up with, again, the technology.”

### The Regulatory Fragmentation Challenge

Mike Mpanya highlighted how fragmented regional regulations can favor large technology companies over smaller innovators. Only major corporations possess the resources to navigate compliance across multiple jurisdictions, effectively creating barriers for smaller competitors.

Lori Schulman noted the scope of this challenge, mentioning that “dozens, over 60 jurisdictions” have introduced “nearly if not more than 1,000 regulations,” creating uncertainty about enforcement and technical feasibility.

## Areas of Agreement and Collaboration

### Multi-Stakeholder Approaches

The speakers generally agreed on the necessity of multi-stakeholder approaches to AI governance. Tara Harris advocated for companies to adopt global ethical AI policies, noting that Prosus based their policy “largely on the OECD AI principles.” Mike Mpanya emphasized the need for interdisciplinary collaboration extending beyond engineering to include legal, social, and humanities expertise. Lori Schulman reinforced this view and mentioned INTA’s five principles for AI governance.

### Support for Smaller Players

The speakers agreed that smaller companies and Global South entrepreneurs require better access to resources and training for AI governance. Lori Schulman suggested that the ITU could create information hubs providing primers and training for entrepreneurs scaling AI solutions across jurisdictions.

### Technical Evolution Towards Specialization

Both Tara Harris and Mike Mpanya discussed how small language models trained on specific, local datasets can often outperform large language models. Mpanya mentioned that JP Morgan Chase uses small language models, suggesting this represents a promising direction for addressing bias and representation issues.

## Audience Engagement and Youth Perspectives

An important part of the discussion involved an audience question from Nanya Sudhir from the International Labour Organisation about motivating AI-native generations to understand the gravity of biased data sources. This prompted detailed responses from all speakers about youth engagement with AI bias issues.

Mike Mpanya expressed optimism about youth consciousness regarding decoloniality and their demand for technology that reflects their experiences. The speakers discussed various approaches to education and engagement with younger generations who are growing up with AI as a primary information source.

## Solutions and Future Outlook

### Technical Solutions

The discussion revealed growing interest in technical solutions to bias and representation problems. Mike Mpanya highlighted that open-source AI development enables global communities to fine-tune tools to reflect their specific needs and contexts. Small language models offer particular promise, as they can be trained on carefully curated, representative datasets.

### Governance Frameworks

Speakers identified several approaches to governance challenges. Tara Harris advocated for voluntary adoption of global policies based on OECD AI principles. The discussion also touched on upcoming developments, including the EU AI Act code of principles being published “in the next few weeks” and Japan’s AI framework.

### Market Forces and Demographics

Mpanya provided an optimistic perspective on market incentives, noting demographic trends that suggest the Global South represents a significant market for technology products, creating business incentives for developing inclusive AI solutions.

## Ongoing Challenges and Questions

### Legal Protection Gaps

The discussion highlighted ongoing questions about how legal systems can provide protection for ordinary people against AI impersonation when current laws primarily protect celebrities and public figures.

### Data Quality and Training

Questions remain about the best approaches to addressing biased datasets—whether to improve existing datasets or build entirely new ones from scratch.

### Regulatory Implementation

Lori Schulman’s concerns about regulatory enforceability remain significant, particularly regarding the technical feasibility of enforcement and the alignment between legal principles and technological realities.

## Historical Context and Reassurance

Lori Schulman provided valuable historical perspective, drawing parallels to previous technology challenges. She mentioned the domain name system as an example of how the internet community has successfully navigated complex technical and policy challenges before, offering reassurance that “we got through it” and can address current AI challenges as well.

## Conclusion

The “More Truth Less Trust” discussion revealed the complexity of addressing misinformation and disinformation in the AI era. The conversation evolved from tactical concerns about fraud prevention to strategic questions about global technology governance, systemic bias, and regulatory approaches.

The speakers demonstrated broad agreement on fundamental challenges while exploring different approaches to solutions. Mike Mpanya’s insights about systemic bias and regulatory fragmentation, combined with Tara Harris’s practical enforcement experience and Lori Schulman’s historical policy perspective, created a comprehensive dialogue about both current challenges and potential paths forward.

The discussion highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, the need for better resources for smaller companies and Global South entrepreneurs, and the potential of technical solutions like small language models to address bias issues. While significant challenges remain, particularly around regulatory coordination and protecting ordinary citizens from AI-powered threats, the speakers’ various perspectives suggest multiple avenues for progress through continued collaboration and innovation.

Christine Strutt: Good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining our session that I’ve loosely renamed More Truth Less Trust. Of course this is a social media phrase that notes the predicament that the greatest tools enabling human communication and productivity nowadays are increasingly becoming the source of deception in the service of manipulating our minds and actions. Now in January this year the World Economic Forum in its global risk report classified misinformation and disinformation as the top short term risk for the second year running. Over and above risks like extreme weather events, societal polarization, cyber espionage and warfare. Now a number of reputable studies have in the last year concluded that between 75 and 90 percent of people are expressly concerned about AI’s role in spreading misinformation and people’s ability to distinguish between real and fake content is becoming alarming with apparently 40 percent of our guesses being accurate. Now those two statistics I got off ChatGPT so I invite you to also approach them with some skepticism but in terms of more academic studies video deepfakes tripled and voice deepfakes increased eightfold between the years 2022 and 2023. Our speakers today are all at the forefront of dealing with these issues and can attest to how false information impacts and erodes public trust in the media, organizations and governments and they can speak to the I will do a quick round of introductions. My name is Christine Strutt, I’m an intellectual property attorney and a partner at Fonsidals, which is an IP law firm that focuses on the African region. I’m also the chair of the Global Governance Subcommittee of the International Trademark Association or INTA’s Internet Committee, and it’s my honor to moderate this panel today and host all three of these distinguished speakers. On the screen, someone you’ll see in a minute, is Tara Harris, Group IP Lead for Digital and Regulatory at Process. Process is a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world, operating across transformative sectors, including e-commerce, fintech, food delivery, and educational technology. As a subsidiary of NASPA, Process powers leading digital platforms across emerging markets, with significant investments in companies such as Tencent and operations spanning India, Brazil, China, and beyond. As Group IP Lead at Process, Tara represents the organization’s intellectual property strategy, enforcement, and risk management across its global portfolio. She also provides strategic support to the company’s broader digital policies and regulatory initiatives as well as the AI governance frameworks. We’re also joined by Mr. Mike Mpanya, entrepreneur and AI strategist with a powerful track record of advancing inclusive, innovative AI solutions across Africa and the global south. As the founder and CEO of Newbie.ai, he leads one of the continent’s most dynamic AI Ventures, recognized for harnessing large language models and cutting edge technologies to solve critical challenges in healthcare, education, financial inclusion, and governance. Mike has advised governments, multinational corporations, and startups on AI adoption, digital transformation, and ethical innovation. Drawing from a background in engineering and public policy, he bridges the gap between complex technologies and real-world impact, particularly in under-serviced communities. And then, with me in person, is Lori Schulman, former board member and senior director of Internet Policy at INTA. Lori is responsible for managing the association’s various Internet policy and advocacy initiatives, as well as representing INTA in forums such as the IGF, ICANN, where she is the immediate past president of the IPC, and of course, WSIS, where she’s served as a high-level facilitator on several occasions. Lori has a varied background as general counsel and intellectual property counsel for both Fortune 100 companies and major non-profit organizations. She’s a notable voice in matters concerning digital policy, data, and domain names. Thank you all for being here today. I’m going to start by posing a question to Tara. I wonder if we could find you on the screen, Tara. But Tara, what is the difference between misinformation and disinformation? And are they really distinguishable, independent concepts?

Tara Harris: Hi, Chris. My video seems to be disabled, so you’ll have to just do with my voice. I hope you can hear me, okay?

Christine Strutt: Okay. Intention. And I think there was another hand at the back. Same. Well, let’s see. Let’s see what our expert has to say. Tara, what, in your opinion, is the difference between those two concepts?

Tara Harris: Yes, indeed. Intention is very important. An easy way to remember it is misinformation sounds a bit like mistake. So it is the unintentional spreading of false or untrue information versus disinformation where this was done on purpose to cause harm. Something that’s quite interesting, however, is that bad actors. we get citizens and faithful customers that come to us and say, we’ve seen this great offering for this new investment and for this option for us, for example to buy into it. Is it real? And then we of course look into it and it’s often a scam. So yes, we see because we’re an investor, we often see bad actors pretending to create gams or investment opportunities to try and trick consumers into believing that they can invest with us. And often there is nothing behind it. They’re just trying to collect their credit card information. So as these technologies are developing, we are starting to see deepfakes, for example, and we definitely seeing a much bigger increase towards bad actors impersonating our execs, trying to trick people with these technologies into thinking that they are real and then hooking them into illegal and often Bitcoin scams or similar. Natara, you’ve mentioned the executive brands, deepfakes, impersonation. Those are not things that all IP laws adequately cover. How do you find taking enforcement measures or addressing those sorts of wrongs given the current IP laws that you are given to work with? Yeah, that’s a great question. I think as these issues are increasing, we’re having to become a lot smarter when it comes to- enforcement. Luckily enough, we have a global footprint, and so we’re experienced in dealing with a large amount of different issues on different platforms. The first thing we’ll have to do is look at where the bad, where the offense is taking place. Is it on a platform? Is it on an internet website? Is it on a telegram or a messaging app? Try and see if there are terms of use. Otherwise, if we’re dealing with something that’s really targeting a certain jurisdiction, try and have a look locally. The issue is often when these problems arrive, you want to get them down as soon as possible. And so you’re trying to find normally a multitude of ways to attack them. It could be looking at IP rights or privacy rights, or as you say, a certain right in a country. Recently, we’ve seen France making it illegal to share defects. Of course, if there’s pornographic or sexual content, the penalties and fines are even worse. So it’s great to see changes like this happening. We’re also seeing a large policy shift in Denmark. I’m sure many of our audience have read in the news that Denmark is considering granting copyright to faces and physical likeness to try and give citizens the ability to enforce against defects. So I think we’re starting to see a shift, but there’s far from harmonization at the moment.

Christine Strutt: So IP for humans. I’m not sure how I feel about that. But I think coming from a country where the concept of image rights doesn’t really exist in our laws, and you only have protections for well-known famous people in terms of defamation, I do think that is a trend that’s promising, because given the current state of affairs, celebrities have recourse or public figures, but the everyday I’m going to start with you, Mike. I think it’s very important to understand that the way that people think about the world today, whether it’s men on the street or women on the street, has no protection if they get impersonated or their likeness or voice gets copied. So that is a very concerning state of affairs to me. Mike, what Tara is describing, though, is deep fakes and sophisticated voice or image impersonations. That typically use generative AI. And, of course, this is top of mind for all of us. When it comes to online fraud, we typically find ourselves, or at least I hope that we find ourselves, discussing how to combat the risks that are presented by these tools. But there are also simpler forms of misrepresentation in the digital space that could occur without any bad actors being involved. And that’s a very important part of the conversation. So, Mike, I’m going to start with you. I’m going to start with you. I think it’s very important to understand that the way that people think about the world today, whether it’s men on the street or women on the street, has no protection if they get impersonated or their likeness or voice gets copied. So that is a very concerning state of affairs to me. In the context of this digital space, that could occur without any bad actors or intentional wrongdoing. Can you perhaps share with us some of the issues that you encounter in your line of work when it comes to the development of language models and applications that are, in fact, intended for good? Thanks for that, Christine. I’m glad that we can see Tara now. Just letting you know you’re visible on our end as well. I think the most widespread form of misinformation that, in my view, is going to become mainstream and where we really need to be the strictest is misinformation around large language models. In other words, someone going to ChatGPT to get information about the real world. And you, of course, Christine, started your conversation by saying and disclosing to us that you had received these stats off of ChatGPT. But you had the presence of mind to say, well, we have to look at other academic sources. And what we’re seeing as an increasingly challenging problem is for generations that are AI native. So, in other words, these are individuals who are coming of age, so anywhere between, you know, 12 and 18.

Mike Mpanya: and early 20s during the AI era, where the first place they go to verify information is not a library or a search browser, as we have done historically, but AI. And now the predominant challenge with large language models is that large language models are neural networks that were trained on the internet. In other words, they’re an amalgamation of information that was available. And therefore, their training data has inherent bias, not towards what is the most correct information, but what is the most widespread information. So in other words, a challenge that we, in my line of work, engage with every day, is the fact that most large language models are trained on information from the global north, in particular, the United States and Western Europe. The majority of information on the internet comes from those markets. So when you’re engaging with a large language model around any topic, whether it’s around inclusive finance and best practice for starting a business in a rural community in Africa, or best practice for growing a business in a part of Southeast Asia, it’s going to give you information that is not necessarily correct. Now, those are perhaps some of the more benign examples where it becomes fundamentally more complex is in AI use cases, when you’re trying to use AI for something like health or finance. If the underlying health data set is a data set that does not include the market you’re trying to reach to. In Nubia’s line of work, we’re trying to expand access to healthcare for those who need it most with a particular focus on the global south. You don’t have an abundance of training data, healthcare data, on the types of people living in the global south. So that can cause some really challenging consequences when you’re trying to look at the risks that someone has for a particular disease, or when you’re trying to get the right form of diagnosis. A practical example we’ve encountered, and I’ll leave it here, is one in the banking space, where in the developing world, fintechs are very quickly becoming… the most common way of finance. And all FinTechs are exploring how do you use large language models, machine learning to expand access to finance, in particular credit. The challenge in a country like South Africa, of course, is that South Africa 30 years ago was not an inclusive society. It was a society separated by race. So if you’re going to use a historical data set to credit rate Africans, people of European origin, et cetera, the different race groups in South Africa, you’re going to be confronted with the challenge that your data set is inherently biased because it reflects the society that the data set was created in. So in order for us to combat what I think will become the most dominant form of misinformation is going to be for us to have a new standard for testing the integrity and the reliability of the underlying data sets we use to train these models. Okay. So I agree about the integrity of the data set, but let’s say you’ve already got a distorted view. What’s the solution to improving that? Is it just feeding in synthetic data or do you just have to build a fresh? What’s your thinking around improving the quality of the data that you are going to use inevitably? So there’s kind of two schools of thoughts around this. One is kind of the reinforcement training that you can do to the model. So in other words, let’s get as many different people to use it as possible. And over time, the model improves. The challenge is if that model that you’re building or the tool you’re building or the use case is supposed to make decisions in real time, are you comfortable with people being adversely affected because the model at the time has an inherent bias? And I think that’s something that in my view, no company would be comfortable with is knowing that a certain segment of customers or clients were being adversely affected because the underlying data set is incorrect. I think what is the more practical option and why conversations like these are so important is that we actually as a society and as AI practitioners, lawmakers, and users, we need to be able to make the right decisions. have to begin to imagine and get creative around what are the requirements we think about when looking at what an underlying data set has to have. So if you look at many of the other disciplines in engineering, there is a best, there’s several best practices and codes and forms of conduct that people ascribe to either by law or willingly because that’s just part and parcel of the best practice culture when building a car or building a bridge. I think having high quality data sets that are representative, that do take in diverse demographics and that are tested for bias before they’re used need to become part and parcel of the design process. So when you’re building a small language model, a large language model or an agent at the beginning of the process, we’re going to have to test the data sets and we’re going to have to create at least a global framework or regional framework around what is best practice to make sure that the data sets we’re building these models on actually have integrity and truth to them.

Christine Strutt: Thanks for that, Mike. Tara, I know you’ve got some views on best practices and regulation and standardization or harmonization. Could you say some of your thoughts around that?

Tara Harris: Indeed. So anyone who’s in the EU, I think, or even who’s not in the EU has probably heard of the EU AI Act. Of course, when that first arrived, we at Process had to try and figure out how are we going to how are we going to manage this risk? How are we going to make sure that our businesses are compliant, that they’re processing fair data, accurate data? Of course, they’ve been using ML and AI for many years. And now many of the normal algorithms are now subject to this regulation. And we took the view that we will adapt a global policy on ethical and responsible AI development. And this was based largely on the OECD AI principles. I think they promote innovative, trustworthy AI that represents human rights and democratic. larger companies voluntarily decide to take up these policies and make sure that they’re trying to ensure that they’re developing and deploying safe and responsible AI, the more it will become the norm. I think this will also help companies such as Mike’s companies, for example, be able to scale because while South Africa might not be subject to this, if they are already setting their benchmark pretty high at an EU level, that’s going to make it much easier for them to go into other regions, because many of the countries have got similar, you know, most of these frameworks are global. So I think that they can be adopted adapted by various industries. But I’d love to hear Mike’s view on this as well.

Christine Strutt: So would I but I just I’ve noticed our slides have sort of frozen. And I want to suggest that we actually just close them out and see only the speakers, if that’s okay. But whilst we do that, Mike, more regulation, harmonized regulation. And do you think that’s the way forward?

Mike Mpanya: I think if I could wave a magic wand, I would want harmonized regulation. I think Tara’s spot on when she’s talking about the challenges around scaling and growing. And that’s something we’re dealing with on a regular basis is when moving from South Africa to a Bangladesh to a Nigerias, we’re deploying what should be the same solution. If you think about the logic behind startups and the traditional laws of scaling. It is that you create a particular product, that product has value and you’re able to replicate and deploy that product all over the world. Unfortunately, because of the current regulation being so regional and in many instances being fragmented, what we’re dealing with is each and every time we go into a new market, as opposed to focusing on the technical requirements of the solution, we’re focusing on the legal requirements of the solution. And I was having this conversation with Christine when we were in South Africa a few weeks ago, that some weeks I spend more time with lawyers than I do with engineers. And I don’t think that’s a great position to be in as a founder of a technology company. So yes, in a perfect world, I think what we would want is more harmonization. I think what we’re seeing though is an increasing regional approach where particular regions and particular countries are choosing how to regulate their data and using kind of data sovereignty as a concept to justify that. What I would say is the downside of that is that it actually plays into the hands of big tech as opposed to small tech. So even though the logic is that if you have a regional framework or local framework, you’re going to make it harder for the big players to come into your market. Actually, what you do is you squeeze out the small players. Because to Tara’s initial point, only the large companies can afford armies of lawyers to understand research and figure out what is best practice and what should be done in each market. And in a world where you have multiple fragmented legal frameworks, what ends up happening is you push out competition in terms of the tech space and the AI space, and you effectively leave the world vulnerable to a few major players with a lot of capital. So I would want more harmonization, clarity around harmonization. I think that would be easier for our scaling. However, in the short term, I do think something practical we’re all going to have to deal with is very fragmented regional approaches to how they govern information.

Christine Strutt: There’s such good observations. And I will just say as the lawyer, whenever we have to advise on, you know, principles, best practices or themes in some other standard, that’s not great for us either, right? Because we are also just hypothesizing and trying to figure out what is the practical implication of that rule. So I understand that you can’t have fixed do’s and don’ts but, you know, that is inevitably why we end up spending so much time with startups and tech founders, because we are all together in this and trying to figure out this sort of uncharted territory of laws and regulations. Speaking of which, Lori, you’ve been very overlooked beside me here. I’d like to ask you more about regulation and policy, because INTA as an organization actually represents very diverse stakeholders. You know, we have the tech community, we have educational groups, non-profits, we have governmental agencies, we have private practice. What’s INTA’s view on AI regulation and policy?

Lori Schulman: I would say that INTA’s views are evolving and we have noticed and I do believe that sitting in a room with a bunch of lawyers when you prefer to be coding is probably not the best situation, but it is the best situation in a world where the legal frameworks are not quite fixed and solid. So it’s not a waste of time speaking as a lawyer. I’ve loved my career as a tech lawyer. Consult a lawyer. I mean, I’m just going to go there. But that being said, yes, we’ve noticed enormous trends in regulation. As you will hear in other sessions, there have been dozens, over 60 jurisdictions that have introduced nearly if not more than 1,000 regulations. So regulations are springing up all over the place, and it begs some questions. One, do we know enough about how things work to regulate? What we’re seeing now is a lot of regulations come into place, and then either the ability to technically enforce them, or the principle behind the enforcement isn’t syncing up with, again, the technology. We’re finding enforcement on the lawyer’s side, we don’t know how to counsel clients. Well, you have to follow this law. I know you want our advice, but we’re all waiting to see. That’s a very tough spot to be in. And I also, in this world, because I’m in a world where I go in front of governments and advocate for INTA’s members, we focus on brands and related intellectual property, and we are very concerned about two things. One, making sure that our members do have the space to innovate, and at the same time, that their innovations are well protected through established intellectual property laws, because we have seen, and have done many studies, where trademark-driven economies, economies that recognize intellectual property rights, grow faster, do better. If you go to inta.org, you will see these studies. They were done quite a number of years ago, but the information still holds up. So, you know, do we know enough to regulate, and can we truly future-proof? That’s what I try to ask regulators, my members, all the time. I would say this, that we’re seeing governmental practices emerging, we’re seeing voluntary practices emerging, and organizations like INTA are developing policy frameworks, where they can go and express to governments what they think might be the most appropriate way for the private sector and the governmental sector to move forward. I’m going to recognize a few jurisdictions, just so you can see the diversity of it. Japan has an AI framework that includes social principles on human and Mr. Mr. Mike Mpanya. The EU has the EU AI Act and the corresponding code of principles. For those of you who follow that, it’s very thorny. There’s a lot of questions. It’s very broad in some cases, extremely specific in other cases, and again, there’s uncertainty around whether or not the AI Act can be enforced, and if it’s enforced, are the principles that we’ve been working on for the last year the right ones. Those principles will be published in the next few weeks, so keep your eye out because I think they will become the world’s guideposts simply because of the size and impact of the European Union on the rest of the world. As Tara already mentioned, OECD has guidelines. You can go to the OECD website, and there’s a lot of great information about things to think about as you’re implementing an AI governance objective. When we speak about AI governance, we’re speaking about it at two levels. One, inside the company. How is the company going to govern its own AI development? But we’re also talking about what we talk about here at WSIS, which is global impacts, global infrastructure. How do we scale up in a world that has thousands of laws? This isn’t a new problem right away, and the other thing I like to emphasize that when we talk about these problems, they’re not new. This happened. I was there about almost 40 years ago now when domain names came on the scene and commercialized domain spaces and websites were popping up 30 years ago in the late 90s. There was absolute panic. We got through it, folks. I mean, we’re not perfect, but we got through it. There’s a lot more understanding now, and I do believe that that will happen with AI. I would be remiss, before I give the mic back to Christine, if I didn’t talk about INSHA’s efforts and where they relate to the strategic development goals, because as you know, it’s all about the STGs. The STGs, in terms of what INSHA’s focusing on, is an STG 9, which is innovation, industry, and economy, and STG 16, which talks about justice and a just world, the rule of law. I don’t have the precise—yes, I do. Peace, justice, and strong institutions. We need both. One cannot coexist without the other and benefit the globe. That’s how— I think that’s most of us here feel that way. I know Intus certainly feels that way. So the five principles that we really support right now is recognizing human versus machine contributions to inputs and outputs. Final decisions on granting or revocation of rights should be subject to human oversight. We don’t want to go off programming AI judges and AI gatekeepers without having also the human element of experience intuition. We’re not there yet with AI, certainly. Rights holders should be able to obtain lawful access to data for the purpose of enforcing their rights. We need to know the sources. We need to know who is the right and fair source to go to. Kind of going to the misinformation versus disinformation distinction. One is clearly a mistake. The other is intentional. And if it’s been intentional, there should be accountability. There must be accountability. And lastly, that transparency, however these frameworks are developed, should be balanced. And that balance should be with the need to protect proprietary information. Going back to innovation, patents, protecting what you develop, trademarks, protecting your brands. And what we’re hearing the most about in AI is copyright, protecting your content, potentially protecting your image. None of this, again, is new, but it does need to be rethought in a different type of technological space. And that’s my job. Thanks, Lori. And I think those principles also speak to the versus action lines. I mean, off the cuff, if I’m thinking about access to accurate information, building confidence and security in ICTs, the role of the media, ethical dimensions, and of course, then the role of governments and stakeholders. Absolutely. And as we know that the SDGs are tied in, the versus action lines flow up to the SDGs. I have come up with a little quote, but I like it because I think it’s right. I think we should let the SDGs be our North Star and let the multi-stakeholder inputs be our compass. There’s no one way to regulate AI. That I’m convinced about it. I mean, if you were in today’s plenary, you heard it’s not a question of either or, government versus non-governmental frameworks. It’s about inclusivity and collaboration at every single level in the stack, whether you call it a policy stack, an information stack, a service stack, right? It all integrates in some way. We can’t look to one and not the other. So I have come to a conclusion when you’re ready. I don’t know if you’d like to take questions first or if you’d like me to read my conclusion.

Christine Strutt: Yeah, I think- You can do it either way. Yes, we have a couple of minutes. And I think before I ask for closing remarks from all the speakers, I do wanna open the floor. This is labeled as a workshop. And if anyone has a question or comment, I think we’d love to hear it. Please feel free to direct or nominate it to any of the speakers. We have a roving mic. Oh, you have speakers if it’s in front of you. If not, we have a roving mic. It’s really a roving clowse.

Audience: Hi, thank you to all the speakers for all of their comments. I think they’re very pertinent and I learned a lot. My name is Nanya Sudhir. I work at the ILO. My question, since I’m usually concerned with the, I would say the sustainability of the UN organizations, is we were talking a lot about how to ensure that data sources are, let’s say, decolonized. Let’s put it this way. That we’re taking from all kinds of data sources. That we are, the AI models that are developed, they take into account a range of sources and not just the biased ones that they currently do. I worry about this because I will live in the future, hopefully. The question here that I come up against a lot personally is how do we motivate a generation that may have grown up only with AI? People who are maybe a decade even younger than me who’ve never lived without the internet. And who, yeah, how do we motivate them or inspire them to be engaged in this when they don’t, maybe they don’t realize the gravity of how increasingly mainstream the sources of data that give answers currently are?

Christine Strutt: I know that Mike has a youth organization. So I want to. pass this question on to him, Mike, if you don’t mind addressing it. You also might have the most interactions with younger users and developers of AI content.

Mike Mpanya: Yeah, yeah. I would say as someone who’s going to live in the future as well, I’m actually very hopeful around this. So to Christine’s point, I ran Africa’s largest youth organization for a number of years and still have a foundation that trains young leaders. And my sense when engaging with youth is that they’re incredibly conscious. They’re incredibly focused on decoloniality. And actually the demands for better and more open technology and technology that’s reflective of them, I think is very, very high. And to give you comfort, I think the biggest reason why AI will be decolonized is because there’s a massive market for it. So even when I spend time in the US and in parts of Western Europe, there are tons of VCs, investors looking at how do we build technology for the global South? And that is because that is the main market. When you look at the demographics data, something that is incredibly fascinating is that though in our cultural conversation, looking at the world through a Western lens is normative. From a numbers perspective, the normative parts of the world are the global South. Most parts of the world will struggle to have compute, will struggle with energy, but data centers are not represented in large language models as it currently exists. So even in a world where the UN organizations might be slow to it, I think the private sector is increasingly going to find a need to be able to answer these questions. And when you talk about decoloniality, one of the things that I think is intimately linked to it is open source technology. And what you’re finding is that open source AI is very quickly growing much faster than closed source AI. And what that means is that people all over the world will be able to fine tune the tools to be able to reflect them. And the reason why that’s happening is because people in India, in Bangladesh, in South Africa, in Nigeria, you know, in Venezuela want technology that is reflective of them and want a tool that’s able to answer their questions. So I would say that right now it might seem very hopeless when you look at the current dominant technology, but I think in the long term we’re going to have very, very representative tools being built.

Christine Strutt: I don’t know if any of the other speakers want to add to that.

Tara Harris: Yeah, I think mine would be that I think we’re certainly seeing in our industry a big increase in small language models. And I guess we’re just using the big language models now to power our own data. So I would imagine, and Mike can comment, but I would imagine if we’re going to be using something, for example, to help a specific sector or look at education, whilst we’ll be using the LLM to power the thinking, the actual datasets that would go into using to looking at, you know, to getting to the query would in fact be the datasets of the relevant audience. But I’d love to hear Mike’s thing on that. So I think we’re going to see before we just had these big LLMs and everyone just used the big LLMs, but I think when are we seeing agents or we’re seeing the small language models. So I’d like to hear Mike’s thoughts on how that might change the datasets and the relevance of them.

Mike Mpanya: Yeah, I think Tara’s spot on there. What we’re seeing is that small language models are going to be the dominant form of interacting with AI. So when you think about the massive stuff like a GPT model or LLAMA model or any of these models with 13 to 32 billion parameters, that isn’t actually going to be how customers or people are going to be engaging with AI. People might take some of the architecture from that and really fine tune it onto local datasets. And we’re seeing companies as large as JP Morgan and Chase who only use small language models in their banking sector. And that is increasingly becoming mainstream. Furthermore, I think what’s dominating or leading to a kind of a market that favors small language models is regulation. As we have more and more regulation, , Ms. Tanya, so we’re going to be talking a little bit about what we’ve seen in the last few years with regards to the collaboration around data remaining in country. You’re just not going to be able to host some of these large language models in these developing countries, because it’s just inefficient. So you’d much rather have bespoke tools built for purpose. And what we found in our work is when you actually build small language models or specific agents that are really, really nuanced on a limited data set, they outperform large language models. And that is common not only in the developing world but even in the United States and Western Europe as well.

Lori Schulman: And I was going to add from a public policy perspective that I think that’s right. I think we’ve seen a lot of jump to global. But the way things really work, and we’re seeing that even in the political sphere right now, we’re going back to multisectorial thinking. And we’re going back to thinking inside of borders, inside of regions, inside of certain interest groups. And I don’t think that’s a trend that’s going to end. I actually think that’s a trend that’s going to get stronger. In terms of sustainability of UN, there’s a lot of questions about that. I’m certainly not here to answer them. But the only thing I will say is that you’re going to hear a lot this week about public-private partnerships and rethinking them. So in terms of how the UN operates, how its funding model might work, what is the appropriate role for the private sector, because I don’t know that that’s an answer that’s been truly satisfactorily answered for the private sector. So I would argue that we need a lot more engagement there, because some of the financial resources that have been dependent upon governments may not be there right now. But they could be in the private sector. Some would argue they are. And so we have to get realistic about how resources flow.

Christine Strutt: I’d love to take more questions, but I think we have about three minutes left. So I’m going to ask each of the speakers just to give us one send-off, just a last thought about misinformation, disinformation, and how we can improve the situation for the future. Lori, would you like to go first?

Lori Schulman: I think it’s important that we can conclude that there’s no single way to solve the question that AI poses in terms of ensuring safety and trust. So it has to be multi-sectorial and multi-stakeholder based. I would hope that’s a given. The other last thought I would say is one call to action we would ask organizations like the ITU, and this is something I’m going to give Mike credit for, is perhaps the ITU, from a sustainability perspective, could form information hubs where entrepreneurs like Mike can go to a single resource to get primers, training on what needs to be thought about in terms of starting smaller and scaling upward. That could be a perfect place to put information that benefits entrepreneurs in any sector. And I just have to say one more thing, and I’m sorry because I talk a lot, but just because this is difficult doesn’t mean we should give up.

Christine Strutt: Thanks, Lori. Tara, any concluding remarks from your side?

Tara Harris: Yeah, I echo what Lori says about resources. I think, you know, we’re a big company. I’ve been doing this, like Lori said, since domain names were created. And even still, it is hard, but we have to work together. I think more hubs, more resources, resources for smaller companies, companies from Global South, from Asia, on how to adopt a basic voluntary AI governance framework, education on how to get harmful content down. I think, again, resources and sharing will go a long way.

Christine Strutt: Thanks, and Mike, from your side, a closing remark?

Mike Mpanya: I would reiterate what Lori and Tara said. I think they’re spot on, and we will appreciate those resources as soon as they’re made available or that portal. All I would add is I would say we are going to need as much interdisciplinary collaboration as possible. and Mr. Mr. Mike Mpanya. I think when you look at the history of technology for a very long time, it’s been dominated by the engineers. And I think the first stage of AI has been dominated by engineers and technicians. But if we actually want to make this tool something that creates a more inclusive world and that bridges divides as opposed to exacerbating them, we’re going to need as many people around a table as possible. So I think the hub shouldn’t just be focused on bringing technical expertise to the table, but legal expertise, social expertise, humanities expertise as well.

Christine Strutt: I couldn’t agree more. So thank you all for that insightful and revealing conversation. May you all continue to create awareness and drive positive, impactful change towards a secure and trustworthy online environment. Thank you everyone for joining the session. Enjoy your afternoon.

Agreement points

Need for accessible resources and training hubs for smaller companies and Global South entrepreneurs

Speakers

– Tara Harris
– Lori Schulman
– Mike Mpanya

Arguments

Smaller companies and Global South entrepreneurs need accessible resources and training hubs for AI governance and harmful content removal

ITU could create information hubs providing primers and training for entrepreneurs scaling AI solutions across jurisdictions

Interdisciplinary collaboration beyond engineering is essential, requiring legal, social, and humanities expertise to create inclusive AI tools

Summary

All speakers agree that smaller companies and entrepreneurs, particularly in the Global South, need better access to resources, training, and support for AI governance and scaling across jurisdictions. They advocate for centralized hubs that provide practical guidance.

Topics

Capacity development | Digital access | Legal and regulatory

Multi-stakeholder and collaborative approaches are essential for AI governance

Speakers

– Tara Harris
– Lori Schulman
– Mike Mpanya

Arguments

Companies should adopt global ethical AI policies based on established frameworks like OECD principles to ensure responsible development

Multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral approaches are essential since no single solution can address AI safety and trust challenges

Interdisciplinary collaboration beyond engineering is essential, requiring legal, social, and humanities expertise to create inclusive AI tools

Summary

There is strong consensus that AI governance requires collaboration across multiple stakeholders, sectors, and disciplines. No single entity or approach can adequately address the complex challenges of AI safety and trust.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights principles | Interdisciplinary approaches

Current regulatory fragmentation creates challenges for scaling and compliance

Speakers

– Tara Harris
– Mike Mpanya
– Lori Schulman

Arguments

Voluntary adoption of global policies based on OECD AI principles can help establish norms and facilitate scaling across regions

Fragmented regional regulation favors big tech over small companies because only large corporations can afford legal compliance across multiple jurisdictions

Over 60 jurisdictions have introduced nearly 1,000 AI regulations, creating uncertainty about enforcement and technical feasibility

Summary

All speakers acknowledge that the current fragmented regulatory landscape creates significant challenges for companies trying to scale AI solutions across jurisdictions, with particular disadvantages for smaller companies.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Jurisdiction | Digital standards

Small language models and specialized AI solutions are becoming more practical and effective

Speakers

– Tara Harris
– Mike Mpanya

Arguments

Companies should adopt global ethical AI policies based on established frameworks like OECD principles to ensure responsible development

Small language models trained on specific, local datasets often outperform large language models and are becoming the dominant form of AI interaction

Summary

Both speakers agree that smaller, specialized AI models trained on specific datasets are becoming more practical and often outperform large general-purpose models, particularly for specific use cases and local contexts.

Topics

Digital business models | Data governance | Digital standards

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers highlight the growing threat of AI-generated misinformation, with Mike focusing on systemic bias in training data and Christine presenting statistics on the rapid growth of deepfake technology and public concern.

Speakers

– Mike Mpanya
– Christine Strutt

Arguments

Large language models create widespread misinformation by being trained on biased internet data that reflects most common rather than most correct information

Video deepfakes tripled and voice deepfakes increased eightfold between 2022-2023, with 75-90% of people concerned about AI’s role in spreading misinformation

Topics

Content policy | Cybercrime | Consumer protection

Both speakers recognize that existing legal frameworks are inadequate for addressing AI-related threats and enforcement challenges, requiring new approaches and greater transparency for rights holders.

Speakers

– Tara Harris
– Lori Schulman

Arguments

Current IP laws inadequately cover deepfakes and executive impersonation, requiring creative multi-jurisdictional enforcement approaches

Rights holders need lawful access to data sources for enforcement purposes, requiring transparency about AI training data origins

Topics

Intellectual property rights | Legal and regulatory | Privacy and data protection

Both speakers emphasize the need for established standards and human oversight in AI development, with Mike focusing on data quality standards and Lori on maintaining human judgment in decision-making processes.

Speakers

– Mike Mpanya
– Lori Schulman

Arguments

High-quality, representative datasets tested for bias should become standard practice in AI development, similar to engineering codes of conduct

Human oversight should be maintained for final decisions on rights granting or revocation rather than relying solely on AI systems

Topics

Data governance | Human rights principles | Legal and regulatory

Unexpected consensus

Optimism about youth engagement and market forces driving AI decolonization

Speakers

– Mike Mpanya
– Audience

Arguments

Youth are highly conscious about decoloniality and demand technology that reflects their experiences, driving market demand for representative AI

There is a need to motivate AI-native generations to engage with data decolonization and bias issues when they may not realize the gravity of mainstream data sources

Explanation

While the audience member expressed concern about motivating AI-native generations to understand bias issues, Mike responded with unexpected optimism, arguing that young people are actually highly conscious about decoloniality and actively demanding representative technology. This creates an interesting tension between concern and optimism about youth engagement.

Topics

Cultural diversity | Digital identities | Capacity development

Agreement on the inadequacy of current enforcement mechanisms despite different professional backgrounds

Speakers

– Tara Harris
– Lori Schulman
– Christine Strutt

Arguments

Current IP laws inadequately cover deepfakes and executive impersonation, requiring creative multi-jurisdictional enforcement approaches

The EU AI Act represents a comprehensive but complex regulatory framework that’s difficult to enforce with uncertain practical implications

Everyday people lack protection against impersonation unlike celebrities who have defamation recourse

Explanation

Despite representing different sectors (corporate IP, policy advocacy, and legal practice), all three speakers converge on the view that current legal and enforcement mechanisms are inadequate for addressing AI-related threats. This consensus across different professional perspectives strengthens the argument for systemic reform.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Intellectual property rights | Human rights principles

Overall assessment

Summary

The speakers demonstrate strong consensus on key structural issues: the need for better resources and support for smaller companies, the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, the challenges of regulatory fragmentation, and the inadequacy of current enforcement mechanisms. They also agree on technical trends toward smaller, specialized AI models.

Consensus level

High level of consensus on systemic challenges and solutions, with speakers from different sectors (corporate, policy, legal, entrepreneurial) converging on similar conclusions. This suggests these issues are fundamental rather than sector-specific, strengthening the case for coordinated action on AI governance, resource sharing, and regulatory harmonization.

Different viewpoints

Approach to AI regulation – harmonized vs. fragmented regional frameworks

Speakers

– Mike Mpanya
– Lori Schulman

Arguments

Fragmented regional regulation favors big tech over small companies because only large corporations can afford legal compliance across multiple jurisdictions

Over 60 jurisdictions have introduced nearly 1,000 AI regulations, creating uncertainty about enforcement and technical feasibility

Summary

Mike strongly advocates for harmonized regulation arguing that fragmented approaches hurt small companies and favor big tech, while Lori acknowledges the regulatory fragmentation but suggests it may be an inevitable trend toward multisectorial thinking and regional approaches that could strengthen rather than weaken

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Jurisdiction | Digital standards

Optimism vs. concern about future AI representation and youth engagement

Speakers

– Mike Mpanya
– Audience

Arguments

Youth are highly conscious about decoloniality and demand technology that reflects their experiences, driving market demand for representative AI

There is a need to motivate AI-native generations to engage with data decolonization and bias issues when they may not realize the gravity of mainstream data sources

Summary

Mike expresses strong optimism about youth consciousness and market forces driving decolonized AI, while the audience member expresses concern about whether AI-native generations understand the gravity of biased data sources and need motivation to engage with these issues

Topics

Cultural diversity | Capacity development | Online education

Unexpected differences

Effectiveness of current regulatory trends

Speakers

– Mike Mpanya
– Lori Schulman

Arguments

Fragmented regional regulation favors big tech over small companies because only large corporations can afford legal compliance across multiple jurisdictions

Public-private partnerships need rethinking to address UN sustainability and funding challenges while leveraging private sector resources

Explanation

Unexpectedly, Mike and Lori have different perspectives on regulatory fragmentation – Mike sees it as problematic for innovation and competition, while Lori views it as potentially inevitable and suggests adapting through new partnership models. This disagreement is unexpected because both are concerned with supporting smaller players, but they have opposite views on whether fragmented regulation helps or hurts this goal

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Digital business models | Sustainable development

Overall assessment

Summary

The speakers showed remarkable consensus on most major issues, with disagreements primarily centered on regulatory approaches and optimism levels about future trends. The main areas of disagreement were: 1) Whether harmonized or fragmented regulation is preferable, 2) The level of optimism about youth engagement with AI bias issues, and 3) Different emphasis on implementation approaches for supporting smaller companies

Disagreement level

Low to moderate disagreement level. The speakers fundamentally agreed on the problems (AI bias, need for better data, support for smaller companies) but differed on solutions and timelines. These disagreements are constructive rather than fundamental, suggesting different strategic approaches rather than conflicting values. The implications are positive – the disagreements highlight different valid pathways forward rather than irreconcilable differences, which could lead to more comprehensive solutions that incorporate multiple approaches

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers highlight the growing threat of AI-generated misinformation, with Mike focusing on systemic bias in training data and Christine presenting statistics on the rapid growth of deepfake technology and public concern.

Speakers

– Mike Mpanya
– Christine Strutt

Arguments

Large language models create widespread misinformation by being trained on biased internet data that reflects most common rather than most correct information

Video deepfakes tripled and voice deepfakes increased eightfold between 2022-2023, with 75-90% of people concerned about AI’s role in spreading misinformation

Topics

Content policy | Cybercrime | Consumer protection

Both speakers recognize that existing legal frameworks are inadequate for addressing AI-related threats and enforcement challenges, requiring new approaches and greater transparency for rights holders.

Speakers

– Tara Harris
– Lori Schulman

Arguments

Current IP laws inadequately cover deepfakes and executive impersonation, requiring creative multi-jurisdictional enforcement approaches

Rights holders need lawful access to data sources for enforcement purposes, requiring transparency about AI training data origins

Topics

Intellectual property rights | Legal and regulatory | Privacy and data protection

Both speakers emphasize the need for established standards and human oversight in AI development, with Mike focusing on data quality standards and Lori on maintaining human judgment in decision-making processes.

Speakers

– Mike Mpanya
– Lori Schulman

Arguments

High-quality, representative datasets tested for bias should become standard practice in AI development, similar to engineering codes of conduct

Human oversight should be maintained for final decisions on rights granting or revocation rather than relying solely on AI systems

Topics

Data governance | Human rights principles | Legal and regulatory

Key takeaways

Misinformation (unintentional) and disinformation (intentional) both pose significant threats, with AI-generated deepfakes and voice cloning being used increasingly for fraud and impersonation

Large language models inherently contain bias toward Global North data, creating systemic misinformation for Global South applications in critical areas like healthcare and finance

Current intellectual property laws are inadequate for addressing AI-generated impersonation and deepfakes, requiring creative multi-jurisdictional enforcement approaches

Fragmented regional AI regulation favors large tech companies over smaller innovators who cannot afford compliance across multiple jurisdictions

Small language models trained on specific, local datasets often outperform large language models and represent the future of AI interaction

Open source AI development is growing faster than closed source, enabling communities to create more representative and inclusive tools

Multi-stakeholder collaboration involving technical, legal, social, and humanities expertise is essential for creating inclusive AI solutions

High-quality, bias-tested datasets should become standard practice in AI development, similar to engineering codes of conduct

Resolutions and action items

ITU should consider creating information hubs with primers and training resources for entrepreneurs scaling AI solutions across jurisdictions

Companies should voluntarily adopt global ethical AI policies based on established frameworks like OECD principles

Industry should develop standardized requirements for testing data integrity and bias before using datasets to train AI models

More resources and education should be provided to smaller companies and Global South entrepreneurs on AI governance and harmful content removal

Rights holders should be granted lawful access to data sources for enforcement purposes, requiring greater transparency about AI training data origins

Unresolved issues

How to provide legal protection for everyday people against AI impersonation when current laws only protect celebrities and public figures

Whether to improve biased datasets through synthetic data generation or build entirely new datasets from scratch

How to balance transparency requirements with protection of proprietary information in AI frameworks

How to motivate AI-native generations to seek diverse information sources rather than relying solely on AI for verification

How to achieve regulatory harmonization when countries are increasingly pursuing data sovereignty and regional approaches

How to ensure technical enforceability of the numerous AI regulations being introduced globally

How to restructure UN funding models and public-private partnerships to address sustainability challenges

Suggested compromises

Adopt voluntary global AI governance frameworks based on OECD principles while allowing regional adaptation for local needs

Balance transparency in AI frameworks with protection of proprietary information and established intellectual property rights

Use multi-stakeholder approaches that include both governmental and private sector input rather than relying solely on either approach

Focus on small language models with local datasets as a middle ground between large global models and completely fragmented regional solutions

Implement human oversight for final AI decisions while allowing automated processing for initial stages

Create shared resource hubs that serve multiple stakeholders rather than developing separate systems for each organization or region

The most widespread form of misinformation that, in my view, is going to become mainstream and where we really need to be the strictest is misinformation around large language models… what we’re seeing as an increasingly challenging problem is for generations that are AI native… where the first place they go to verify information is not a library or a search browser, as we have done historically, but AI.

Speaker

Mike Mpanya

Reason

This comment reframes the misinformation problem from intentional bad actors to systemic issues with AI training data and generational behavioral shifts. It identifies a fundamental change in how people seek information and the inherent risks when AI becomes the primary source of truth for entire generations.

Impact

This shifted the discussion from focusing on deepfakes and intentional fraud to examining the more pervasive and subtle problem of biased training data. It led to deeper exploration of data quality, representation issues, and the need for new standards in AI development.

Large language models are neural networks that were trained on the internet… their training data has inherent bias, not towards what is the most correct information, but what is the most widespread information… most large language models are trained on information from the global north, in particular, the United States and Western Europe.

Speaker

Mike Mpanya

Reason

This insight reveals a critical distinction between ‘most widespread’ versus ‘most correct’ information, exposing how AI systems perpetuate geographic and cultural biases. It demonstrates how technical architecture decisions have profound social and political implications.

Impact

This comment fundamentally changed the conversation’s scope from individual protection against fraud to systemic global inequality in AI systems. It prompted discussions about decolonizing AI, the need for representative datasets, and sparked the audience question about motivating younger generations to engage with these issues.

In a world where you have multiple fragmented legal frameworks, what ends up happening is you push out competition in terms of the tech space and the AI space, and you effectively leave the world vulnerable to a few major players with a lot of capital.

Speaker

Mike Mpanya

Reason

This observation reveals an unintended consequence of well-intentioned regulation – that fragmented compliance requirements actually benefit big tech companies while harming smaller innovators and competition. It challenges the assumption that more regulation automatically leads to better outcomes.

Impact

This comment introduced a crucial paradox that reframed the entire regulatory discussion. It led Lori to acknowledge the complexity of enforcement and Tara to emphasize the need for voluntary global standards. It shifted the conversation from ‘how to regulate’ to ‘how to regulate effectively without stifling innovation.’

Do we know enough about how things work to regulate? What we’re seeing now is a lot of regulations come into place, and then either the ability to technically enforce them, or the principle behind the enforcement isn’t syncing up with, again, the technology.

Speaker

Lori Schulman

Reason

This comment challenges the rush to regulate by questioning whether regulators understand the technology well enough to create effective rules. It highlights the disconnect between legal frameworks and technical realities, drawing from decades of experience in tech policy.

Impact

This observation validated Mike’s concerns about regulatory fragmentation and introduced historical perspective from the domain name era. It led to a more nuanced discussion about the balance between innovation and protection, and emphasized the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration rather than top-down regulation.

Some weeks I spend more time with lawyers than I do with engineers. And I don’t think that’s a great position to be in as a founder of a technology company.

Speaker

Mike Mpanya

Reason

This vivid, personal observation crystallizes the practical burden that regulatory complexity places on innovation. It transforms abstract policy discussions into a concrete illustration of how legal fragmentation affects real entrepreneurs trying to solve global problems.

Impact

This comment resonated strongly with other speakers and led to Christine’s acknowledgment that lawyers also struggle with unclear regulations. It humanized the regulatory burden and prompted Lori’s suggestion for ITU information hubs to help entrepreneurs navigate compliance more efficiently.

Even when I spend time in the US and in parts of Western Europe, there are tons of VCs, investors looking at how do we build technology for the global South? And that is because that is the main market. When you look at the demographics data… the normative parts of the world are the global South.

Speaker

Mike Mpanya

Reason

This comment flips the conventional narrative about technology development by pointing out that the Global South represents the majority market. It suggests that economic incentives, rather than just ethical considerations, will drive more inclusive AI development.

Impact

This optimistic perspective provided a counterbalance to concerns about AI bias and offered hope that market forces would naturally drive decolonization of AI. It led to discussions about small language models and open-source solutions as practical paths forward.

Overall assessment

Mike Mpanya’s contributions were particularly transformative in this discussion, consistently reframing issues from new angles and introducing systemic perspectives that other speakers hadn’t considered. His insights about AI-native generations, the paradox of regulatory fragmentation, and the economic drivers of inclusive AI development elevated the conversation from tactical concerns about fraud prevention to strategic questions about the future of global technology governance. The interplay between his entrepreneurial experience and the policy expertise of Lori and Tara created a rich dialogue that moved beyond simple problem identification to explore complex trade-offs and unintended consequences. The discussion evolved from a focus on protecting against bad actors to examining how well-intentioned systems and regulations might themselves create new forms of bias and barriers to innovation.

What’s the solution to improving distorted data quality in AI models – synthetic data or building fresh datasets?

Speaker

Christine Strutt

Explanation

This addresses a critical technical challenge in AI development where existing datasets contain inherent biases, particularly affecting global south populations and historically marginalized communities

How can we create global or regional frameworks for testing data sets for bias before they’re used in AI models?

Speaker

Mike Mpanya

Explanation

This is essential for establishing industry standards and best practices to ensure AI systems are built on representative and unbiased data, similar to engineering codes of conduct

How do we motivate AI-native generations to be engaged in addressing data bias when they may not realize the gravity of mainstream data sources?

Speaker

Nanya Sudhir (Audience member)

Explanation

This addresses the challenge of educating younger users who have grown up with AI and may not understand the limitations and biases in current AI systems

What is the appropriate role for the private sector in UN operations and funding models?

Speaker

Lori Schulman

Explanation

This relates to sustainability of international organizations and how public-private partnerships should be restructured to address funding challenges

How can small language models change the relevance and representation of datasets compared to large language models?

Speaker

Tara Harris

Explanation

This explores whether more targeted, smaller AI models using specific datasets could address bias and representation issues better than large general-purpose models

Can the ITU create information hubs where entrepreneurs can access primers and training on AI governance and scaling considerations?

Speaker

Lori Schulman (crediting Mike Mpanya)

Explanation

This addresses the practical need for centralized resources to help smaller companies and entrepreneurs navigate complex AI regulations across different jurisdictions

How can we provide resources and education for smaller companies, particularly from the Global South and Asia, on adopting basic voluntary AI governance frameworks?

Speaker

Tara Harris

Explanation

This addresses the resource gap that prevents smaller organizations from implementing proper AI governance, which could level the playing field with larger corporations

How can we ensure interdisciplinary collaboration beyond just technical expertise in AI development?

Speaker

Mike Mpanya

Explanation

This emphasizes the need to include legal, social, and humanities expertise alongside technical knowledge to create more inclusive and equitable AI systems

Summary

This discussion focused on collaborative innovation ecosystems and digital transformation to accelerate global sustainable development goals, with particular emphasis on supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The session was hosted by the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT) during the WSIS Plus 20 event in Geneva, bringing together representatives from ITU, government officials from South Africa and Kenya, and private sector leaders.

Dr. Cosmas Zavazava from ITU emphasized the organization’s two strategic goals of universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation, highlighting the critical role of SMEs and startups as key drivers of digital transformation. He discussed the ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance, which operates through a network of 17 acceleration centers globally to support innovation ecosystems. CAICT President Xiaohui Yu outlined how digital transformation has become essential for global sustainable development, particularly for developing countries seeking to empower SMEs through ICT and promote technological cooperation.

The session officially launched a call for cases on ICT-enabled digital transformation of SMEs, aiming to showcase innovative practices and proven models from around the world. Country representatives shared their national approaches: South Africa established the Digitech platform and African Digital Transformation Centre, while Kenya implemented the Hassler Fund for SME financing through mobile payments and digitized over 20,000 government services. Private sector participants emphasized the need for reliable infrastructure, inclusive financing, and capacity building to enable SME digital transformation.

The discussion concluded with consensus on the necessity of cross-border collaboration, harmonized policy frameworks, and the creation of a “platform of platforms” to connect various innovation ecosystems. Participants agreed to move beyond goodwill toward concrete actions, with plans to contribute case studies and collaborate through the ITU network to support SME digital transformation globally.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development**: Discussion of the global alliance mechanism with over 100 stakeholders, 35 board members, and 17 acceleration centers worldwide, designed to support digital transformation through ecosystem building and collaborative innovation.

– **SME Digital Transformation Challenges and Solutions**: Extensive focus on how small and medium enterprises (representing 50-90% of businesses globally) face barriers including limited funding, insufficient digital capabilities, infrastructure gaps, and lack of access to emerging technologies, with various country-specific solutions presented.

– **Launch of ICT-Enabled Digital Transformation Case Collection Initiative**: Official announcement and launch of a global study led by CAICT and ITU to collect best practices and proven models for supporting SME digital transformation, with results to be presented at the World Telecommunication Development Conference in Baku.

– **Country-Specific Digital Transformation Strategies**: Detailed presentations from South Africa (Digitech platform, African Digital Transformation Centre), Kenya (Hustler Fund, E-citizen services, mobile payment integration), and other regions showcasing practical implementations of SME support programs.

– **Infrastructure and Ecosystem Requirements**: Discussion of essential components including reliable connectivity, digital public infrastructure, access to compute power, harmonized cross-border policies, cybersecurity support, and the need for platforms that connect various stakeholders and resources.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to advance collaborative innovation ecosystems for digital transformation to accelerate achievement of global Sustainable Development Goals, specifically focusing on empowering small and medium enterprises through ICT-enabled solutions. The session served to launch a global case collection initiative and foster international cooperation among government, industry, and international organization stakeholders.

## Overall Tone:

The discussion maintained a consistently professional, collaborative, and optimistic tone throughout. Speakers demonstrated genuine enthusiasm for international cooperation and shared commitment to addressing SME digital transformation challenges. The tone was formal yet engaging, with participants building upon each other’s insights constructively. There was a notable shift from introductory presentations to more interactive dialogue during the roundtable, becoming more dynamic and solution-oriented as panelists discussed concrete collaborative opportunities and commitments for moving forward.

Speakers

**Speakers from the provided list:**

– **Ke Wang** – Host/Moderator from CAICT (China Academy of Information and Communication Technology)

– **Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava** – Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau at ITU

– **Xiaohui Yu** – President of China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT)

– **James George Patterson** – Representative from Department of Communication and Digital Technologies, South Africa (representing Ms. Nokebella Jordan Diani, the Director General)

– **Stephen Isaboke** (Stephen Mottri Isabok Ibis) – Principal Secretary, State Department for Broadcasting Telecommunications, Ministry of Information Communications and Digital Economy, Kenya

– **John OMO** – Secretary General of the African Telecommunication Union

– **Bocar Ba** – CEO and Board Member of the Seminar Telecommunication Council

– **Li Tian** (Tian Li) – Director of Standards Strategy Department, ZTE Corporation, Board Member of the Innovation Enterprise Alliance for Digital

– **Moe Ba** (Mohamed Ihyar Bar/Mohamed Yelihabar) – Head of ITU Digital Innovation Services, Moderator for roundtable discussion

**Additional speakers:**

– **Meng Wei** – Secretary General (mentioned as sitting in the audience, associated with COIA – Cooperative Open Intelligence Computing Industry Alliance)

# Comprehensive Summary: Collaborative Innovation Ecosystems for Digital Transformation and Global Sustainable Development

## Introduction and Context

This discussion took place during the WSIS Plus 20 event in Geneva, hosted by the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT) and moderated by Ke Wang. The session brought together international stakeholders to address collaborative innovation ecosystems and digital transformation as mechanisms for accelerating global sustainable development goals, with particular emphasis on supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The participants represented ITU leadership, government officials from African nations, private sector representatives, and research institutions. This diversity contributed to a comprehensive examination of challenges and opportunities surrounding SME digital transformation globally.

## Opening Presentations and Key Frameworks

### ITU’s Strategic Vision and Alliance Structure

Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau at ITU, opened by outlining ITU’s two strategic goals: achieving universal connectivity and enabling sustainable digital transformation. He emphasized that these objectives are fundamentally interconnected, with digital transformation serving as both a means and an end for sustainable development.

Zavazava highlighted the critical role of SMEs and startups as key drivers of digital transformation, noting their potential to create innovative solutions whilst facing significant barriers to digital adoption. He introduced the ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development as a comprehensive response to these challenges, describing it as a global mechanism designed to support innovation ecosystems through collaborative approaches.

The Alliance operates through a network comprising over 100 stakeholders, 35 board members, and 17 acceleration centres worldwide. This network approach enables ecosystem-level support rather than isolated interventions, addressing the complex, interconnected nature of digital transformation challenges.

### CAICT’s Role and Global Perspective

Xiaohui Yu, President of CAICT, provided a strategic overview of how digital transformation has become essential for global sustainable development. He positioned digital technologies as the core engine driving progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly for developing countries seeking to empower their SME sectors through ICT adoption.

Yu outlined CAICT’s selection as a global centre under the ITU Acceleration Centre Programme in 2024, inaugurated in Shenzhen in April, with specific responsibilities for accelerating solutions in technology innovation and SME empowerment. He detailed three planned achievements: producing a foresight report, developing SMS guidelines, and creating an integration innovation platform.

## Country-Specific Approaches and National Strategies

### South Africa’s Digital Framework

James George Patterson, representing Ms. Nokebella Jordan Diani from the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies of South Africa (who was unable to attend), presented South Africa’s strategic approach to SME digital transformation. He outlined several critical focus areas: developing strategic foresight reports on MSME enablement, creating policy frameworks that promote competitiveness and digital inclusion, and establishing access to emerging technologies through open formats.

The South African approach emphasizes cross-border collaboration, particularly in developing digital payment systems and data flow regulations using open standards. Patterson identified key challenges requiring coordinated responses: access to funding and venture capital, skills and capacity development, digital literacy and device affordability, and supportive cybersecurity solutions tailored to SME requirements.

### Kenya’s Practical Implementation Model

Stephen Isaboke, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Broadcasting Telecommunications in Kenya, provided a compelling case study of practical SME support implementation. Kenya’s approach demonstrates how government intervention can create enabling environments for SME digital transformation through targeted infrastructure development and innovative financing mechanisms.

Isaboke described Kenya’s infrastructure investments, including extending fibre cables across the country and establishing digital hubs to enable rural access to digital services. This development was driven by recognition that digital access had become “very elite,” necessitating deliberate policy interventions to democratize digital opportunities.

The Hustler Fund represents a particularly innovative approach to SME financing, enabling small businesses to access funding digitally through the M-Pesa mobile payment platform. This system allows previously unbanked businesses to build credit histories and access financial services, demonstrating how digital technologies can address traditional barriers to SME growth.

Kenya has also digitized over 20,000 government services through the E-citizen platform, creating a comprehensive digital ecosystem supporting both citizens and businesses. Isaboke emphasized that infrastructure challenges remain the primary barrier to SME digital transformation, requiring continued government intervention.

## Private Sector Perspectives and Technology Innovation

### ZTE’s Corporate Responsibility Framework

Li Tian, Director of Standards Strategy Department at ZTE Corporation, presented the private sector perspective on SME digital transformation, emphasizing the responsibility of large corporations to drive technology innovation that benefits smaller enterprises. ZTE’s approach centers on promoting open standards and interoperability through initiatives such as the Cooperative Open Intelligence Computing Industry Alliance.

Li Tian argued that large corporations should take primary responsibility for technology innovation, particularly in developing solutions that SMEs can access and utilize effectively. The ZTE approach emphasizes open modules designed to make advanced technologies accessible to SMEs without requiring significant technical expertise or capital investment.

### Telecommunications Council Leadership

Bocar Ba, CEO and Board Member of the Seminar Telecommunication Council, provided a comprehensive analysis of systemic challenges facing SME digital transformation. He highlighted that 2.6 billion people remain offline, representing what he characterized as a “development emergency” that risks reinforcing privilege rather than expanding opportunities.

Ba outlined several critical requirements for successful SME digital transformation: fit-for-purpose infrastructure combining multiple technologies near industrial zones, inclusive financing that broadens the investment base beyond traditional operators, and capacity building programs covering digital marketplace skills, e-government procurement, and cybersecurity literacy.

He introduced the concept of a Universal Broadband Financial Framework, applying the principle that everyone benefiting from the digital economy should contribute to funding SME support initiatives.

## Launch of Global Case Collection Initiative

### Initiative Structure and Objectives

A significant outcome was the official launch of the 2025 ICT-Enabled Digital Transformation SME Case Collection Initiative, a collaborative effort between CAICT and ITU designed to identify and analyze best practices for SME digital transformation globally. During the launch ceremony, Zavazava and Yu jointly initiated the call for cases.

Ke Wang outlined the initiative’s comprehensive approach, which aims to collect cases from around the world showcasing innovative practices and proven models for supporting SME digital transformation. The initiative will focus on identifying rational pathways for accelerating SME digital transformations through ICT, analyzing critical challenges and opportunities, and developing practical guidelines for implementation.

The launch is scheduled for July 2025, with results to be presented at the World Telecommunication Development Conference in Baku (November 17-28, 2025).

### Expected Outcomes and Deliverables

The initiative is designed to produce three key deliverables: a comprehensive foresight report analyzing global trends and opportunities in SME digital transformation, detailed SMS guidelines providing practical implementation guidance, and an integration innovation SMS platform connecting various stakeholders and resources.

## Roundtable Discussion and Collaborative Dialogue

### Infrastructure and Ecosystem Requirements

The roundtable discussion, moderated by Moe Ba, Head of ITU Digital Innovation Services, focused on practical requirements for building effective SME support ecosystems. Participants identified several critical components: reliable connectivity infrastructure, digital public infrastructure services, access to compute power and advanced technologies, harmonized cross-border policies, and comprehensive cybersecurity support.

Moe Ba positioned the discussion within the context of an increasingly “uncertain, volatile, complex, and ambiguous environment,” arguing that digital transformation is not an opportunity but a survival necessity for SMEs operating in rapidly changing global markets.

### Cross-Border Collaboration and Policy Harmonization

A significant portion of the discussion focused on the need for cross-border collaboration and harmonized policy frameworks. Participants recognized that SMEs increasingly operate in global markets, requiring digital solutions that transcend national boundaries.

John OMO from the African Telecommunication Union highlighted a critical structural problem: the existence of “too many clusters” of innovation initiatives that operate in isolation from each other. He argued for creating networks that connect innovation showcases to actual market opportunities, addressing the gap between demonstration and implementation. OMO also provided key statistics about Africa, noting that SMEs contribute 50-60% of GDP but only 20% currently use digital technologies.

## Areas of Strong Consensus

### SME Criticality and Transformation Urgency

All participants demonstrated consensus on the critical importance of SMEs to global economic development. Speakers consistently cited statistics showing that SMEs contribute significantly to GDP in many countries while representing 90% of businesses and over half of jobs worldwide. However, the low percentage of SMEs currently using digital technologies creates an urgent transformation imperative.

### Infrastructure as Foundation

Strong consensus emerged regarding infrastructure development as the fundamental prerequisite for SME digital transformation. Participants agreed that robust digital infrastructure is essential, though they differed on specific implementation approaches.

### Collaborative Ecosystems and Platform Integration

All speakers supported the need for collaborative platforms and ecosystems that bring together multiple stakeholders to share resources, knowledge, and best practices. The ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance was consistently cited as an effective model for this coordination.

### Capacity Building and Skills Development

Strong agreement emerged on the critical importance of capacity building and skills development for enabling SME digital adoption. Participants recognized that technology access alone is insufficient without corresponding investments in digital literacy, cybersecurity awareness, and strategic planning capabilities.

## Concrete Outcomes and Next Steps

### Immediate Action Items

The discussion produced several concrete commitments with specific timelines. The case collection initiative will launch in July 2025, with a joint final report by ITU and CAICT scheduled for release at the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference in Baku.

The Third Digital Innovation Board meeting is scheduled for October 1-2, 2025 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, providing a forum for continued coordination and planning. A second ICODI workshop will be organized in August 2025 to accelerate regional initiative implementation.

### Institutional Commitments

Participating countries committed to submitting case studies to the global study, with South Africa and Kenya specifically mentioning their intention to contribute examples from their national programs. John OMO requested specific assignment of responsibilities to regional partners for cross-border collaboration.

CAICT committed to operating as an ITU acceleration center with specific deliverables and timelines, while ZTE indicated continued support for open standards development.

### Platform Development

The discussion established momentum for creating what participants termed a “platform of platforms” that would connect various innovation ecosystems rather than creating entirely new systems. The ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance was positioned as the coordinating mechanism for this platform development.

## Key Challenges and Future Considerations

### Implementation Coordination

While participants agreed on core objectives, they differed on implementation approaches and priorities. Some speakers emphasized government-led initiatives and policy interventions, while others advocated for market-driven solutions and private sector leadership.

### Financing and Sustainability

Specific funding models for the proposed platforms and their long-term sustainability require further development. The Universal Broadband Financial Framework proposed by Ba needs concrete mechanisms for implementation.

### Measurement and Success Criteria

Clear measurement criteria and success metrics for SME digital transformation initiatives need to be established, particularly given the launch of the case collection initiative.

## Conclusion

This discussion represented a significant step forward in global coordination for SME digital transformation, demonstrating remarkable consensus among diverse stakeholders on both the urgency of challenges and the broad framework for solutions. The launch of the case collection initiative provides a concrete mechanism for translating this consensus into actionable knowledge and practical tools.

The strong agreement on fundamental principles—SME criticality, infrastructure requirements, collaborative ecosystems, capacity building, and innovative financing—creates a solid foundation for coordinated action. Moving forward, success will depend on the ability to translate high-level consensus into specific, implementable solutions that address the practical challenges facing SMEs in different contexts.

The combination of global coordination through platforms like the ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance and country-specific implementation through national programs offers a promising approach to supporting SME digital transformation as a pathway to broader sustainable development goals.

Ke Wang: Audience Member Ms. Ke Wang, Mr. Chen Dong, Mr. Jiang Zhou, Mr. Ryan Weng, Mr. Zhu Audience Members Ms. Ke Wang, Mr. asset management, Ms. Wu Chen, Mr. Zhai Suijia, Mr. Zhuo Shiping, Mr. Chen Industry, economy, policy, law, and international governance and supported the development of over 300 documents in China including national strategies, plans and laws making positive contributions to industry innovation and development CAICT actively participates in the activities of over 60 international organizations including ITU, ISO, IEC and 3GPP As well as in standard setting in the ICT field we have devised systematic plans for next generation information technologies and industries and made coordinated efforts to drive technological innovation and industrial development in emerging fields We operate testing, certification and R&D pilot test laboratories spanning over 120,000 square meters Our international testing and certification services extend to 221 countries and regions worldwide Recording in progress www.caict.com parameters adapted from in-design works. Participants have organized a Six-hundred-and-Buck Prize research project at Zavazava’s state office, Trillium College, Indianapolis. CONSIDERATION OF MEMBERS OUT OF CITIES Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, and distinguished colleagues, good morning. Welcome to our section on Collaborative Innovation, Ecosystems, and Digital Transformation, Accelerating the Achievement of Global Sustainable Development Goals. This seminar is hosted by the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology. Members are a large and highly innovative group of business in the global market, especially in emerging markets, and developing economic stocks and growth means play a unique and important role. Providing sufficient support to SMEs is a consistent measure and common goal for promoting growth in various regions around the world. So this is the opening section. My name is Wang Ke from CIACT, and it’s an honor to gather with such a diverse assembly of visionaries. and leaders in Geneva, our community to advancing collaborative innovation in consistent and digital transformation. And it’s my pleasure to introduce the distinguished guest present today, Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau at ITU, welcome. And Mr. James George Patterson, Department of Communication and Digital Technologies from South Africa. And Mr. Stephen Mottri Isabok Ibis, Principal Secretary, State Department for Broadcasting Telecommunications, Ministry of Information Communications and Digital Economy, Kenya. And Mr. Xiaohui Yu, President of China Academy of Information and Communication Technology. And Mr. John OMO, the Secretary General of the African Telecommunication Union, Mr. Bocar Ba, and CEO and Board Member of the Seminar Telecommunication Council, Mr. Tian Li, Director of Standards Strategy Department, CTE Corporation. They are both the Board Member of the Innovation Enterprise Alliance for Digital. And Mr. Mohamad Ihyar Bar, Head of ITU Digital Innovation Services. And now to our section, I’m pleased to invite Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, to deliver his opening remarks. Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, please welcome here with applause. Thank you.

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava: Thank you very much. And it is an honor to be addressing you this morning. I recognize, of course, the presence of two of my Board Members on the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance, Dr. Tian Li, Zeti, and also Mr. Bocar Ba, CEO and Chairman of Seminar. It is really an honor. I’m a very strong believer in innovation and its ecosystem, because I’m committed to making sure that we make progress as regards. Thank you very much for joining us for this important session on collaborative innovation systems and their critical role in accelerating digital transformation. As you know, ITU has got two goals. One is universal, affordable, meaningful connectivity, and the second one is sustainable digital transformation. So we have a commitment to achieve those two strategic goals. The key drivers of digital transformation or social economic inclusion are small and medium enterprises and the startups in the private sector, policy and research, and of course, key actors such as CAIT, serving as one of our acceleration centers under the innovation and entrepreneurship alliance initiative play a critical role. And of course, I recognize also the BRICS Institute, which is also a Chinese entity, which is one of our acceleration centers. Collaboration among all these actors is essential for a thriving digital economy. At ITU, we believe the world of ecosystem approach, which is why I know that the innovation and entrepreneurship alliance that I’ve alluded to, the alliance empowers innovation ecosystems to deliver greater impact across sectors. Last October, we held the second digital innovation board meeting in Malta, where the board approved the initial four-site series of reports and the development of a partnership ecosystem to support the alliance. I’m pleased to announce that the third board meeting will take place from 1 to 2 October 2025 in the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, hosted by one of our board members. During this meeting, we look forward to sharing the outcomes of a new four-site and Dr. Li Tian. I would like to welcome you all to the ILO Strategic Foresight Reports. A key part of our work is supporting the senders in capacity building. BDT has delivered several impactful activities to strengthen our network of ITU acceleration senders, 17 of them represented in all the regions. Last year, we hosted a strategic foresight and ecosystem development workshop for ITU acceleration senders in collaboration with the TDRIA, United Arab Emirates. This year, we launched several courses on the ITU Academy platform, Strategic Foresight 101, to democratize knowledge on strategic planning and foresight to our membership. We have also launched advanced courses for sender experts on strategic foresight and developing ecosystem initiatives, two of the key objectives of our alliance. Following up to these efforts, we will organize a second ICODI workshop in August this year. ICODI is actually an innovative mechanism that we jointly sponsor with the United Arab Emirates, and we are using that to see how we can accelerate the implementation and the creation of what we call regional initiatives and in ordinary language, regional initiatives are the topics of high priority for each region, which are adopted by the World Telecommunication Development Conference. And as you well know, from the 17th to the 28th of November this year, we are going to be in Baku, and I cordially invite all of you, Azerbaijan, where we will be having the next World Telecommunication Development Conference, and each region will be entitled to adopting about five priority areas, which are regional initiatives, and we use ICODI to help member states to identify what constitutes a regional priority as opposed to a national priority. Today, IT acceleration centers are becoming active in the country, regional and global levels. Many have already initiated Malawi recently conducted a week-long workshop with key actors exploring how to better shape an innovation ecosystem for investments. You may want to know that we have one ITU official center, which is based in New Delhi. It is actually Siamese twin with our sub-regional area office for South Asia, and it is running and it is accessible to you, and it works in the constellation of the 17 other acceleration centers in order for us to be able to share information and the skills and know-how. And the global center is conducting innovation cafes on several topics to engage our membership in new ways. I would like to express my appreciation to both Kate and BIFNC for their active engagements in the Alliance’s activities and for hosting the regional initiative accelerator. I’m especially pleased to be here today as the center hosted by Kate China is leading a foresight study on exploring mechanisms to support the digital transformation of small and medium enterprises globally. I’m delighted, as I conclude, that this session is being held to discuss the important work on digital innovation for small and medium enterprises, and we hope to see these reports contribute meaningfully to the World Telecommunication Development Conference that I already alluded to to be held from the 17th to the 20th of November in Baku. Thank you very much.

Ke Wang: Thank you, Director Zavazava, for your excellent speech. Now I am pleased to invite Mr. Xiaohui Yu, President of China Academy of Information Communications Technology, to deliver his opening remarks. Let’s welcome him with applause.

Xiaohui Yu: Distinguished Director Cosmas Zavazava, Mr. Stephen Materi-Spark, Mr. James George, Mr. John OMA, Mr. Bocar Ba, Mr. Tian Li, Mr. Moe Ba, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning. It is a great honor to host this session during the WSIS Plus 20. On behalf of our CICT, I would like to extend my warm welcome to all distinguished participants. Currently, digital transformation has become a core engine for global sustainable development. However, countries, especially developing countries, still face two major challenges. First, SMEs urgently need to gain transformative momentum through ICT. Secondly, developing countries urgently need to promote development through technological cooperation. Thus, this session focuses on the theme of practical significance, collaborative innovation, extreme and digital transformation, accelerating the achievements of sustainable development goals. Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Thank you very much for the opportunity to give you a brief overview of CICT. CICT is a research institution dedicated to advance cutting-edge ICT technologies and industrial transformation. With a talent pool of over 5,600 experts, our research covers ICT and digital transformation first. As a national think tank, we provide support to the government in policy research and decision-making. As industrial labor, we are well-experienced in standard development, technical trials, testing, consulting, ecosystem development, and international collaboration. CICT has been long engaged in the work of ITU. As a partner of ITU-D, we are an important contributor to international standards in many spheres. As an active promoter of digital transformation and labor, CICT has always been committed to fostering international collaboration. We are delighted to share that with the support of ITU and Mr. Daw Zawa, CICT was selected as a global center under the ITU Acceleration Center Program in 2024 and was officially inaugurated in Shenzhen, China this April. As a key vehicle for ITU’s global digital transformation strategy, the center will accelerate the implementation of solutions in key spheres such as open technology innovation, collaborative policy research, SMEs empowerment, ecosystem partnership acceleration, and development strategy planning. Today’s session is a large example of the ICIT’s commitment to fulfill its mission. We look forward to gaining insights from ITU’s experts on the development experience from the industrial community by preparing a vision for all sides and all the experts we aim to translate innovation extreme into globally inclusive progress. Let today’s dialogue be a starting point to build an open, inclusive, and resilient collaboration network and advance toward a sustainable future of connecting the unconnected. So I wish this session a great success, and I thank all very much for your supporting and welcome if you have an opportunity to visit China, welcome to visit the ICIT. Thank you.

Ke Wang: Thank you for your excellent speech, and next, during this section, we will be launching a call for cases on ICIT-enabled digital transformation of SMEs, but before the official kickoff, allow me to briefly outline the background of this initiative. SMEs often have small funding scale support in sufficient upgrading capabilities with marquee competitiveness and risk resistance, but start-ups are growing, and SMEs are a large and highly innovative group in the global market. So ICIT-enabled digital transformation of SMEs is a consistent measure, a common goal for promoting steady economic growth in various regions around the world. And so, we call this The 2025 ICT-Enabled Digital Transformation SMS Case Collection Initiative invites participation from relevant government departments, international organizations, industries in the sector. The goal is to showcase innovation, practice, outstanding and proven models from around the world of supporting B2B cases. The initiative aims to identify rational pathways for accelerating SMS digital transformations through ICT by identifying opportunities, analyzing critical challenges, and pinpointing resource needs. So we have some key areas, a focus on cases from the following key areas. And this is the timeline. As per review, we will collaborate with the expert network of ITU Acceleration Centers, which will launch in July. And ITU and CIC will jointly prepare the final report. In the future, we hope we could have three achievements. The first one is the foresight report, the second is the guideline for the SMS, and the third is the integration innovation SMS platform. And so the report will be released in ITU WTDC in Bangkok. And now I’m pleased to invite Mr. Zavazava, Director of ITU and BDT ITU, and Mr. Yu Xiaohui, President of CICT, jointly initiate a call for cases on ICT-enabled digital transformation of SMS by pressing the hand on the screen. Please step before the screen. Thank you. and finally a player showed Photoshop photo take a photo please. Okay. And this this section maybe extend the invitation to our participation leaders to join us at a podium for a group photo. Please. Thank you. Thank you very much. Recording stopped. And now, recording in progress, now, thank you, thank you, thank you a lot. And now, I’m pleased to invite Mr. Mohamed Yelihabar, Head of ITU Digital Innovation Services, Introduction to the ITU Innovation Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development and Accelerator Network. Thank you.

Moe Ba: Thank you, Ms. Ke Wangi, and good morning, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It’s my pleasure to just maybe step back a little bit and bring everybody to why we’re here and what we’re trying to do. I think the director earlier alluded to this alliance and why this alliance was established, and CICT is part of one of the key members of this alliance, is to really, because we live in a very uncertain, volatile, complex, and ambiguous environment. Everything is changing around us. It’s for our countries, but as well as for the SMEs that we are talking about. And digital is at the core of this. So, the alliance was really put in place as a bigger mechanism to really try to help all of us navigate this environment. Now, a bit about the alliance as a mechanism, because I think the director alluded to earlier, this whole thing is about ecosystem building. So, how do we build each of the panelists you will hear from? We’ll talk about their own platform and ecosystem they’re building. We’re really talking about a bigger platform here, which has three mechanisms, which is the Digital Innovation Board. Some of the members are on this panel. They could probably tell you more about it. Then we have the Network of Acceleration Centers, like CICT. and others, and then we have the lab where we’re really trying to make all this magic happen in a way, but I’m also pleased to say that this is a big network. It’s a community that’s over 100 key stakeholders right now. We have over 35 board members. We have over 17 centers. We have over 100 experts that are actually being operationalized and working together to make this happen, and this alliance and this bigger mechanism is really global. There’s a big of the South-South component, and I think what you see is a demonstration of one of the centers in one of the nodes really trying to actively help our node. So, in essence, I hope that you will hear more from the people present in this room. With that, just a bit of more of the services we can offer in this alliance. I think you heard CICD is a think-tank research center, but there’s also new capabilities that every center would have, which is one of them is think-tank. One of them is the ability to co-design projects with stakeholders and beneficiaries and partners so they’re more bankable. One of them is the development of innovation clusters, which is very important really to make sure that the sustainability and transformation happen in the key sectors and across the technological area. And one of them is really to help SMEs grow and scale globally or regionally or nationally. And the last but not least, one of the key parts which a lot of people talk about is the ability to create what we call cross-sector, cross-border sandboxes, which can really facilitate this whole process. So, that’s a bit about the alliance, the services of the alliance and the kind of things we can do. And so, we’ll deep dive a bit in the next segments into that part. SMEs, as it was mentioned by the president of CICD, is we need new momentum for them. We need a momentum where we can help them navigate technological of the Global Coalition for Global Cooperation, we need a momentum where we can help identify opportunities and resources for them. So for all intended purposes, the initiative that CIICT has launched today is really trying to super focus on the support that SMEs can have across this global network to make it super practical and as an outcome is to really create a new platform of platform that will be taken us to the next era, if you will. With that, I’d like to turn the floor back to Ms. Weng-Ke.

Ke Wang: Thank you. Mr. Barr, for your excellent speech and introduction, our section today, we will have a roundtable discussion. So now I would kindly hand over to Mr. Mohamed Barr, who will be the moderator for the roundtable section, please.

Moe Ba: Thank you again, moderator, for giving back the floor. So I hope we all start to have a sense of what we’re trying to do here. We have a very important panel, a panel that will take us through the narratives of how we can really enable SMEs. So our discussion will be scheduled in two parts. In the first part, we’ll look at what is everybody doing and what their challenges are. And then in the second part, we’ll figure out what we can do together. So on that note, I would like to start first with our first guest on the list, and there’s no particular preference. But I’d like to start with Jim Patterson, who is on my right, who is representing, actually, Ms. Nokebella, Jordan Diani, the Director General of the Department of Communication and Digital Technologies of the Republic of South Africa. Now Jim, I know that South Africa has really been championing this cause, has been doing a lot. Can you tell us more how we can enable these SMEs and what you’re doing concretely in South Africa to make this happen? Jim, the floor is yours. Let’s try to keep our answers brief to two minutes, if possible.

James George Patterson: Thank you very much, Mohamed, and apologies for the Director General not being able to join us this morning. Well, the first thing we did was dial a friend in the ITU who helped us a lot in setting up what we wanted to do. We had some big ideas. I think for us, SMME sector was a lot about youth, empowering the youth. It was about innovation, better incomes, and it’s about a better economy, a more dynamic economy. So, for us, it was important to look at the SMME sector. We’d already seen many examples in our country about young, especially young people, but not specifically, who had very good ideas and who were able to innovate, so we wanted to find ways to assist them, because we know it’s not easy for startups or MSMEs. So, we’ve established a platform called Digitech, which is looking to promote our MSME sector and give them exposure, and at the same time, we’re also trying to look at the different challenges that the MSME sector and the startups face, especially in the digital innovation space, because that’s our focus. One of the things we’ve done is we’ve established in South Africa an African Digital Transformation Centre to support the MSME sector, and we’ve also, as part of our G20 Presidency, working with the ITU, developed a report on enabling MSMEs, and that’s looking at some of the key challenges that MSMEs face and also how we can intervene, what interventions we can make to support them going forward. So, these are strategic foresight reports. We’ve done more than one, actually. We’ve done also one on the venture capital sector and how we can access funding, better funding, to support MSMEs and give them better opportunities. We’re looking at things like policy and regulatory frameworks, pro-competitiveness. Messieurs, how can we level the plain field a bit for the sector? How can we support the incorporation of the key regulatory aspects in the design of solutions? We are obviously looking into the funding and market, and digital inclusion is critically important for us, since in Africa we have unequal societies, so we need to find ways to use the ICT sector to drive economic inclusion. us critically at this stage. I think we’re looking at some of the demand side aspects like affordability of devices, digital literacy, and the cost of data, and various aspects which can improve access to technology which will then incorporate, will allow for greater innovation amongst rural and underserved sectors of the economy where SMMEs are also quite active. I think access to data is also increasingly important in the sector. We need to level the playing field there so that MSMEs get that opportunity, and access to emerging technologies, especially in formats which make it openly more accessible, like for example, data as a public good, interoperability, open standards, open source software. Those are the kinds of things that can assist, I think, the sector a lot. Basically, the DPI, digital public infrastructure type services like digital identity, digital payment services, offer a lot of opportunities, we think, for the sector as well. And I think, as has already been mentioned, of course, access to skills and capacity development are critically important areas. And I think we need to also look at ways in which we can support the sector in terms of things like cybersecurity, because those are like a general cost for everybody, but it’s very prohibitive for MSMEs. So we need to find ways to intervene to support them in that.

Moe Ba: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Jim. I think those are all useful. Hopefully, we’ll get some case studies from South Africa to contribute to this global study so we can have a global position or sort of understanding on this. And hopefully, also, your Acceleration Center will start taking a lot of new roles like the Foresight and the other things that’s happening. But thank you again. I would like to now go to Mr. Stefan Izaboke from Kenya, the Principal Secretary, to please give us the view of what Kenya has been doing to build this sort of platform for SMEs.

Stephen Isaboke: Thank you. Thank you. As some of you may know, the Kenya government has actually sort of set out pillars and sort of the better bottom-up economic transformation. And in fact, two of the pillars are touching on SME and digital transformation. So regarding SME, the Kenya economy is actually very much built on SMEs. And the economic analysis shows that nearly 60% of the economic drivers of Kenya is actually driven by SMEs. So the ruling party and government realized we need to address that segment. And that’s why it’s actually a very specific sort of ministry and department that is actually focused to enable digital transformation for SMEs, a couple of interventions. Number one, setting up a state department for MSMEs. Number two, the government set up a fund we call Hassler Fund specifically for SMEs. So we realized that the SMEs really do not have access to the normal banking environment. And they struggle to actually even get documentation and even prove that they can actually repay. So a fund was set aside for them to access funding because all these businesses and innovation actually need funds. And to get that funding, it is actually being enabled through M-Pesa, the mobile payment platform. Again, digital. You do not have to fill any paper. You do not have to fill anything. The entire aplication is all digital through mobile money and you are able to get the funding, in fact paid true the sim, and true that acces, through mobile money the MSMEs now they have a credit history. We have also done a bit of transformation on government side, with E-citizen. Now all governmental services are digitalised, over 20.000 services are all E. Also for SMEs we enabled one point application for license, under 5 dollars, you apply and get licences automatically. All those thigs are meant to A enable digital acces B make it inclusive in a sense it is affordable and also really widen it. Then, finally we also have had addressed the infrastructure side of our economy. We realised that digital access i verry elite. So the current government put out policy to extend digital services, to extending 1000 kilometers of fiber cables across the country, 100nds of digital hubs, to enable all these rural parts to get access.

Moe Ba: Thank you, thank you very much, Principal Secretary. I think this is actually quite interesting, because you started touching on the G2B, government to business, and you also touched on a lot of B2B you’re doing, but you also touched on a lot of B2B. a lot of basic infrastructural requirement that you need to. These are really inspiring, and we look forward to see these cases submitted for this global study and this global collaboration. Thank you very much. I’d like to now go to the president of CICT, Mr. Yu? No? Oh, John? Okay, sorry. Sorry, but I do want to pick up on what he said, which is two items that needs to happen. One of the items is the momentum for digital transformation for SMEs, and the second is the momentum for technical cooperation that the president of CICT brought on. John, I know you have been doing a lot from a NATO point of view, and this is a personal passion of yours. Can you please tell us what you have been doing in this area? Over to you, Mr. OMO.

John OMO: Thank you very much, Mohamed. I really appreciate being here. Context. Africa has SMEs contributing conservatively between 50 to 60% of our GDP. Out of that, just about 20% of the SMEs are using some form of digital in one way or the other. And of the 20%, South Africa takes the bulk of it, followed by a few other countries, just about nine of them. In fact, South Africa is probably the only country from my bridge that stands out with clear policies in this sector. Of course, quite a number of other countries are following suit. I have Rwanda, Kenya, Mauritius, Ghana, Ethiopia, Morocco, Egypt, and oh, I’m forgetting the other one. Ghana, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Rwanda, Egypt, Nigeria, so that kind of. The challenge, as the peers from Kenya have said, has largely been infrastructure. But in the main, it’s lack of, you know, from a policy perspective, how do we bring this important segment of our economy, contributing upwards of 60% to the GDP, into the mainstream of digital transformation. So about four or five years ago, we embarked on a program called Africa Innovation Challenge, that largely focused on young people, in terms of bringing together their innovative ideas and showcasing them, linking them with, you know, mentors and, you know, people who could handhold them, done pretty much in collaboration with the ITU. And we’ve done this in various ways, either in health, education, environment, and areas that really present challenges to our day-to-day lives, including, of course, the digital ecosystems where we were working with institutions that, you know, facilitate young people that have digital ecosystems that facilitate innovative ideas for young people and really, really creative ideas. In terms of, I know for a short of shortage of time, let me just speak briefly of what I’d like to see. There are too many clusters, too many clusters, whether you talk of, you know, again, allow me to use South Africa, because that’s the example that I see, where there’s a clear unitary momentum. But even in our own countries, there are very, very many clusters. Thank you very much, everyone, and I think there’s tremendous opportunities where we’re linking with institutions that have more similar sort of challenges, or that have gone through similar challenges, like ourselves, to create a network that truly links, especially young people, whether in China, whether in South Africa, or in Cairo, or wherever, links young people to opportunities in China, in Europe, in wherever, so that they can exhibit quite what the ideas that they have. Lastly, there’s been quite a lot to exhibit, my experience, quite a lot to exhibit. I think a network that goes from exhibition to the market is really one that we want to see in Africa. Thank you very much.

Ke Wang: Thank you. Thank you, John. And those are actually very insightful thoughts on how we can start building the two momentum that was mentioned by the president of CICT. And I’d like to now get a view of the private sectors. We have two powerful private sector representatives here. I’d like to start with Mr. Ba. Mr. Ba, could you give us your view? Thank you.

Bocar Ba: Thank you. Thank you, Mohamed. And good morning, colleagues. It’s a very complex question. And it’s important if you want to come up with some solution, as we have developed in the Arab region and the Middle East, to provide a clear context about what we are talking about. And digital technology are no longer just an enabler of progress. They are the very fabric binding together the ambition of 2030 agenda. They hold the power to amplify trade, revolutionize health care, catalyze dignified employment, and forge at large sustainable futures. Yet we still have 2.6 billion people offline. And they have no connectivity. This is not a connectivity issue. We consider it as a development emergency. And unless we connect the unconnected, digital progress risk reinforcing privilege rather than expanding opportunities. At the Samina Telecommunication Council, our priority is to reverse that trajectory. And we bring together operators, technology innovators, public interest leaders across Middle East, South Asia, and North Africa to champion inclusivity. And it has to be ethically grounded and environmentally responsible. not by the few but by all who benefits from the digital economy. So, this is the context that we are dealing with. Now, coming to the SMEs digital transformation, there are some key messages, and one of them is reliable connectivity underwritten by a broader ecosystem of contributors that can transform SMEs into engine of inclusivity and resilient growth. Now, the small and medium size enterprise are not small actors. You mentioned 50, 60 percent. They are the pulse of the global economy. They represent 90 percent of businesses and over half of the jobs worldwide. Their vitality directly shapes the collective development trajectory. Yet, in too many of our markets, these enterprises face high bandwidth costs, limited cloud access, and inadequate cybersecurity, leaving them digitally underpowered and economically constrained. Now, the Broadband as a Commissioner advocacy target number six rightly calls for 50 percent uplift in MSMEs connectivity by this year, 2025, because when SMEs are connected, they thrive, and 80 percent of the report that we have produced shows increased sales, 81 percent of the report lower cost operation. Now, what does it take to make it real and to make it happen? Number one, fit for purpose infrastructure. We need somehow to combine 5G, fixed wireless access, fiber spines, LEO satellites near the industrial zone. With that, we can meet the low latency, high reliability needs for the local businesses. Number two, inclusive financing. By applying A key principle of everyone who benefits from the digital economy should contribute. We outline it in the Universal Broadband Financial Framework at the Broadband Commission and we can broaden the base of the investment by engaging platforms, cloud providers, renewable energy players, alongside the traditional operators, the public sector, to be able to share the costs for the last miles and to de-risk the underserved market. Three, and I will end with that because we don’t have much time, but we have a key player, CAICT, capacity building on the digital marketplace, e-government procurement, and basic cyber security literacy can empower SMEs to adopt and use the trusted digital tools. When these three pillars converge, SMEs can gain and build resilience that will propel SDG number eight, which is decent work and economic growth. Thank you.

Ke Wang: Thank you, Mr. Ba. I think you mentioned a couple of key things. So we know digital infrastructure and access to the connectivity is still very important. We saw the case of Kenya where they’re rolling out thousands of these sort of spaces, but also the second thing you mentioned about the ecosystem has to come in and contribute. They’re also doing a lot in this sense, right? But also the practicality of this, which is Mr. Olmo talks about, we have to go from session like this to actual concrete thing, right? And I think this is where we’ll go to eventually to CAICT to lead that outcome of this will go somewhere. Now, I want to take a little detour to go into the technology world to Mr. Lee. I know that ZTE is building a lot of things, compute power, compute ecosystem, and compute infrastructure. All of this in a way can benefit and should benefit SMEs and should be open because we talk about open innovation. What is ZTE doing in this field and can you give your insight about what kind of cases we can learn from your organization? Thank you. Over to you, Mr. Lee.

Li Tian: Thank you, Mohammad. So I would try to be brief on behalf of the private sector point of view, especially from the company’s point of view, because innovation needs the engagement of all stakeholders, but we think the companies or large corporates should be responsible. for the Technology Innovation, especially for the SMEs. I don’t need to repeat all the other speakers mentioned that the importance of SMEs in terms of to explore the new frontiers on various areas. So from the ICT-enabled digital transformation, I wouldn’t say there are very much difference between the large corporates and SMEs. Take the ZTE as an example, maybe 30 or 35 years ago, we were a startup starting from making the switches or rotors, and now we are covering all the ICT infrastructures like the base station, cell phones, and data centers, servers, etc. So we started our own practice in terms of the digital transformation from long ago, and that’s not only we are the developer of the ICT infrastructure or the ICT tools, but we are also a user of that. Like the research and development, we use many of the tools to provide higher efficiency, and also like the smart factory and the mobile officing, that kind of things, we are also the user of that. So only when we use it and it can provide, can take effect, we make it open, make it publicly available, make it available to our customers, so that we are more confident that the ICT enables their effectivity. So even in our own company, there are different business units, so our high management team has proposed a new concept that is called the transaction-based architecture, so that we don’t need to build the same model. . We need to be between them. I think we can do this. Thank you. Thank you.

Moe Ba: Thank you for bringing those insights that even bigger companies today used to be smaller companies and if they want to survive, they have to keep thinking like small let’s do this together. Try to improve that. You need a plan on top of what you have. I think we have gone first circle from the opportunity to how we will nurture the infrastructure and resources provided by getting you on thebreaker. You know Conference the resources for the talents, and also we see a lot of good examples. Now, the study that South Africa did about SMEs and the future of SMEs, there’s actually many, many possibilities. If we don’t start addressing some of those things, like, for example, the digital talent for infrastructure, that future is not going to be what we expect. If we don’t start accessing the access to finance, funding, capital, and cash flow, especially building on fintech like Kenya is doing with M-Pesa and things like this, we’re not going to bridge that gap, especially for the informal economy, for the SMEs that are non-ICT sector, but that needs to absolutely have to use digital today. If we don’t start harmonizing some of the rules across borders, we’re not going to make it. And if we don’t start having targeted policies, we will have a lot of issues. Having said that, we heard a lot. Everybody has opportunity resources. And I think we heard that we’d like to get that platform that connects everything. Now, I would like to get each of the panelists’ view on what will it take for us to build and what can you contribute to this platform of platforms? Because you’re all building platform with ecosystem. What will it take? What should we do? And what will you contribute to this?

James George Patterson: Over to you, Jim. One minute. I think we need to look at maybe working within our regions in terms of the policy and regulatory environments, and also in terms of developing solutions across regions, using things like open standards to build supportive platforms for cross-border digital payment systems, regulations around the flow of data, and ensuring privacy, and so forth, and interoperability aspects. These are all kind of key areas. We can also look at collaboration in terms of developing solutions that are relevant for cross-border activities. I think that in itself can be an opportunity for innovators. and the MSME sector. They should be at the forefront, I would think, of some of these initiatives as well. So, yeah, I think one minute. That would be my initial comment.

Ke Wang: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Jim. I think this will be music to Mr. Li’s ears. Mr. Li, what do you think about this? And what would be your view in contributing to this type of platform? I’ll go randomly this time to make things a little…

Li Tian: Yeah, thanks. Talking about collaboration, of course, the platform is important. And I would be very appreciative that the platform like IADD, we are on board from the very beginning. And that includes both the government, the industry, and also the financial parts. We are a good family. And also, this international platform are closely collaborating with the local agencies, like the innovation centers, like CICT in China, and also the global partners in the… like some in the council, in the also very prominent areas. So, I think this kind of collaboration could take advantage of many of the industries that have some advantages locally and who would like to also go overseas, go globally. So, in the AI area, I think the technology upgrades very fast. We also need to adopt ourselves very quickly. So, talking about the… on the context of AI, we have also established an alliance called COIA, which stands for the Cooperative Open Intelligence Computing Industry Alliance, where the Secretary General Meng Wei is sitting over there. So, we hope that he is also going to join IADD as an expert group. So, we hope that with this open mind to build the open modules, open technologies, to join this ecosystem, we can not only benefit but also contribute more in this big family.

Moe Ba: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. That’s actually quite, quite interesting because we’re talking about now we need to have access to compute power. We can start basically multiplying the effect of this network. The alliance is a network with expert resources, et cetera. CIC is doing its job to bring us all together and that will have a concrete way output. Of course, John, this is going to be what you would wish for, right? Go from talk to actions. Now what can we do, John? Or what do you want to do here?

John OMO: Thank you very much. Perhaps I can just summarize it into one word, goodwill. I think we have had event-based activities, especially from our perspective. We are moving it into a platform, but I think the opportunity to bring various platforms together for purposes of a bigger impact is one that have a lot of goodwill. So I think straight from here, we will ask you to assign us responsibilities, assign us responsibilities so that we know what each of us needs to do for purposes of pushing this forward, especially from the cross-border perspective that Jim has talked about. I doubt whether resources will be an issue because we’re already spending resources in our little fiefdoms. And so all it requires is to bring these resources together. So for me, I think goodwill is the issue. Thank you very much.

Moe Ba: Thank you very much, John. Mr. Rizabog?

Stephen Isaboke: Yeah, so I think my colleagues have actually laid it. I think it’s around creating the right environment. And for us, it’s to start by addressing the basics, which is basically access. where the infrastructure is coming in big time. And then that’s really hardware, then to underpin that is also to ensure that you’ve got governance around data because that infrastructure is actually going to be run by data, that’s why AI is a big thing. So, in Kenya, we’ve got now the control of for data security and all that and we’ve got laws that govern how you can use data because eventually then when the digital play comes on, you’ve got infrastructure, you’ve got data and then you’ve got all the activities that you run with the government service with their commercial activities, with its innovation and all that. So, we as government have to look at the entire ecosystem from infrastructure to data to access, especially for the vulnerable, the SMEs, MSMEs and really the marginalized, the youth and all that. And then also ensure that the environment is actually especially enabling for those that should actually really most need it, the youth and the MSMEs. And there’s a very active sort of promotion of that. And in fact, it’s a case study we’d like to share particularly from MSMEs and the youth in terms of digital access. Thank you.

Ke Wang: Thank you very much. I think point taken, platform is about data, infrastructure, access and services. Mr. Ba. And we can finish this.

Bocar Ba: I think I don’t have time to be controversial, but I don’t like the term goodwill. Mr. Ba, I don’t like the term goodwill. This partnership, it’s not a nice to have, it’s a necessity and it can be decisive. So I think we need to, it’s up to us to take it in urgency and just to number one, harmonizing the policies framework. for the SMEs, and number two, to create scale by cross-border collaboration. And these are the messages that we have to communicate to the policymakers and regulators.

Moe Ba: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Ba. I want to thank all panelists and Ms. Wang Qi, just over to you to close the session.

Ke Wang: Thank you, Mr. Ba and all the panelists for the participation. And briefly, ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests and distinguished colleagues, thank you for the excellent, exceptional, productive discussion and participation, shared diverse perspectives, and valuable insights. And the seminar now conducts successfully. I wish all distinguished guests a fruitful and rewarding experience at the coming events. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.

Agreement points

SMEs are critical economic drivers requiring urgent digital transformation support

Speakers

– John OMO
– Xiaohui Yu
– Bocar Ba
– Ke Wang

Arguments

SMEs contribute 50-60% of GDP in many countries but only 20% use digital technologies, creating urgent need for transformation

Digital transformation has become core engine for global sustainable development, with SMEs needing transformative momentum through ICT

SMEs represent 90% of businesses and over half of jobs worldwide, making their digital empowerment critical for inclusive growth

SMEs have small funding scale, insufficient upgrading capabilities, and weak competitiveness but are highly innovative and crucial for global economic growth

Summary

All speakers agreed that SMEs are fundamental to economic growth globally, contributing significantly to GDP and employment, but face urgent need for digital transformation to unlock their full potential despite current limitations in digital adoption and capabilities.

Topics

Development | Economic

Infrastructure development is fundamental prerequisite for SME digital transformation

Speakers

– Stephen Isaboke
– Bocar Ba
– James George Patterson

Arguments

Kenya extended 1000 kilometers of fiber cables and established hundreds of digital hubs to enable rural digital access

Fit-for-purpose infrastructure combining 5G, fixed wireless access, fiber spines, and LEO satellites is needed near industrial zones

Access to emerging technologies in open formats like open source software and digital public infrastructure services is crucial

Summary

Speakers consistently emphasized that robust digital infrastructure is the foundation for SME digital transformation, requiring comprehensive connectivity solutions and open technology platforms to enable widespread access.

Topics

Infrastructure | Development

Collaborative ecosystems and platforms are essential for scaling SME support globally

Speakers

– Moe Ba
– Ke Wang
– Li Tian
– John OMO

Arguments

ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance operates as global network with 100+ stakeholders, 35+ board members, and 17 acceleration centers

The 2025 ICT-Enabled Digital Transformation SMS Case Collection Initiative aims to identify rational pathways and analyze critical challenges for SME transformation

ZTE promotes transaction-based architecture and open modules through Cooperative Open Intelligence Computing Industry Alliance

Need for harmonized policy frameworks for SMEs and cross-border collaboration to create scale

Summary

All speakers supported the need for collaborative platforms and ecosystems that bring together multiple stakeholders to share resources, knowledge, and best practices for supporting SME digital transformation at scale.

Topics

Development | Economic

Capacity building and skills development are critical enablers for SME digital adoption

Speakers

– Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava
– James George Patterson
– Bocar Ba

Arguments

ITU launched Strategic Foresight 101 courses and advanced training for acceleration center experts on ecosystem development

Access to skills and capacity development are critically important, with need for supportive cybersecurity solutions for SMEs

Capacity building on digital marketplace, e-government procurement, and cybersecurity literacy empowers SMEs to adopt trusted digital tools

Summary

Speakers agreed that targeted capacity building programs covering digital skills, cybersecurity, and strategic planning are essential for enabling SMEs to effectively adopt and utilize digital technologies.

Topics

Development | Cybersecurity

Financial inclusion and innovative funding mechanisms are crucial for SME digital transformation

Speakers

– Stephen Isaboke
– Bocar Ba
– James George Patterson

Arguments

Kenya created state department for MSMEs and Hustler Fund providing digital access to funding through M-Pesa platform

Inclusive financing requires broadening investment base by engaging platforms, cloud providers, and renewable energy players alongside traditional operators

Access to funding and venture capital remains critical challenge requiring strategic intervention and policy support

Summary

All speakers recognized that traditional funding mechanisms are inadequate for SMEs and emphasized the need for innovative, inclusive financing approaches that leverage digital platforms and broader stakeholder participation.

Topics

Development | Economic

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the importance of open standards and interoperability as fundamental principles for enabling cross-border collaboration and making technology accessible to SMEs, with large corporations having responsibility to drive this openness.

Speakers

– James George Patterson
– Li Tian

Arguments

Cross-border digital payment systems and data flow regulations using open standards can support regional collaboration

Large corporations should be responsible for technology innovation, especially for SMEs, using open standards and interoperability

Topics

Infrastructure | Legal and regulatory

Both speakers viewed connectivity gaps as urgent development challenges requiring immediate government intervention to prevent digital divides from worsening inequality and to ensure inclusive access to digital opportunities.

Speakers

– Bocar Ba
– Stephen Isaboke

Arguments

2.6 billion people remain offline, representing a development emergency that risks reinforcing privilege rather than expanding opportunities

Infrastructure challenges are the primary barrier, requiring government intervention to address basics like access and data governance

Topics

Development | Infrastructure

Both speakers supported structured, multi-layered approaches to innovation ecosystems that combine governance, implementation networks, and practical operational components to deliver concrete outcomes for SME support.

Speakers

– Moe Ba
– Ke Wang

Arguments

Alliance provides ecosystem approach with Digital Innovation Board, Network of Acceleration Centers, and operational labs

CAICT operates as ITU acceleration center with three planned achievements: foresight report, SMS guidelines, and integration innovation platform

Topics

Development | Economic

Unexpected consensus

Private sector responsibility for SME digital transformation

Speakers

– Li Tian
– Bocar Ba

Arguments

Large corporations should be responsible for technology innovation, especially for SMEs, using open standards and interoperability

Universal Broadband Financial Framework applies principle that everyone benefiting from digital economy should contribute to funding

Explanation

Unexpected consensus emerged between private sector representative (ZTE) and telecommunications council leader on corporate responsibility for SME support. This suggests strong industry recognition that successful digital transformation requires private sector leadership and shared financial responsibility, moving beyond traditional government-led development approaches.

Topics

Economic | Development

Urgency of SME digital transformation as development emergency

Speakers

– Bocar Ba
– John OMO
– Xiaohui Yu

Arguments

2.6 billion people remain offline, representing a development emergency that risks reinforcing privilege rather than expanding opportunities

SMEs contribute 50-60% of GDP in many countries but only 20% use digital technologies, creating urgent need for transformation

Digital transformation has become core engine for global sustainable development, with SMEs needing transformative momentum through ICT

Explanation

Unexpected strong consensus emerged across different organizational perspectives (telecommunications council, African union, Chinese research institute) on characterizing SME digital gaps as a development emergency rather than gradual challenge. This unified urgency suggests global recognition that incremental approaches are insufficient.

Topics

Development | Economic

Overall assessment

Summary

Strong consensus emerged across all speakers on five key areas: SMEs as critical economic drivers needing urgent digital transformation, infrastructure as fundamental prerequisite, collaborative ecosystems for scaling support, capacity building as essential enabler, and innovative financing mechanisms as crucial. Unexpected consensus appeared on private sector responsibility and urgency of transformation as development emergency.

Consensus level

High level of consensus with remarkable alignment across diverse stakeholders from different regions, sectors, and organizational types. This strong agreement suggests mature understanding of SME digital transformation challenges and readiness for coordinated global action through platforms like the ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance.

Different viewpoints

Terminology and urgency framing for collaboration

Speakers

– Bocar Ba
– John OMO

Arguments

I don’t like the term goodwill. This partnership, it’s not a nice to have, it’s a necessity and it can be decisive

Perhaps I can just summarize it into one word, goodwill. I think we have had event-based activities, especially from our perspective

Summary

Bocar Ba explicitly rejected John OMO’s characterization of collaboration as ‘goodwill’, arguing that partnership is a decisive necessity rather than a nice-to-have based on goodwill. John OMO viewed goodwill as the key factor for bringing platforms together.

Topics

Development | Economic

Unexpected differences

Fundamental nature of international cooperation

Speakers

– Bocar Ba
– John OMO

Arguments

I don’t like the term goodwill. This partnership, it’s not a nice to have, it’s a necessity and it can be decisive

Perhaps I can just summarize it into one word, goodwill

Explanation

This disagreement was unexpected because both speakers were advocating for the same collaborative platform, yet they had fundamentally different philosophical approaches to international cooperation – one viewing it as voluntary goodwill versus mandatory necessity.

Topics

Development | Economic

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion showed remarkably high consensus on core issues with minimal direct disagreements. The main areas of difference were in approach and emphasis rather than fundamental goals – speakers agreed on SME empowerment, digital transformation, and infrastructure needs but differed on implementation strategies and philosophical frameworks for cooperation.

Disagreement level

Very low level of disagreement with high implications for effective collaboration. The consensus suggests strong potential for unified action, though the philosophical difference about cooperation frameworks could impact implementation approaches and urgency of action.

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the importance of open standards and interoperability as fundamental principles for enabling cross-border collaboration and making technology accessible to SMEs, with large corporations having responsibility to drive this openness.

Speakers

– James George Patterson
– Li Tian

Arguments

Cross-border digital payment systems and data flow regulations using open standards can support regional collaboration

Large corporations should be responsible for technology innovation, especially for SMEs, using open standards and interoperability

Topics

Infrastructure | Legal and regulatory

Both speakers viewed connectivity gaps as urgent development challenges requiring immediate government intervention to prevent digital divides from worsening inequality and to ensure inclusive access to digital opportunities.

Speakers

– Bocar Ba
– Stephen Isaboke

Arguments

2.6 billion people remain offline, representing a development emergency that risks reinforcing privilege rather than expanding opportunities

Infrastructure challenges are the primary barrier, requiring government intervention to address basics like access and data governance

Topics

Development | Infrastructure

Both speakers supported structured, multi-layered approaches to innovation ecosystems that combine governance, implementation networks, and practical operational components to deliver concrete outcomes for SME support.

Speakers

– Moe Ba
– Ke Wang

Arguments

Alliance provides ecosystem approach with Digital Innovation Board, Network of Acceleration Centers, and operational labs

CAICT operates as ITU acceleration center with three planned achievements: foresight report, SMS guidelines, and integration innovation platform

Topics

Development | Economic

Key takeaways

Digital transformation of SMEs is critical for global sustainable development, with SMEs contributing 50-60% of GDP in many countries but only 20% currently using digital technologies

A global collaborative platform is needed to connect existing regional and national SME support ecosystems, moving from fragmented clusters to unified networks

Infrastructure, policy harmonization, capacity building, and inclusive financing are the four foundational pillars required for successful SME digital transformation

The ITU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance serves as a global coordination mechanism with 100+ stakeholders, 35+ board members, and 17 acceleration centers

Cross-border collaboration using open standards and interoperable systems is essential for scaling SME digital solutions regionally and globally

Government intervention is crucial for creating enabling environments through digital public infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and targeted funding mechanisms

Resolutions and action items

Launch of the 2025 ICT-Enabled Digital Transformation SME Case Collection Initiative by CICT and ITU, with expert review starting July 2025

Preparation of joint final report by ITU and CICT for release at ITU WTDC in Baku (November 17-28, 2025)

Three planned deliverables: foresight report, SMS guidelines, and integration innovation SMS platform

Third Digital Innovation Board meeting scheduled for October 1-2, 2025 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Second ICODI workshop to be organized in August 2025 for accelerating regional initiatives implementation

Assignment of specific responsibilities to regional partners for cross-border collaboration (requested by John OMO)

Submission of case studies from participating countries (South Africa, Kenya, others) to the global study

Unresolved issues

Specific mechanisms for harmonizing policy frameworks across different regions and countries

Detailed funding models for the proposed ‘platform of platforms’ and its sustainability

Concrete implementation timeline for cross-border digital payment systems and data flow regulations

Specific roles and responsibilities for each alliance member in the collaborative network

Technical specifications for interoperability standards across different national digital ecosystems

Measurement criteria and success metrics for the SME digital transformation initiatives

How to effectively connect the 2.6 billion people still offline to benefit from SME digital services

Suggested compromises

Combining regional approaches with global coordination rather than imposing uniform solutions across all countries

Balancing open innovation principles with necessary cybersecurity and data protection requirements

Integrating both government-led initiatives and private sector platforms rather than choosing one approach

Addressing both basic infrastructure needs and advanced technology access simultaneously rather than sequentially

Supporting both formal and informal SME sectors through flexible digital solutions rather than one-size-fits-all approaches

Leveraging existing national platforms while building bridges between them rather than creating entirely new systems

We live in a very uncertain, volatile, complex, and ambiguous environment. Everything is changing around us. It’s for our countries, but as well as for the SMEs that we are talking about. And digital is at the core of this. So, the alliance was really put in place as a bigger mechanism to really try to help all of us navigate this environment.

Speaker

Moe Ba

Reason

This comment reframes the entire discussion by positioning digital transformation not as an opportunity but as a survival necessity in an inherently unstable world. It shifts the conversation from ‘nice-to-have’ innovations to essential adaptive mechanisms, elevating the urgency of SME digital transformation.

Impact

This framing influenced subsequent speakers to emphasize concrete, practical solutions rather than theoretical benefits. It established the foundational context that made other participants focus on immediate, actionable interventions rather than long-term aspirational goals.

We realized that digital access is very elite. So the current government put out policy to extend digital services, to extending 1000 kilometers of fiber cables across the country, 100nds of digital hubs, to enable all these rural parts to get access.

Speaker

Stephen Isaboke

Reason

This comment introduces a critical equity dimension by explicitly acknowledging that digital transformation can reinforce existing inequalities rather than democratize opportunities. It challenges the assumption that digital solutions are inherently inclusive.

Impact

This observation shifted the discussion toward infrastructure equity and prompted other speakers to address accessibility barriers. It influenced subsequent comments about affordability, rural access, and the need for targeted policies for underserved populations.

There are too many clusters, too many clusters… I think a network that goes from exhibition to the market is really one that we want to see in Africa.

Speaker

John OMO

Reason

This comment identifies a fundamental structural problem – fragmentation of innovation ecosystems that prevents scaling. It moves beyond celebrating innovation to critiquing the disconnect between innovation showcases and market realization, highlighting a critical gap in the innovation pipeline.

Impact

This observation prompted the moderator and other participants to focus on platform integration and cross-border collaboration. It influenced the later discussion about creating ‘platforms of platforms’ and the need for systematic coordination rather than isolated initiatives.

This is not a connectivity issue. We consider it as a development emergency. And unless we connect the unconnected, digital progress risk reinforcing privilege rather than expanding opportunities.

Speaker

Bocar Ba

Reason

This comment fundamentally reframes digital divide from a technical problem to a development crisis with moral implications. It introduces the provocative idea that digital progress without inclusion actually worsens inequality, challenging the assumption that any digital advancement is inherently positive.

Impact

This reframing elevated the entire discussion’s urgency and ethical dimension. It influenced other speakers to emphasize inclusive financing, targeted policies for underserved populations, and the responsibility of all digital economy beneficiaries to contribute to solutions.

I don’t like the term goodwill. This partnership, it’s not a nice to have, it’s a necessity and it can be decisive. So I think we need to, it’s up to us to take it in urgency.

Speaker

Bocar Ba

Reason

This direct challenge to another panelist’s framing transforms the discussion from diplomatic cooperation to urgent action. It rejects the notion that collaboration is voluntary or charitable, instead positioning it as strategically essential for survival and success.

Impact

This comment created a pivotal moment that shifted the entire tone from polite cooperation to urgent action. It influenced the closing discussion toward concrete commitments and actionable next steps rather than aspirational statements about future collaboration.

Overall assessment

These key comments fundamentally transformed what could have been a routine policy discussion into a more urgent, equity-focused, and action-oriented conversation. The progression from Moe Ba’s environmental framing, through Isaboke’s equity concerns and OMO’s structural critique, to Bocar Ba’s emergency framing and direct challenge to ‘goodwill’ thinking, created a narrative arc that elevated both the stakes and the specificity of proposed solutions. The comments collectively shifted the discussion from celebrating digital opportunities to confronting digital inequities, from showcasing isolated successes to demanding systematic integration, and from diplomatic cooperation to urgent collaborative action. This transformation is evident in how later speakers increasingly emphasized concrete infrastructure investments, targeted policies, and immediate collaborative commitments rather than general aspirations about digital transformation benefits.

How to better shape an innovation ecosystem for investments in developing countries

Speaker

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava

Explanation

This was mentioned as an area being explored through workshops, indicating ongoing research needs to understand optimal ecosystem development approaches

What constitutes a regional priority as opposed to a national priority for digital development

Speaker

Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava

Explanation

This is being addressed through ICODI workshops to help member states identify regional initiatives for the World Telecommunication Development Conference

How to identify rational pathways for accelerating SME digital transformations through ICT

Speaker

Ke Wang

Explanation

This is a core objective of the case collection initiative, requiring analysis of opportunities, challenges, and resource needs

How to create cross-sector, cross-border sandboxes to facilitate SME digital transformation

Speaker

Moe Ba

Explanation

This was mentioned as a key capability of the alliance that needs further development and implementation

How to harmonize policies and regulatory frameworks across regions for SME support

Speaker

James George Patterson

Explanation

Cross-border collaboration requires aligned regulatory environments, which currently presents challenges for SME growth

How to develop solutions for cross-border digital payment systems and data flow regulations

Speaker

James George Patterson

Explanation

These are identified as key areas needing collaborative development to support cross-border SME activities

How to create a network that goes from exhibition to market for African SMEs

Speaker

John OMO

Explanation

There’s a gap between showcasing innovations and actually bringing them to market that needs to be addressed

How to reduce the number of fragmented clusters and create unified momentum for SME support

Speaker

John OMO

Explanation

Too many separate initiatives exist without coordination, reducing overall effectiveness

How to ensure everyone who benefits from the digital economy contributes to SME support

Speaker

Bocar Ba

Explanation

This relates to the Universal Broadband Financial Framework and needs further development for implementation

How to build fit-for-purpose infrastructure combining multiple technologies for SME needs

Speaker

Bocar Ba

Explanation

Integration of 5G, fiber, satellites, and other technologies near industrial zones requires further research and planning

Summary

This panel discussion focused on implementing Action Line C7 on e-business from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) framework and its alignment with the UN Global Digital Compact to create a more inclusive digital economy. The session was moderated by Radka Sibille from the Universal Postal Union and featured representatives from multiple UN agencies including ITC, UNCTAD, UNIDO, and the Indian government.

Valentina Rollo from ITC presented findings from their Digital Transformation Survey covering 7,000 companies across 78 countries, revealing that over 80% of firms using digital tools reported increased sales and reduced costs. She emphasized that expert digital users are five times more likely to report growing sales, but noted significant gaps between digitally advanced and less advanced countries. The discussion highlighted three key enablers for digital transformation: infrastructure, skills, and supportive regulatory frameworks.

Kevin Hernandez from UPU explained how postal services can bridge digital divides, noting that 71% of postal operators in 153 countries provide e-commerce services, particularly reaching underserved rural populations. Torbjörn Fredriksson from UNCTAD addressed gender inclusion challenges, revealing that only one in 16 women own established enterprises compared to one in 10 men, and introduced UNCTAD’s E-Trade for Women initiative supporting 450 women digital entrepreneurs across 65 developing countries.

Lakshmikanta Dash from India’s Ministry of Communications shared concrete examples of digital inclusion through initiatives like Jan Dhan Yojana (financial inclusion), Aadhaar (national identity), and mobile penetration, along with 1,000 postal export promotion centers supporting rural women entrepreneurs. Jason Slater from UNIDO discussed aligning the Global Digital Compact’s Objective 2 with Action Line C7, announcing upcoming calls for solutions to support SMEs and emphasizing the need for public-private partnerships and centers of excellence.

The discussion concluded with recommendations for conducting national assessments, building cooperative networks among small businesses, and strengthening coordination between UN agencies to avoid silos and maximize impact in creating an inclusive digital economy.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **Digital transformation challenges for small businesses**: The discussion highlighted that while over 80% of firms using digital tools report increased sales and reduced costs, significant gaps exist between digitally advanced and less advanced countries. In digitally ready countries, 60% of firms are expert users compared to much lower rates in less prepared nations.

– **Role of postal services in digital inclusion**: The Universal Postal Union presented how the global postal network, with over 650,000 post offices (mostly in rural areas), serves as a crucial enabler for inclusive e-commerce by providing digital services with “human touch” support, e-commerce platforms, and financial services to underserved populations.

– **Gender inclusion in digital entrepreneurship**: UNCTAD emphasized the male-dominated nature of digital entrepreneurship, noting that only 1 in 16 women own established enterprises compared to 1 in 10 men, and highlighted their “E-Trade for Women” initiative supporting 450 women digital entrepreneurs across 65 developing countries.

– **Country-level implementation examples**: India’s representative shared concrete examples of digital inclusion through initiatives like Jan Dhan Yojana (financial inclusion), the National Rural Livelihood Mission focusing on women’s workforce participation, and 1,000 export promotion centers through post offices to help rural artisans access international markets.

– **Alignment between WSIS Action Line C7 and Global Digital Compact**: The discussion explored how the 20-year-old e-business action line aligns with the newly adopted Global Digital Compact’s Objective 2 on expanding digital economy inclusion, emphasizing the need for synergies and coordinated UN system approaches.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to examine how the implementation of WSIS Action Line C7 on e-business has contributed to a more inclusive digital economy and e-commerce, while exploring synergies with the Global Digital Compact and identifying ongoing challenges that need to be addressed through coordinated UN agency efforts.

## Overall Tone:

The discussion maintained a collaborative and constructive tone throughout, with panelists building upon each other’s points and emphasizing partnership opportunities. The tone was professional yet optimistic, with speakers sharing both challenges and success stories. There was a consistent emphasis on practical solutions and multi-stakeholder cooperation, and the tone remained solution-oriented even when discussing significant barriers to digital inclusion.

Speakers

– **Radka Sibille** – Moderator, leads on digital issues and trade in the Universal Postal Union

– **Valentina Rollo** – Head of research in the International Trade Center (ITC)

– **Kevin Hernandez** – Digital inclusion expert at the Universal Postal Union

– **Torbjorn Fredriksson** – Head of e-commerce and digital economy branch in UNCTAD

– **Jason Slater** – Chief of AI Innovation and Digital Officer in UNIDO

– **Lakshmikanta Dash** – Deputy Director-General in the Ministry of Communications in the Government of India (remote panelist)

– **Audience** – Various audience members who asked questions during the Q&A session

Additional speakers:

– **Ahmed from Oman** – Audience member who asked about national digital economy programs

– **Marco Llinás from ECLAC** – Representative from ECLAC who discussed technology adoption challenges in Latin America

– **Nigel Casimir from the Caribbean Telecommunications Union** – Representative who provided small island developing states perspective on driving adoption

# Comprehensive Report: Implementing WSIS Action Line C7 on E-Business and Alignment with the UN Global Digital Compact

## Executive Summary

This one-hour panel discussion, moderated by Radka Sibille who leads on digital issues and trade at the Universal Postal Union, examined the implementation of World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Action Line C7 on e-business and its alignment with the UN Global Digital Compact to create a more inclusive digital economy. The session was co-hosted by UPU with sister agencies ITC, UNCTAD, and in collaboration with UNIDO.

The panel brought together representatives from multiple UN agencies and the Indian government, with Lakshmikanta Dash, Deputy Director-General in the Ministry of Communications in the Government of India, participating remotely. The discussion focused on supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), addressing gender disparities in digital entrepreneurship, and leveraging existing infrastructure such as postal networks to bridge digital divides.

## Key Presentations and Findings

### Digital Transformation Impact on Small Businesses

Valentina Rollo, head of research at ITC, presented findings from their Digital Transformation Survey covering over 7,000 companies across 78 countries. The research revealed that over 80% of firms using digital tools reported increased sales and reduced costs, with expert digital users showing particularly strong performance—they are five times more likely to report growing sales and twelve times more likely to see costs decrease compared to less advanced firms.

A striking disparity exists between digitally advanced and less prepared countries. In digitally advanced nations, 60% of firms are expert users—three times more than in countries with low digital readiness. In low digitally ready countries, large firms are two and a half times more likely to be expert users compared to small firms. However, these gaps almost disappear in countries that are digitally ready.

Rollo identified three critical enablers: infrastructure, skills, and supportive regulatory frameworks. Expert users distinguish themselves by improving financial management, training staff strategically, and actively engaging with business support organisations. She announced that ITC’s SME Competitiveness Outlook report focusing on digital transformation will be launched on July 23rd in South Africa at the ITC Ministerial.

### Postal Services as Digital Infrastructure

Kevin Hernandez from the Universal Postal Union highlighted the role of postal services in digital inclusion. The global postal network represents the most extensive service retail network worldwide, with over 650,000 post offices, the majority in rural areas. Among UPU’s 192 members: 71% provide e-commerce services, 58% provide digital financial services, and 70% provide connectivity solutions.

Hernandez provided specific examples: Uzbekistan’s UZPost operates multi-brand pick-up points where customers can try on clothing; Post Indonesia has established 200 rural collaboration centers for live streaming; and many postal services offer cash-on-delivery services that enable e-commerce participation for those without digital payment access. He mentioned that women are more likely to have postal bank accounts than men in certain contexts, suggesting postal services could serve as a pathway for women’s financial inclusion.

### Gender Disparities in Digital Entrepreneurship

Torbjörn Fredriksson, head of e-commerce and digital economy branch at UNCTAD, addressed significant gender gaps in digital entrepreneurship. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, only one in 16 women own an established enterprise compared with one in every 10 men globally. In Africa, only 17% of 2,600 tech startups had at least one female co-founder.

Fredriksson noted that underrepresentation of women in digital entrepreneurship creates challenges for policy advocacy, as fewer women are positioned to advocate for changes that benefit women’s entrepreneurship. UNCTAD’s “E-Trade for Women” initiative has worked with 450 women digital entrepreneurs across 65 developing countries through masterclasses and advocacy opportunities. He announced the next masterclass will be held in the Philippines later this year, with two additional masterclasses planned for Africa the following year.

### National Implementation: India’s Digital Inclusion Model

Lakshmikanta Dash described India’s comprehensive approach to digital inclusion for its 1.4 billion population. The government’s strategy centers on Jan Dhan Yojana (financial inclusion), Aadhaar (national identity system), and mobile penetration, which has been key to promoting rural business development.

The National Rural Livelihood Mission emphasizes women’s workforce participation in business transactions. India Post has established 1,000 export promotion centers to help women in handicrafts access overseas markets, providing banking facilities and export promotion services to rural populations lacking technical infrastructure.

### Global Digital Compact Alignment

Jason Slater, Chief of AI Innovation and Digital Officer at UNIDO, discussed alignment between the 20-year-old WSIS Action Line C7 and the Global Digital Compact’s Objective 2, which UNIDO and UNCTAD co-lead. He noted that only 17% of the 169 SDG targets are currently on track, with around 59 potentially negatively affected by digital transformation. However, AI and digitalisation can positively impact 134 of the 169 SDG targets when properly implemented.

Slater highlighted that India has 62 million SMEs—more than the UK’s population—illustrating the scale of the challenge. He announced that UNIDO would launch a call for action under Global Digital Compact Objective 2 on Thursday following the panel discussion, seeking solutions to support SMEs in digital transformation.

## Regional Perspectives and Challenges

### Latin American Context

Marco Llinás from ECLAC revealed that over 96% of micro and small firms in Latin America don’t have a web page, highlighting the gap between policy discussions about advanced technologies and basic digital reality facing most small businesses. This emphasizes the need for scaling up digital extension services and business support organisations.

### Small Island Developing States

Nigel Casimir from the Caribbean Telecommunications Union raised questions about governance frameworks needed to determine whether countries are accomplishing their digital economy goals. He emphasized the importance of governments leading digital adoption by driving government services online and enhancing ease of doing business.

## Audience Questions and Responses

Ahmed from Oman asked about updating their national digital economy program for 2026-2030. Fredriksson responded that countries should start with careful analysis of current digital readiness, emphasizing the need for inter-ministerial coordination and comprehensive assessment before developing five-year digital economy plans.

An audience member highlighted the importance of governments leading by example through digitizing their own services first, which several panelists supported as a crucial step in creating enabling environments for digital transformation.

## Areas of Consensus

### Supporting Intermediary Organizations

Strong agreement emerged around strengthening business support organisations and intermediary institutions. Rollo emphasized that business support organisations need support themselves to develop digital transformation services, noting that cooperatives work well as a first step for businesses to connect and share information about available support.

### Government Leadership

Multiple speakers agreed that governments must take a leading role through strategic planning, service digitalisation, and coordinated policy implementation. The Indian example demonstrated how coordinated action across multiple government agencies can create comprehensive enabling environments.

### Targeted Support for Women

Consistent emphasis on deliberate efforts to include women in digital transformation initiatives, with recognition that women represent an underserved group requiring specific support mechanisms.

## Concrete Outcomes and Commitments

### Immediate Initiatives

– UNIDO committed to launching a call for action under Global Digital Compact Objective 2

– ITC announced the July 23rd launch of their SME Competitiveness Outlook report in South Africa

– UPU indicated the forthcoming release of their Digital Panorama Report on the post’s role in digital transformations

– UNCTAD committed to the next E-Trade for Women masterclass in the Philippines, with two additional African masterclasses planned

### Collaborative Support

Panelists committed to supporting member states through collaborative assessments and technical assistance for digital economy planning. UN agencies agreed to continue breaking down silos and work together on WSIS Beyond 20 implementation and Global Digital Compact objectives.

## Outstanding Challenges

### Scaling Basic Digital Services

The question of how to effectively scale digital extension services to reach the 96% of micro and small firms lacking basic web presence remains a fundamental implementation challenge. While speakers suggested step-by-step approaches starting with cooperatives and sector associations, specific mechanisms for achieving scale while maintaining quality require further development.

### Governance and Monitoring

Specific governance frameworks and monitoring mechanisms for countries developing digital economy strategies remain undefined, particularly challenging for small island developing states and countries with limited institutional capacity.

### Gender Inclusion Implementation

While speakers agreed on the importance of women’s participation, specific strategies to address persistent gender gaps and ensure access to capital for women-led tech startups require further development.

## Pathways Forward

### Hybrid Implementation Approaches

A step-by-step approach starting with cooperatives and sector associations before moving to more advanced business support organisations could provide a practical pathway for scaling digital adoption while building institutional capacity.

### Blended Service Delivery

The physical-digital service delivery model through postal networks offers an approach to bridging digital divides while building digital capacity, leveraging existing infrastructure while introducing digital capabilities.

### Coordinated UN System Approach

The commitment to coordinated UN agency approaches that leverage different organisational strengths while avoiding duplication represents a significant step forward in addressing traditional silos.

## Conclusion

This discussion demonstrated remarkable consensus among UN agencies and member states on fundamental principles of digital inclusion. The high level of agreement on core objectives—supporting SMEs, reaching underserved populations, and creating enabling environments—facilitates coordinated implementation of both WSIS Action Line C7 and Global Digital Compact objectives.

The concrete commitments made by participating organisations, combined with identification of specific collaboration pathways, suggest this discussion will contribute to more effective implementation of digital inclusion initiatives. The recognition that digital transformation requires deliberate efforts to reach marginalised populations provides a clear mandate for inclusive approaches to digital development.

Success will depend on maintaining the collaborative spirit demonstrated while addressing practical challenges of scaling digital adoption, building institutional capacity, and ensuring digital transformation benefits reach those who need them most.

Radka Sibille: Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for joining us. My name is Radka Sibille, and I lead on digital issues and trade in the Universal Postal Union. It is my great pleasure to moderate today’s panel, which we co-host together with our sister agencies, the International Trade Center, UNCTAD, and in collaboration with UNIDO. Today’s discussion is going to focus on one of the action lines, the action line C7 on e-business, and we’re going to have a look at how the implementation, the facilitation of this business action line led to more inclusive digital economy, more e-commerce, and what are some of the challenges that we still need to address. And because last year, the UN has adopted another huge regulatory-related document, the Global Digital Compact, which also addresses the expansion of inclusion through e-trade, e-commerce. We’re also going to look at how the Global Digital Compact and this business action line can be cooperating together, creating more synergies and how we, as the UN system, can work together on these two objectives. So today with me, I have distinguished panelists, and I’m really glad to welcome them. So first, in my further left hand, it’s Mrs. Valentina Rolo, who is the head of research in the ITC. Welcome. Next to me is my colleague from the Universal Postal Union, Mr. Kevin Hernandez, who is our digital inclusion expert. Welcome, Kevin. Then on my right side, Mr. Torbjörn Fredriksson, who I think doesn’t need any introduction. He’s the head of e-commerce and digital economy branch in UNCTAD. Welcome. Thank you. Next to him is Mr. Jason Slater, the Chief of AI Innovation and Digital Officer in UNIDO. Very well, welcome. And last but not least, we also have a remote panelist, Mr. Laxmikanta Dash, who is the Deputy Director-General in the Ministry of Communications in the Government of India. So welcome, Mr. Dash, as well. And we will have roughly one hour. So without further ado, let’s just dive into the topic. And I will maybe start with Mrs. Valentina Rollo. And my question to you, Valentina, would be, what does meaningful digital transformation look like for small businesses and what needs to happen to make it a reality in different country contexts? Thank you.

Valentina Rollo: Thank you for the introduction. And it’s a pleasure to be here in this panel. Thank you for the question. And it’s actually a very important question. Also, given the role that actually SMEs play, they make up for more than 90% of business almost in every countries, and even more if we talk about informal business. And they actually play an important role also as social stabilizers, given that they are owned and also employ the most vulnerable. So we focus on small business at the International Trade Center. And to answer this question, we draw on the findings from the ITC flagship application that is forthcoming, the SME Competitiveness Outlook. And it’s very timely because this year it focuses on digital transformation of small business. So to actually better understand how companies, especially small business, adopt digital technologies and transform over time, actually, we launched a survey in 2023, the Digital Transformation Survey, and we covered over 7,000- companies across 78 countries. So based on this data, what we did was to develop an index at the firm level, the Enterprise Digital Transformation Index. And with this index, we gathered a lot of different elements that are related to digital transformation. And the evidence from the data is actually very clear about the benefits. Over 80% of firms that use digital tools actually reported increased in sales and reduction in cost efficiency. And the most advanced users of digital technologies that we call expert users are actually five times more likely to report growing sales and 12 times more likely to see their costs going down compared to the less advanced firms. And this is efficiency. So productivity is not only that, actually, the benefits go beyond efficiency. The expert users, those that I mentioned before, are actually twice as likely to innovate or improve their products or services quality compared to the less digitally advanced ones. Now, unfortunately, clearly, there are expert users, not expert users. So not all the companies benefits, not in the same way. And this depends on one side on their needs. Different companies have different needs. And sometimes, well, they are in different sectors, too. So just think about agriculture and services. They have different needs. They need digital technologies, but in different ways. But one important element of the extent to which actually firms are able to use digital technologies is the environment in which they operate. So the business environment. And we actually use the data from the Portland Institute, the Network Readiness Index to assess the readiness of countries and combine it with the data that we collected at the firm level to understand how these two are connected. So how adoption at the firm level and the use of these technologies is related to the digital readiness of the country they operate in. And we found that actually in digitally advanced countries, 60% of the firms are expert users. And this is three times more than in countries that are less digitally ready. And in low digitally ready countries, two and a half, large firms are two and a half times more likely to be expert users compared to small firms. And also the women-led business, the youth-led business, they also lag behind. So this is interesting to see that the difference is, but this is in countries with low digital readiness. What is interesting is the fact that these differences, these gaps almost disappear in countries that are actually digitally ready where the environment is conducive. And so this tells us two things. On one side, size and leadership matter, but it matters more when the environment is weak, where it’s lacking. So it clearly is a clear driver of gaps. But also as the technologies develop and they spread, we need to also worry that these divides that we observe today within countries and across countries do not widen, do not continue to widen. And so for this, to prevent this, some actions need to be taken. And on one side, and this brings us to the second part of your question. So what needs to happen to make digital transformation a reality for SMEs and everywhere? So at the policy level. Also, thanks to the Portland Institute Network Readiness Index, we have identified the three enablers that we see in the data for digital readiness, so infrastructure, skills, and digital regulatory frameworks. So, at the policy level, governments need to ensure that infrastructure is there for companies to be able to connect, to have access to the devices, and do so in an affordable way. So, it’s not only connecting, but it’s also affordability, both of them. Governments need to make sure that the skills are available. Not only the owners of the companies need to have the digital skills to actually understand how they can use the digital technologies in their benefit, but also have access to employees with the skills needed to help their business grow and innovate. And finally, they need a digitally friendly regulatory framework to ensure that there are no administrative and regulatory barriers to their use of digital technologies. So, in countries where these three enablers are strong, so infrastructure, skills, and regulatory frameworks, we have seen that the share of expert users is often double that in the countries where these enablers are weak. And so, we’re talking about the policy level, which is the most important, but firms do not just wait until things are solved. They operate in a day-to-day, in every type of environment. So, we’ve tried to understand, also in weak environments, what are the characteristics of the expert users of digital technologies. in the Future of Digital Technology and we have seen that they take three critical actions in a way. They actually improve their financial management. Financial management is one and this helps them as well to face the higher costs in the countries where their infrastructures and devices are not necessarily there or affordable. The second action that they do is actually they train their staff and are careful when hiring or recruiting. They do so strategically and this helps actually firms to access and to build the skills that they need internally and they engage with business support organizations and the business support organizations are very important to provide the networks, the information and the advocacy that companies need. Now these actions and at the policy level, at the firm level, so private sector, public sector that I mentioned are in the Digital Transformation Action Plan that you will find in the report, the Semi-Competitiveness Outlook that is actually about to be launched. It will be launched on the 23rd of July this month in South Africa at the ITC Ministerial. So I’ll encourage you if you’re interested to download the report on the 23rd of July and I will stop here because I’ve taken too much time. Thank you.

Radka Sibille: Thank you. Thank you so much and thanks for the heads up on the report. We will be interested in reading that. So my second question goes to my colleague Kevin Hernandez from the Universal Postal Union. Kevin, how can the postal sector actually help undeserved populations in developing countries to participate in the digital economy?

Kevin Hernandez: Thank you. Do we have the slides? Yes. Can we go to the slides? No, it’s okay. I’ll do it without the slides. So hi everyone. So many So hi everyone. So many So hi everyone. So many So hi everyone. So many So hi everyone. So many So hi everyone. So many So hi everyone. So many My name is Kevin Hernandez and I am a Digital Inclusion Expert at the Universal Postal Union, which is the United Nations specialized agency focusing on the postal sector. And today I’m just going to give you some insights on what positions the post will be an enabler for inclusive e-commerce. So let’s start by speaking about what makes the post inclusive in general. So firstly, it has an unparalleled reach. The global postal network is likely the most extensive service retail network in the world. There are over 650,000 post offices and a majority of them are located in rural areas, specifically the places where people are least likely to engage in e-commerce activities. And this reach is thanks in large part to the UPU’s universal service obligation. So all 192 members of the UPU have to designate at least one postal operator who must provide at least the most basic postal services to everyone within the country’s territory. So this incentivizes post offices to open and delivery vehicles to visit places where other service providers tend to stay away from. And this is actually one of the reasons why many e-commerce giants who have their own delivery services end up relying on the post for the last mile. And on top of that, the post is also the second largest contributor to financial inclusion in the world behind commercial banks. Specifically, posts have been shown to be extremely inclusive of women, so women are significantly more likely to have postal bank accounts than men. And we see that this inclusivity now also applies to digital services. So we recently conducted a survey and 153 countries responded, so posts from 153 countries. And we found that in these 153 countries, over 71% of posts provide e-commerce services. And I’m going to come back to this in a second. We also found that 58% provide digital services. and Mr. Kevin Hernandez. So, we have a number of countries that are providing digital financial services, and these are often a prerequisite to engage in the digital economy. We find that 51% of posts are also providing e-government services, many of which facilitate access to the digital economy as well. And 70% of countries’ posts are also providing at least one connectivity service or solution that is directly helping to bridge digital divides. And so, what makes these services inclusive? So, what makes these services inclusive is that posts are providing these services with a human touch by integrating or blending physical channels and digital channels to help reach underserved communities. So, this includes offering digital services through digitally equipped post office counters with hand-holding support from the postal staff, and also sometimes even delivery personnel who are able to provide digital services at people’s homes with a digital device. And this strategy, once again, allows people with less access to digital technology or who lack digital skills an opportunity to continue to participate in the economy as services digitalize, and also to, once again, receive hand-holding support when it is needed. So, once again, as I mentioned earlier, 71% of posts are providing some kind of e-commerce services, and this includes a wide range of e-commerce services that remove barriers for SMEs to participate in the digital economy or in e-commerce, and also support the entire e-commerce ecosystem. So, as you would expect, posts offer delivery services for e-commerce sales. So, for an example, in Uzbekistan, UZPost partners with all the major e-commerce platforms to offer multi-brand pick-up drop-off points that also provide customers with the opportunity to even try on clothing before they purchase it. And some posts even provide fulfillments and warehousing services. reaching communities that otherwise would lack them. And many posts also offer e-commerce support services. For example, Post Indonesia has launched 200 rural collaboration centers that provide SMEs with spaces for live streaming their products that allow them to engage in social selling among many other services that are provided in these collaboration centers. And posts also offer payment options that help build trust between e-commerce buyers and sellers. For example, once again, in Post Indonesia, they provide cash-on-delivery options, which is actually the payment method that is most preferred by a majority of the population. And some posts have even launched their own e-commerce platforms, and they have specifically targeted rural and women-owned SMEs and SMEs selling traditional products. For example, a good example is Correos Click by Correos de Mexico, which takes this approach. And lastly, many posts facilitate SME exports, including cross-border e-commerce sales. And we’re very fortunate today that we have a leading example on this panel, which is India Post Office Export Centers, which Mr. Dash will cover in his presentation. And just to let you know how the UPU supports posts in further facilitating inclusive e-commerce, the UPU supports governments and postal operators to leverage their infrastructure for inclusive e-commerce in three main ways. So firstly, our Connect.post project aims to connect all post offices and all postal infrastructure to the Internet to make the offering of e-commerce through the post possible in the first place. Secondly, our Trade.post project helps these actors diversify into e-commerce services. And this is done through technical assistance, including capacity building, advisory services, assessments, and assistance in implementation of these services. And of course, we advocate for greater use of e-commerce. of the Post and E-commerce through the Trade Post Forum and the Trade Post Awards and also through our research. And we also have an upcoming report which we are calling the Digital Panorama Report. And this focuses on the post role and facilitating inclusive digital transformations. And it’s, yeah, I’ll end there. Thank you.

Radka Sibille: Thank you so much Kevin for this deep dive into how post offices serve oftentimes as lifelines in their communities. My next question would be to my neighbor on my right, Torbjörn from UNCTAD, how can the UN agencies and other WSIS stakeholders support women to become more successful as entrepreneurs in the digital economy? For instance, to improve their access to finance, services, capacity building or policymaking spaces. Thank you.

Torbjorn Fredriksson: Thank you Radka and thanks colleagues on the panel. And hello everyone. Let me start by just noting that beyond co-facilitating this action line on e-business together with ITC and UPU, we’re also co-leading together with UNIDO and the objective two of the global digital compact. And that’s why we thought it was very useful to connect the dots a little bit here between the action line perspective and the GDC perspective. The second objective of the GDC, as you know, is the question of how do we make the digital economy more inclusive? And I think already we have listened to the issue of inclusiveness from the perspective of the countries that are more digitally ready and the ones that are less digitally ready. We have heard about the challenges for small businesses compact with larger businesses. And UPU also touched upon the question of rural and urban perspectives. So Radka kindly advised me to talk about women. So thank you for that. Let’s just reflect upon what does it say in the global digital compact under this objective with regard to this aspect. So it says in paragraph 21 that member states commit to foster innovation and entrepreneurship including among women, youth and other underrepresented entrepreneurs with the goal of increasing the number of digital startups and MSMEs in developing countries and to facilitate their access to markets through the use of digital technologies. There’s a strong focus there on the women’s side. So what do we know about gender inclusion in this area, innovation and entrepreneurship? Not too much, I must say. There is actually quite limited data in this area. Any systematic data is very limited. However, there is some anecdotal evidence that we can look at and I’m afraid that the picture that comes across is quite similar across these different anecdotal data. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, only one in 16 women own an established enterprise compared with one in every 10 men. In Africa, one survey found that only 17 percent of 2,600 tech startups had at least one female co-founder. That means that 83 percent did not. In Southeast Asia, startups with at least one female founder have been found to raise 18 percent of all the private capital secured in 2023. So generally, tech startups and entrepreneurship in the digital economy remains a largely male-dominated area and there is really no reason why that should be the case. There are many reasons for this situation. There are societal biases, there are cultural norms that have held back women from becoming entrepreneurs or succeeding as entrepreneurs, there has been a lack of role models, especially in such a new area as digital, and there is often limited access to capital for these women. To achieve inclusiveness, women should really be represented in a much bigger way and in a more equal way. So the question is, what can the UN do? What can we do as ANKTA? What we have done so far is that we, in 2019, we created an initiative called E-Trade for Women. In short, its objective is to support women digital entrepreneurs from developing countries to help them thrive as business leaders and to emerge as an influential voice in the public policy debate. If there are very few women that are advocating for changes that are good for women entrepreneurship, there will be few policy changes that are good for women entrepreneurship. We are implementing this initiative in close collaboration with many other parts of the UN and beyond, including regional commissions like ECA, ECLAC, ESCWA, and we have worked very closely with ITC and WIPO. And there is also an organization in Southeast Asia called ERIA that has been working very closely with us specifically in the Southeast Asia and South Asia region. So far, we have worked together with 450 women digital entrepreneurs, founders of such companies in 65 developing countries. What do we do? Well, we organize regional masterclasses led by an E-Trade for Women advocate, and the next one we will hold will be in the Philippines later this year, and next year we will hold two such masterclasses in Africa. We organize community activities among those that have been participating in masterclasses to facilitate networking, skills development, and to foster solutions to address the barriers that they are facing. And we are organizing advocacy opportunities to give the women digital entrepreneurs that really know the challenges that they are facing and the things they would like to have made different from the policy makers, meet the policy makers at the global level, at the regional level, and in their own way. countries. So as we move forward, both with the next period of WSIS implementation related to this action line and with the implementation of the Global Digital Compact, we need to become better at connecting the dots to enable more women to harness the digital economy as entrepreneurs. So in this context, we really need to look for every opportunity to join forces, to reap synergies and avoid duplication. The challenge that we’re facing is to scale up and to do it effectively.

Radka Sibille: Thank you. Thank you so much, Torbjörn. And now after hearing from three agencies already, we thought it would be a good opportunity to hear also from a member state, to hear some of the examples of improving digital inclusion. And so for this, I would like to give the floor to Mr. Dash, the Deputy Director General in the Ministry of Communications of India, who is our remote panelist. Mr. Dash, could you please let us know how India has improved digital inclusion for micro enterprises, MSMEs, women, and how do you envisage the future, for example, through the postal system? Thank you very much. You have the floor.

Lakshmikanta Dash: Good afternoon, everyone. I think good morning for the place that you are attending. I am indeed very happy to be associated with this particular initiative wherein I got a chance to present about the micro perspective that we are going to talk about in this session. And the point that has been given to me is basically speaking about how India has improved its digital inclusion for micro enterprises, SMEs, and the women workforce. And I must say it has been a success story for India with a population of almost 101.4 billion. The fact that any change which is required to be and Mr. Siddharth Mukherjee. The government of today and the previous governments have taken a lot of efforts to see that the benefits of this inclusion, the benefits of this technology introduction has gone to the last mile. To address this very specific issue of digital inclusion, I would like to inform the House that the government has come up with a lot of initiatives which has helped the women workforce and one of them would be to basically focus on the financial inclusion initiatives wherein the unbanked population has been brought under the ambit of banking. The unserved and the underserved population has been brought under some sort of financial septicnet which would provide them to take informed decisions which would be economically viable and in this connection what is known as the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana. We call yojanas are basically plans in the local language and this, the Prime Minister’s initiative of bringing everybody under the ambit of banking has gone a long way and in India what is known as this Jan Dhan Aadhaar and mobile, basically the initiative of the government to provide financial inclusion, the initiative of the government to provide some sort of national identity and to see that everybody gets to do it at their fingertips through the mobile penetration. These things have, this trinity of Jan Dhan Aadhaar and mobile, it has gone a very long way in promoting the rural business and this is basically one of the key drivers of growth in India, part of India’s stack as we popularly know. This national identity program, I would like to And government has come up with a very ambitious plan of what is known as National Rural Livelihood Mission. Through which it is emphasized that the women workforce gets to have prominence in transacting business of various kinds. India for all you know produces a lot of handicrafts. And the postal channel through its 1,000 export promotion centers, which we locally call as Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra. This is a local name. The English translation goes as the export. and Ms. Vandana Shrivastava from the Department of Post. We ensure that these items find places to the overseas market through the post office. And that way, it basically helps the women workforce who are essentially into handicrafts of various descriptions, that is into, say, incense stick manufacturing, handicrafts and so many other things, they get a very clean passage through the India Post. So that way, the department also joins hands with the government of the day to provide financial inclusion services through the post office savings banks accounts of various types. It has got banking facilities for the small girl children who are between 2 to 10 years of age. It provides basic savings bank facilities. And through the export promotion centers, we tend to give services to the rural masses to promote their business. So these are some of the ways in which the department ensures that the local population who are slightly away from the technical hustle bustles, they also get to have their hands laid on the business parameters, business prospects, which they can benefit from. So to sum up, I would like to inform the audience here that the policies of the government is in sync with the aspirations of the people to see that we are in a position to provide them with the basic technical facilities, which will help them project business of various descriptions. And India Post with its large scale presence through the nook and corner of the country ensures that we provide them a lending hand to support their business in all forms that they can envisage. So that basically brings to the end of my small description on this matter. and I’ll be available here for any questions that you may have. Thank you very much for your patient hearing.

Radka Sibille: Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Desh. It’s always very refreshing to hear concrete examples from the country. So thanks so much for this. And now I give the floor to our last panelist, Mr. Jason Slater from UNIDO. And as was already mentioned, UNIDO is co-leading the implementation of the Objective 2 of the Global Digital Compact, which is about expanding inclusion and benefits from the digital economy for all. So how would you envisage the alignment between this objective and the e-business business action line? And so that, you know, everybody can contribute to an inclusive digital economy in the future.

Jason Slater: Thank you. Thank you very much, Radka. And let me take this opportunity also to thank the co-chairs from UNSER, both Torbjörn and in particular Thomas here to my right. I’m the chief AI innovation digital officer at UNIDO. I’m roughly around three months into this job. And when I started it, I had no clue what I was supposed to do in terms of the GDC, let alone WSIS line action seven. So please bear with me. I’m three months into this. I think I’m learning very, very fast, especially thanks to our colleagues in UNSER. So and I think I’d just like to underline the points that Torbjörn made before in terms of, you know, where we are right now with the Global Digital Compact and initiatives such as WSIS, also what’s going on in parallel for AI for good. It’s absolutely imperative that we do look to find those synergies between those various initiatives, not only to learn from that, but also to see how we can try to do something, perhaps slightly differently going forward, especially when you start to look at where we are in terms of the SDGs. You know, 17 percent of the SDGs of the 169 targets are currently on track. And around 59 of these could be negatively affected through data privacy, job displacement, carbon emissions, et cetera. However, AI digitalization can positively impact these around 134 of these targets. So it’s clear. through initiatives like the GDC, we have a good opportunity to see how, frankly, we can speed up some of those implementations of the SDGs and how it leads into some of the specific objectives of GDC. So, the GDC objective number two, for those who do not know, is focusing on expanding inclusive and benefits from the digital economy for all. It calls for enabling policy, regulatory frameworks, inclusive digital markets, supporting MSMEs, etc. Our colleague just then from India, I learned something recently, there are 62 million SMEs in India alone. That’s more than there are people in the country I’m from in UK. That’s incredible. So, it’s quite a task that we have to bring all of that together to ensure inclusivity as part of the GDC. In addition to that, we see that the Action Line C7 on e-business, which has been in operation now for two decades, we’re here to celebrate 20 years of WSIS going forward. And this is primarily about digital opportunities for businesses, especially SMEs through ICT applications, how can we enhance productivity, facilitate e-commerce growth, etc. There are clearly alignments between the two initiatives, one being how can we empower SMEs and particularly their local innovation ecosystems. One of the things I’m pleased to say that through the GDC roadmap, particularly in objective number two, we have what we refer to a multi-track approach. And one of them is really specifically about how can we engage with the SME community when it comes to calls for solutions. So, if I may, using this event to actually announce another one on Thursday, we will be announcing a call for action under the Global Digital Combat, under objective number two, to see what solutions are out there. How can we as a UN community actively promote in terms of thought leadership, how can we tell the good stories of what’s going on, how can we build up partnerships, whether that be from the North to the South, the South-South amongst countries, etc., and most importantly in terms of PPP, so public and private sector partnerships, so that we can build up those ecosystems. And ultimately, how can we then bring them into some of our own joint projects and programming so that we can actually implement those solutions and actually achieve the GDC? So those are some of the initiatives that we are working on. As I said, I would just really use this opportunity to you as our partners in this initiative, in this call, to support us to see that we can ultimately achieve the GDC, particularly in the area of the inclusive digital economy. So very briefly, in conclusion, it’s clear there is a shared vision in terms of inclusive digital transformation. There is an alignment between both digital economy and Action Line C7. It’s not only conceptual, but now we’re becoming operational. As Torben mentioned before, it is now time, I think especially what’s going on UNGA80, that we as a community demonstrate clear, actionable solutions together. So with that, thank you very much and back over to you.

Radka Sibille: Thank you. Thank you so much, Jason. So we have now concluded the presentations from our panelists and we can enjoy the last 20 minutes for any questions and comments. I’m sure there will be a lot of them. So I now open the floor for anybody who would like to ask or comment on the issues that we discussed. Yes, please. Gentleman over there. Thank you.

Audience: This is Ahmed from Oman and at the beginning, thank you very much for all the panelists and for the moderator. My question is, or before my question, in my country, we have a national program for our digital economy. It’s launched in 2020. It’s approved by the cabinet. This program, we aim to, in general, to increase the contribution of digital economy in the national GDP. And that’s why we aim to update it and to revamp it every five years, because you know how is digital economy. And now we are planning to put our plan for 2026 till 2030. Now I want to know from your lesson learned from your background, from your experience, what we should take care of, what we should put in the plan, what’s the enablers, what’s the infrastructure we should focus on it, so we will not miss anything during the next five years. And we’re sure that we have inclusive digital economy. Thank you very much.

Radka Sibille: Thank you. Thank you so much. Yes, Torbjörn, would you like to take this question?

Torbjorn Fredriksson: Thanks very much for that question. And it’s a very good one, because I think if you want to have an inclusive digital economy, you have to address so many different aspects. And I think various representatives here on the panel will be excellently positioned to support Oman and other countries in many different areas in the best way possible. And in order to support Oman in order to say exactly what you should do for the next five years, one needs to have a very careful analysis where you are today. And there is no blueprint that every country can apply. I’ll just give an example. We have conducted what we call e-trade readiness assessments now for 40 countries, 40 developing countries, from Lesotho in Africa to what we’re now doing with Indonesia, G20 country. And the issues are different. They are the same, but they are different. As pointed out by Valentina, the broad policy areas are the same. But what to do about them at this very point in time for Oman or for another country will vary. So if Oman would like to and Ms. Maria Moczko. Welcome to the World Economic Forum. Thank you for joining us. We are so glad that you are here. We are so happy to have you here. I think that we are going to start off by asking you to engage with us or with any of our colleagues here. That would be the first step to let’s sit down and have a chat, what you really want to achieve. What can we do to support you in that process? Maybe we can even do it together, depending on the issues that arise. It’s upon you because you are a member state of all these organizations. But sometimes we live in silos in the governments because we have different ministries that are actively taking part in different international organizations. But for the sake of digital development, digital transformation, one needs to break down those silos and work across the government ministries. And that means that you may also need to work with different parts of the UN and other international organizations. We’d be very happy to have a dialogue with you on that. But rather than me suggesting you should do this or that, it doesn’t really help you. We really need to do the assessment first to make sure where you are and where you want to go. That would be a short answer. If I may just take one more minute, you know, here at the WSIS, we are very much focused on multi-stakeholder collaboration. Of course, here in e-business, the business side is very important. But what is so essential is that when we talk about the private sector participation in WSIS, that we don’t just think about the biggest firms. We need to get the smaller firms at the table. We need to have women-led businesses. And we need to have small business from developing countries also at the table. And this is also some of the challenges that we need to address more fundamentally. If multi-stakeholderism should work in practice, we need to ensure that. We can do that on the countryside, in regional development, but also in these kind of global events. We need to have that small business, the women-led business and other businesses represented.

Radka Sibille: Thank you. And thanks for pointing out to the importance of the first assessment as a first step. And just to say that, including the UPU, we have always worked together with other agencies to do this type of holistic assessment. for countries. So please contact us whenever you need any help. Anybody else would like to take the floor?

Audience: Yes, please. Thank you very much, Marco Llinás from ECLAC. At ECLAC, we’re actually very worried that on the low level of technology adoption in our region, over 96% of micro and small size firms in Latin America don’t even have a web page. So if that’s the level of adoption of mature technology such as internet, we can imagine what are the levels of adoption of emerging technologies such as AI and internet of things and others. So we’re actually calling for the need to scale up digital extension services to support firms to adopt technologies. Valentina was talking about the need to engage with support organizations, but there we have a challenge of scaling up those efforts. So I don’t know what will be kind of like your views on how to address that challenge of scaling up support services to facilitate the adoption of technologies from firms, not only in Latin America, but around the world.

Radka Sibille: Valentina, would you like to take that?

Valentina Rollo: Thank you for the question,and it’s actually a very important one. At the International Trade Center, we actually work withBSOs, and we’ve been business support organizations of different types, from exports to chambers of commerce or sector associations. So there are many types of business support organizations. And we also talk to business, and it is interesting because also in this case, in this particular case of this publication, we talk to business to better understand what helped them to either use digital technologies or to be able to get to the next step, which is actually exporting through also digital technologies. And some of them actually told us that they were able to do so only thanks to the support of the business support organizations. But when they started, they didn’t even know where to go. So your question is very relevant, because sometimes they don’t know that these organizations exist, or they don’t know what kind of support they can get from them. And in the beginning, the fear also to be part of an organization can be a challenge. So there are different ways. And what I’ve seen and what What we have seen, and of course in different countries it will be different, and in different sectors it will be different, because the different sectors also cooperate in different ways, but the cooperatives work very well. And that’s probably a first step, because that’s where the business at least start talking to each other. And when business talk to each other, actually they get some of the information that they need. So one of the business actually told us that she was able to connect and get the support from the business organization, thanks to a WhatsApp group that they built among business, and where they were sharing the information, so what kind of grants were available, what kind of support, what programs. And so being able to, the sector associations are able, first of all, to bring them together, to bring their companies together. And then there are of course more advanced types of business support organizations, so not every business will be part of a trade promotion organization, because not actually a very minority of small business trade in the first place. So I think it’s a step-by-step approach, but in your region I’ve seen a lot of cooperatives working very well, so I will definitely, it looks like a very first step to go into then more advanced types of business support organizations. Can I also add one thing? What we’ve also seen is that business support organizations need support, because if they want to provide services for companies to transform digitally, they need support in developing these types of services, and not all business support organizations have these services or the knowledge to provide these services. So that’s the other side as well of the question. So from the government side, it’s important to support these business support organizations, to then better support the business. And I will stop here.

Radka Sibille: Thank you. Jason, you wanted to also…

Jason Slater: Yeah, I will be brief, because it links to both questions actually also, because I met with some representatives from Oman a few weeks ago, and we had the same conversation about industrial policy digitalization, as Torben mentioned, but then what specific programs can you bring in? In Peru, you have 7,000 textile workers that are just completely disconnected, and they’re reaching out to us to see how we can establish a center of excellence. So as my colleague pointed out from ITC, you need to think of the sector, if it’s Ethiopia, it’s leather, it’s coffee. If you’re looking at South Africa, it could well be automotive. If you start to look at areas within Latin America, it goes more towards the textile. So what we found is a very useful tool to do is to create a center of excellence. Again, this PPP approach, where you bring in the private sector to showcase the technology, to increase the digital adoption, but importantly as well, the skills that are necessary. So in some cases, you’re just literally looking at what is the platform that I can showcase through. And as an individual textile worker in Peru, that’s probably not going to be the most efficient, but create a platform where they can come together as an association, as a cooperative, something that I know has worked very well, in particular in Ethiopia with coffee. So that’s one thing I just wanted to mention is this COE-based approach around digital economy, smart manufacturing, et cetera, where you go through a very, very clear stage-based approach has proven to be quite effective. We’ve got around 10 or so already opened up globally in all of the various regions. So happy to share with you more detail if we can help there. Yeah.

Radka Sibille: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Any other questions? Yes, please. Gentleman in the back. Yes.

Audience: Thank you. I’m Nigel Casimir from the Caribbean Telecommunications Union. I just wanted to give a small island developing states perspective on that question about driving adoption. And we in the Caribbean see the same sort of effect, you know, low adoption by small businesses and so on. And from the work that we’ve done, we are an intergovernmental organization. And what we’ve done in multiple islands across the Caribbean is help governments do national ICT plans, part of which, to make it a success, is to push adoption. And in small countries, you will also find that governments might be the largest employer, right? And sometimes it’s also appropriate for us to say that governments must lead in cases like that if they want to drive adoption. And how can they do so? They can do so by driving government services online, for example, enhancing the ease of doing business using digital tools. So you kind of give incentives to businesses, small and large, to start using the technology to get through all their government relief. whether or not there’s any sort of framework for a governance for any country or let’s say community trying to build a digital economy. So as you start to build a digital economy, what forms of governance are in place to determine whether you’re actually accomplishing what it is that you want to accomplish?

Radka Sibille: Yes, please, Torbjörn.

Torbjorn Fredriksson: I mean, first, thanks so much for that question. It’s a very good one. In fact, one of the things that we’ve come across through the work we do with member states is related to the challenge of governing a digital economy. I mean, governing anything is challenging. But what we’re doing here, we’re trying to go from an analog system to a digital system. And it doesn’t work exactly in the same way. And the governance issues appear at different levels, from communities to municipalities, to regions, to the national level, and sometimes the federal level in big economies. So you need to think through that very carefully. And I don’t think there is one, again, no blueprint for this. I mean, you need good governance to start with, and whatever that means. I mean, you need people that understand the issues, you need a clear division of labor, who is responsible for what, but without having silos so that you can actually communicate with each other. And what has happened when we are advising countries specifically on e-commerce, digital trade, and the economic dimension of digitalization, bringing together the relevant parts at the national level. at the national level, the ministries together in one group that is shared by one part, typically in our case, the Minister of Trade or the Minister of Digital, so that they know each other and they agree together in order for us to go from A to B over a certain time period. This ministry is responsible for that aspect and this ministry for that and also identifying the individuals. One way to help implement the changes that the government at whatever level agrees to implement over a certain period, we have also developed something we called an E-Trade Reform Tracker, so that we can have a digital tool to help the different parts of the government to come together and see exactly who is doing what they have agreed to and who is not. So that the leadership of this coordinating committee or the E-Commerce Committee or the Digital Transformation Committee can be called anything, but the point is that it’s clearly identified that we need to work together in order to make progress. Just having fantastic connectivity, for example, will not do the trick. Take the case of Rwanda, which has 97% 4G coverage of the population, a bit more than 20% of the people are using the internet, but less than 5% in the latest numbers, maybe it’s up to 10 now, but still very much lower, are buying things online. So it takes more and we need to have the different jigsaw pieces of the puzzle come together to really get the full impact from what digital can do. And that is one of the most challenging things for the government and for us as international organizations as well to work smoothly, so we also don’t end up in silos, just helping one ministry or one type of stakeholder. This is a big challenge.

Radka Sibille: Thank you. I think we have maybe time for one last question or one last comment. I don’t know if there are any anybody’s asking online. No. If not, then maybe let me just briefly wrap up. This was really an excellent discussion. Thank you so much to all the panelists. Thank you so much for the recommendations about the need for having the infrastructure in place, the skills, and also the policy framework. There was also the importance of having assessments to be done so that we know where we stand and where we want to go. We also heard about the need to go the extra mile to reach even the people who are not always the easiest ones to reach, the ones in rural areas, marginalized populations, sometimes also women entrepreneurs, small businesses. And finally, there was a strong call for cooperation, peer-to-peer experience. including among those MSMEs themselves, and also within our own UN family, and we are trying to do that, and we will do that even as we go to WSIS Beyond 20. So, thank you so much for this discussion and I’ll see you around during the WSIS week. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Agreement points

Postal systems serve as crucial infrastructure for digital inclusion, particularly in underserved areas

Speakers

– Kevin Hernandez
– Lakshmikanta Dash

Arguments

The global postal network with over 650,000 post offices is the most extensive service retail network, with majority located in rural areas

India Post’s 1,000 export promotion centers help women workforce in handicrafts access overseas markets

Post offices provide banking facilities and export promotion services to rural populations away from technical infrastructure

Summary

Both speakers emphasize the postal system’s unique position in reaching rural and underserved populations, providing essential digital and financial services where other infrastructure is lacking

Topics

Digital access | Inclusive finance | E-commerce and Digital Trade

Business support organizations and intermediary institutions need capacity building to effectively support digital transformation

Speakers

– Valentina Rollo
– Jason Slater

Arguments

Business support organizations need support themselves to develop digital transformation services for companies

Center of excellence approach with public-private partnerships has proven effective for sector-specific digital adoption

Summary

Both speakers recognize that intermediary organizations require strengthening and support to effectively facilitate digital transformation among small businesses

Topics

Capacity development | Digital business models

Government leadership and coordination is essential for successful digital transformation

Speakers

– Torbjorn Fredriksson
– Audience
– Lakshmikanta Dash

Arguments

Countries need careful analysis of current digital readiness before developing five-year digital economy plans

Governments should lead digital adoption by driving government services online and enhancing ease of doing business

India’s trinity of Jan Dhan (financial inclusion), Aadhaar (national identity), and mobile penetration has been key to promoting rural business

Summary

Multiple speakers agree that governments must take a leading role in digital transformation through strategic planning, service digitization, and coordinated policy implementation

Topics

Data governance | Digital access | Digital identities

Women’s participation in digital economy requires targeted support and specific interventions

Speakers

– Torbjorn Fredriksson
– Lakshmikanta Dash
– Radka Sibille

Arguments

Multi-stakeholder collaboration must include smaller firms, women-led businesses, and small businesses from developing countries

India Post’s 1,000 export promotion centers help women workforce in handicrafts access overseas markets

National Rural Livelihood Mission emphasizes women workforce prominence in various business transactions

Meaningful digital transformation requires going the extra mile to reach marginalized populations including rural areas, women entrepreneurs, and small businesses

Summary

Speakers consistently emphasize the need for deliberate efforts to include women in digital transformation initiatives, recognizing them as an underserved group requiring specific support mechanisms

Topics

Gender rights online | Digital business models | E-commerce and Digital Trade

Similar viewpoints

Both recognize the challenges small businesses face in digital adoption and the importance of peer-to-peer networks and collaborative approaches to overcome these barriers

Speakers

– Valentina Rollo
– Audience

Arguments

Cooperatives work well as first step for businesses to connect and share information about available support and programs

Over 96% of micro and small firms in Latin America don’t have a web page, indicating low adoption of mature technologies

Topics

Digital business models | Digital access

Both emphasize the critical importance of evidence-based approaches to digital transformation, starting with thorough assessments of current conditions before developing strategies

Speakers

– Torbjorn Fredriksson
– Radka Sibille

Arguments

Countries need careful analysis of current digital readiness before developing five-year digital economy plans

Assessments are crucial first steps to understand current digital readiness before developing transformation strategies

Topics

Digital access | Data governance

Both advocate for hybrid approaches that combine digital capabilities with human support and physical infrastructure to ensure inclusive access to digital services

Speakers

– Kevin Hernandez
– Jason Slater

Arguments

Posts provide services with human touch by integrating physical and digital channels to help underserved communities

Center of excellence approach with public-private partnerships has proven effective for sector-specific digital adoption

Topics

Digital access | Capacity development

Unexpected consensus

Postal services as digital transformation enablers

Speakers

– Kevin Hernandez
– Lakshmikanta Dash
– Radka Sibille

Arguments

71% of posts in 153 countries provide e-commerce services, 58% provide digital financial services, and 70% provide connectivity solutions

India Post’s 1,000 export promotion centers help women workforce in handicrafts access overseas markets

UN agencies need to work together on digital inclusion objectives to avoid silos and create actionable synergies

Explanation

The strong consensus on postal services as key digital inclusion infrastructure is unexpected given that postal systems are often viewed as traditional, analog services. The recognition of their digital transformation potential across multiple speakers suggests a paradigm shift in how postal infrastructure is perceived in the digital age

Topics

Digital access | E-commerce and Digital Trade | Inclusive finance

Need for sector-specific approaches to digital transformation

Speakers

– Valentina Rollo
– Jason Slater
– Audience

Arguments

Business support organizations need support themselves to develop digital transformation services for companies

Center of excellence approach with public-private partnerships has proven effective for sector-specific digital adoption

Over 96% of micro and small firms in Latin America don’t have a web page, indicating low adoption of mature technologies

Explanation

The consensus on sector-specific approaches rather than one-size-fits-all solutions is unexpected in a global policy forum where universal approaches are often preferred. This suggests a maturation in understanding of digital transformation complexity

Topics

Digital business models | Capacity development | Digital access

Overall assessment

Summary

Strong consensus emerged around the need for inclusive approaches to digital transformation, the importance of intermediary institutions, government leadership, and targeted support for underserved populations including women and rural communities

Consensus level

High level of consensus with complementary rather than conflicting viewpoints. The agreement suggests a mature understanding of digital inclusion challenges and the need for multi-stakeholder, coordinated approaches. This consensus has positive implications for policy implementation as it indicates alignment among key UN agencies and member states on fundamental principles and approaches to digital transformation.

Different viewpoints

Unexpected differences

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion showed remarkably high consensus among speakers on fundamental principles of digital inclusion, with no direct disagreements identified. The main variations were in emphasis and approach rather than conflicting viewpoints.

Disagreement level

Very low disagreement level. All speakers aligned on core objectives of inclusive digital transformation, supporting SMEs, and reaching underserved populations. The few partial agreements reflected complementary rather than conflicting approaches, suggesting a mature consensus on digital inclusion strategies among UN agencies and member states. This high level of agreement facilitates coordinated implementation of both WSIS Action Line C7 and Global Digital Compact objectives.

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both recognize the challenges small businesses face in digital adoption and the importance of peer-to-peer networks and collaborative approaches to overcome these barriers

Speakers

– Valentina Rollo
– Audience

Arguments

Cooperatives work well as first step for businesses to connect and share information about available support and programs

Over 96% of micro and small firms in Latin America don’t have a web page, indicating low adoption of mature technologies

Topics

Digital business models | Digital access

Both emphasize the critical importance of evidence-based approaches to digital transformation, starting with thorough assessments of current conditions before developing strategies

Speakers

– Torbjorn Fredriksson
– Radka Sibille

Arguments

Countries need careful analysis of current digital readiness before developing five-year digital economy plans

Assessments are crucial first steps to understand current digital readiness before developing transformation strategies

Topics

Digital access | Data governance

Both advocate for hybrid approaches that combine digital capabilities with human support and physical infrastructure to ensure inclusive access to digital services

Speakers

– Kevin Hernandez
– Jason Slater

Arguments

Posts provide services with human touch by integrating physical and digital channels to help underserved communities

Center of excellence approach with public-private partnerships has proven effective for sector-specific digital adoption

Topics

Digital access | Capacity development

Key takeaways

Digital transformation significantly benefits small businesses, with expert users being 5x more likely to report growing sales and 12x more likely to see cost reductions compared to less advanced firms

Three critical enablers for digital readiness are infrastructure, skills, and digital regulatory frameworks – countries strong in these areas have double the share of expert digital users

The postal sector serves as a crucial bridge for digital inclusion, with 71% of posts in 153 countries providing e-commerce services and reaching underserved rural populations through human-touch service delivery

Women remain significantly underrepresented in digital entrepreneurship, with only 1 in 16 women owning established enterprises compared to 1 in 10 men, and only 17% of African tech startups having female co-founders

India’s trinity approach of financial inclusion (Jan Dhan), national identity (Aadhaar), and mobile penetration has successfully promoted rural business development and women’s workforce participation

The Global Digital Compact Objective 2 and WSIS Action Line C7 are moving from conceptual alignment to operational collaboration, with AI and digitalization potentially impacting 134 of 169 SDG targets positively

Scaling digital adoption requires sector-specific approaches, with cooperatives and business support organizations serving as effective intermediaries, though these organizations themselves need capacity building support

Effective digital economy governance requires breaking down silos between government ministries and establishing clear coordination mechanisms with defined responsibilities and monitoring tools

Resolutions and action items

UNIDO announced a call for action under Global Digital Compact Objective 2 to be launched on Thursday following the panel discussion

ITC’s SME Competitiveness Outlook report focusing on digital transformation to be launched on July 23rd in South Africa

UPU’s Digital Panorama Report on the post’s role in facilitating inclusive digital transformations is upcoming

UNCTAD to hold next E-Trade for Women masterclass in Philippines later in the year, with two masterclasses planned for Africa the following year

Panelists committed to supporting member states like Oman through collaborative assessments and technical assistance for digital economy planning

UN agencies agreed to continue breaking down silos and work together on WSIS Beyond 20 implementation and Global Digital Compact objectives

Unresolved issues

How to effectively scale up digital extension services and business support organizations to reach the 96% of micro and small firms in Latin America that lack basic web presence

Specific governance frameworks and monitoring mechanisms needed for countries developing digital economy strategies, particularly for small island developing states

Methods to ensure meaningful participation of small businesses, women-led enterprises, and developing country firms in global multi-stakeholder processes

Strategies to address the persistent gender gap in digital entrepreneurship and access to capital for women-led tech startups

How to balance the need for country-specific approaches with the desire for scalable, replicable solutions across different development contexts

Mechanisms to ensure business support organizations receive adequate capacity building to provide digital transformation services to their members

Suggested compromises

Step-by-step approach starting with cooperatives and sector associations before moving to more advanced business support organizations

Multi-track approach under Global Digital Compact that accommodates different levels of digital readiness and country contexts

Blended physical-digital service delivery model through postal networks to bridge digital divides while building digital capacity

Public-private partnership model for centers of excellence that brings together government support with private sector technology showcase and skills development

Coordinated UN agency approach that leverages different organizational strengths while avoiding duplication and working across traditional silos

We found that actually in digitally advanced countries, 60% of the firms are expert users. And this is three times more than in countries that are less digitally ready. And in low digitally ready countries, two and a half, large firms are two and a half times more likely to be expert users compared to small firms… What is interesting is the fact that these differences, these gaps almost disappear in countries that are actually digitally ready where the environment is conducive.

Speaker

Valentina Rollo

Reason

This comment is deeply insightful because it reveals a counterintuitive finding that challenges assumptions about digital divides. Rather than being an inherent characteristic of firm size or leadership, the digital gap is largely a function of the enabling environment. This reframes the problem from individual firm capacity to systemic policy issues.

Impact

This observation fundamentally shifted the discussion from focusing on individual business characteristics to emphasizing the critical role of government policy and infrastructure. It established the foundation for subsequent speakers to address policy frameworks, with Torbjörn later emphasizing the need for coordinated government action and Jason discussing the importance of creating enabling ecosystems.

The global postal network is likely the most extensive service retail network in the world. There are over 650,000 post offices and a majority of them are located in rural areas, specifically the places where people are least likely to engage in e-commerce activities… posts have been shown to be extremely inclusive of women, so women are significantly more likely to have postal bank accounts than men.

Speaker

Kevin Hernandez

Reason

This comment is thought-provoking because it reframes postal services from a traditional, potentially obsolete infrastructure to a cutting-edge solution for digital inclusion. The insight about women’s higher participation in postal banking services reveals an unexpected pathway to gender inclusion in the digital economy.

Impact

This comment introduced a completely new dimension to the discussion about digital inclusion infrastructure. It demonstrated how existing, traditional networks could be leveraged for modern digital challenges, influencing later discussions about the importance of building on existing assets rather than creating entirely new systems.

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, only one in 16 women own an established enterprise compared with one in every 10 men. In Africa, one survey found that only 17 percent of 2,600 tech startups had at least one female co-founder… If there are very few women that are advocating for changes that are good for women entrepreneurship, there will be few policy changes that are good for women entrepreneurship.

Speaker

Torbjörn Fredriksson

Reason

This comment is particularly insightful because it identifies a systemic feedback loop: the underrepresentation of women in digital entrepreneurship creates a policy advocacy gap, which perpetuates the very conditions that limit women’s participation. This circular causation insight goes beyond simple statistics to reveal structural barriers.

Impact

This observation elevated the discussion from addressing symptoms to understanding root causes of gender inequality in digital entrepreneurship. It influenced the conversation to focus on the need for deliberate intervention and representation, with Jason later emphasizing the importance of actively seeking out diverse voices in solution development.

17 percent of the SDGs of the 169 targets are currently on track. And around 59 of these could be negatively affected through data privacy, job displacement, carbon emissions, et cetera. However, AI digitalization can positively impact these around 134 of these targets.

Speaker

Jason Slater

Reason

This comment is thought-provoking because it quantifies both the risks and opportunities of digital transformation in relation to global development goals. It provides a stark reality check about current progress while simultaneously highlighting the transformative potential of digital technologies when properly implemented.

Impact

This statistical framing created urgency in the discussion and reinforced the importance of the panel’s work. It connected the technical discussions about digital inclusion to broader global development challenges, elevating the stakes and emphasizing why getting digital inclusion right is crucial for achieving the SDGs.

Over 96% of micro and small size firms in Latin America don’t even have a web page. So if that’s the level of adoption of mature technology such as internet, we can imagine what are the levels of adoption of emerging technologies such as AI and internet of things and others.

Speaker

Marco Llinás (ECLAC)

Reason

This comment is insightful because it provides a sobering reality check that challenges the assumption that businesses are ready for advanced digital solutions. It highlights the massive gap between policy discussions about AI and IoT and the basic digital reality facing most small businesses.

Impact

This intervention grounded the discussion in practical reality and shifted focus toward the fundamental challenge of scaling basic digital adoption. It prompted responses about the need for step-by-step approaches, business support organizations, and centers of excellence, making the conversation more concrete and actionable.

Overall assessment

These key comments fundamentally shaped the discussion by challenging assumptions and introducing systemic perspectives. Valentina’s insight about environmental factors reframed digital divides as policy problems rather than inherent business characteristics. Kevin’s postal network observation demonstrated how traditional infrastructure could address modern inclusion challenges. Torbjörn’s analysis of the women entrepreneurship feedback loop revealed structural barriers requiring deliberate intervention. Jason’s SDG statistics created urgency and elevated the stakes. Marco’s reality check about basic digital adoption grounded the discussion in practical challenges. Together, these comments moved the conversation from surface-level solutions to deeper structural analysis, emphasizing the need for coordinated, multi-stakeholder approaches that address both immediate practical needs and long-term systemic barriers to digital inclusion.

How can we scale up digital extension services to support firms in adopting technologies, particularly for the 96% of micro and small firms in Latin America that don’t even have a web page?

Speaker

Marco Llinás from ECLAC

Explanation

This addresses a critical gap in technology adoption among small businesses and the challenge of providing adequate support services at scale

What specific enablers, infrastructure, and policy elements should be included in Oman’s national digital economy plan for 2026-2030 to ensure inclusive digital economy?

Speaker

Ahmed from Oman

Explanation

This represents a practical need for guidance on developing comprehensive national digital economy strategies based on lessons learned and best practices

What forms of governance frameworks should be in place to determine whether countries are actually accomplishing their digital economy goals?

Speaker

Nigel Casimir from the Caribbean Telecommunications Union

Explanation

This addresses the need for measurement and accountability mechanisms in digital transformation initiatives

How can business support organizations be better supported to develop digital transformation services for the companies they serve?

Speaker

Valentina Rollo (ITC)

Explanation

This highlights the capacity gap among intermediary organizations that are crucial for supporting SME digital transformation

How can we better connect women digital entrepreneurs with policymakers at global, regional, and national levels to influence policy changes?

Speaker

Torbjörn Fredriksson (UNCTAD)

Explanation

This addresses the need for more systematic advocacy opportunities to ensure women’s voices are heard in digital economy policy development

How can we ensure that multi-stakeholder collaboration in WSIS includes smaller firms, women-led businesses, and small businesses from developing countries, not just the biggest firms?

Speaker

Torbjörn Fredriksson (UNCTAD)

Explanation

This highlights the need to make global governance processes more inclusive of underrepresented business voices

How can the UN system work together more effectively to create synergies between the Global Digital Compact and WSIS action lines while avoiding duplication?

Speaker

Torbjörn Fredriksson (UNCTAD) and Jason Slater (UNIDO)

Explanation

This addresses the operational challenge of coordinating multiple international frameworks and initiatives for maximum impact

What solutions exist for inclusive digital economy that can be promoted through the Global Digital Compact’s call for action under objective 2?

Speaker

Jason Slater (UNIDO)

Explanation

This represents an active solicitation for innovative approaches to digital inclusion that can be scaled and implemented

Summary

The transcript captures the opening ceremony of the WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2025, marking the 20th anniversary of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Geneva. The event brings together governments, international organizations, civil society, private sector, academia, and youth to celebrate two decades of digital cooperation and chart the path forward for global digital governance. ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin highlighted the remarkable progress since 2003, noting that internet connectivity has grown from 16% to 68% of the global population, driven by WSIS’s multi-stakeholder approach involving over 50,000 participants from 160 countries.

Swiss Ambassador Thomas Schneider emphasized that while significant achievements have been made, challenges persist including the digital divide, cybersecurity risks, and AI governance concerns. He advocated for strengthening existing frameworks rather than creating duplicative structures, proposing a joint implementation roadmap for WSIS and the Global Digital Compact. UNCTAD’s Pedro Manuel Moreno presented a stark contrast between two worlds: one where AI and frontier technologies are transforming lives and creating economic opportunities, and another where 3.4 billion people in developing countries lack basic internet access and are excluded from key governance initiatives.

UNESCO’s Tawfik Jelassi called for a “WSIS 2.0 vision” that addresses gender digital divides, misinformation, and ensures technology serves humanity while building peace. UNDP’s Agi Veres stressed the importance of human agency and empowerment in digital transformation, particularly regarding AI development. The ceremony concluded with South Africa’s Minister Solly Malatsi accepting the chairmanship, emphasizing the responsibility to represent global aspirations and ensure digital transformation advances equity, inclusion, and human dignity for all.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **20-Year Milestone and Progress Assessment**: The discussion centers on celebrating two decades since the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), reflecting on achievements like growing internet connectivity from 16% to 68% of global population, and the establishment of over 15,000 initiatives in the stocktaking platform.

– **Digital Divide and Inequality Challenges**: Speakers emphasized persistent disparities, with only 37% of people in least developed countries having internet access, women being less likely to be online, and 3.4 billion people living in countries spending more on debt servicing than health or education.

– **Multi-stakeholder Collaboration Framework**: The importance of WSIS’s inclusive approach bringing together governments, private sector, civil society, academia, and youth was highlighted as the “beating heart” of the process, with 160 countries and 50,000 stakeholders participating over the years.

– **Future Vision and Adaptation**: Discussion of WSIS 2.0 vision to address emerging technologies like AI, cybersecurity challenges, misinformation, and the need to align with the Global Digital Compact and UN’s Pact of the Future while maintaining human-centered approaches.

– **Leadership Transition and Moving Forward**: The ceremonial handover of chairmanship from Switzerland’s Ambassador Schneider to South Africa’s Minister Malatsi, symbolizing continuity and shared global commitment to digital cooperation.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion serves as an inaugural ceremony for the WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2025, aimed at commemorating 20 years of global digital cooperation while setting the agenda for future digital governance and inclusive technology development.

## Overall Tone:

The tone is consistently celebratory yet purposeful throughout the discussion. It begins with pride in past achievements and gratitude for collaboration, maintains an inspirational quality when discussing future possibilities, and concludes with determination and responsibility as new leadership takes charge. The speakers balance optimism about technological progress with realistic acknowledgment of persistent challenges, creating an atmosphere of both celebration and urgent commitment to action.

Speakers

**Speakers from the provided list:**

– **Gitanjali Sah** – Role/Title: Not specified, Area of expertise: WSIS process and digital cooperation

– **Sulyna Nur Abdulla** – Role/Title: Chief of Strategic Planning and Membership and Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the ITU, Area of expertise: Strategic planning and telecommunications

– **Doreen Bogdan-Martin** – Role/Title: Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Area of expertise: Telecommunications and digital development

– **Thomas Schneider** – Role/Title: Ambassador and Director of International Affairs for the Federal Office of Communications of Switzerland, Area of expertise: International communications policy and digital governance

– **Pedro Manuel Moreno** – Role/Title: Deputy Secretary General of UNCTAD, Area of expertise: Trade, development, and digital economy

– **Tawfik Jelassi** – Role/Title: Assistant Director General for Communication and Information for UNESCO, Area of expertise: Communication, information, and knowledge societies

– **Agi Veres** – Role/Title: Director of the UNDP Representation Office in Geneva, Area of expertise: Development and digital transformation

– **Solly Malatsi** – Role/Title: Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies of the Republic of South Africa, Area of expertise: Communications and digital technologies policy

**Additional speakers:**

– **Majid Sultan al-Mezma** – Role/Title: Director-General of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority of the UAE, Area of expertise: Telecommunications and digital government regulation

# WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2025: Opening Ceremony – Discussion Summary

## Introduction and Context

The WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2025 opening ceremony marked the 20th anniversary of the World Summit on the Information Society, bringing together international leaders, government ministers, UN agency heads, and senior officials from across the digital governance ecosystem. The event served both as a celebration of two decades of progress and a strategic planning session for the future of global digital cooperation.

Moderated by Sulyna Nur Abdulla, the ceremony featured a formal handover of the WSIS chairmanship from Switzerland to South Africa, symbolizing the global nature of digital challenges and the need for inclusive leadership. The discussion maintained a celebratory yet purposeful tone throughout, balancing pride in past achievements with acknowledgment of persistent challenges.

## Key Participants and Their Contributions

### Opening Remarks – Gitanjali Sah

Gitanjali Sah opened the ceremony by highlighting WSIS’s remarkable 20-year journey, noting that the WSIS stocktaking platform now contains over 15,000 initiatives, demonstrating the extensive global engagement with digital development. She emphasized that this gathering represented the culmination of collaborative efforts involving co-facilitators from Albania and Kenya working on the WSIS Plus 20 process in New York.

### ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin

Bogdan-Martin delivered a comprehensive assessment of WSIS achievements, highlighting the dramatic transformation in global connectivity from 16% of the global population online in 2003 to 68% today. She attributed this progress directly to WSIS’s innovative multi-stakeholder approach, which has engaged over 50,000 participants from 160 countries across governments, private sector, civil society, academia, and youth organizations.

She positioned WSIS as a living, evolving process that remains highly relevant to contemporary challenges, noting that “the WSIS process stands strong and agile in helping guide the implementation of the Global Digital Compact and the Pact of the Future.” For the future, she outlined an agenda focusing on universal meaningful connectivity, community building, digital skills development, cybersecurity enhancement, and strengthened digital cooperation.

### Swiss Ambassador Thomas Schneider

As the outgoing chair, Ambassador Schneider provided a balanced assessment that celebrated achievements while acknowledging persistent challenges including the digital divide, cybersecurity risks, online misinformation, and ethical concerns surrounding artificial intelligence. He advocated for strengthening existing frameworks rather than creating new structures, proposing “a joint implementation roadmap for WSIS including GDC based on closer cooperation to avoid duplication.”

Schneider emphasized making “best use of existing structures which have proven to work and adapt well so far,” reflecting a preference for evolutionary rather than revolutionary change in the WSIS process.

### UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno

Moreno delivered a powerful intervention describing “two worlds” existing simultaneously: one where artificial intelligence and frontier technologies are transforming lives, and another where 3.4 billion people live in countries spending more on debt servicing than on health or education. He unified these realities by declaring: “These are not separate worlds. They are our world, our only world.”

His statistics highlighted persistent inequalities: only 37% of people in least developed countries have internet access, women remain less likely than men to be online, and 118 countries, mainly in the Global South, are excluded from key AI governance initiatives. This presentation introduced moral urgency to the discussion about digital divides.

### UNESCO Assistant Director-General Tawfik Jelassi

Jelassi advocated for “a reinvigorated, action-oriented WSIS 2.0 vision that is agile enough to navigate rapidly evolving information landscape complexities.” He connected UNESCO’s foundational 1945 mission to contemporary digital challenges, arguing that “digital should help us building peace in the minds of men and women,” specifically addressing misinformation, hate speech, and harmful online content.

He proposed establishing “a robust monitoring framework for WSIS based on universality indicators embodying human rights, openness, accessibility, and multi-stakeholder participation,” offering a concrete mechanism for tracking progress.

### UNDP Geneva Director Agi Veres

Veres emphasized maintaining human agency in digital transformation, stressing that “WSIS vision of people-centred, inclusive, and development-oriented information society is more urgently needed than ever.” She highlighted AI’s potential to “reignite human development and generate new opportunities when used correctly with people-centred approach,” while emphasizing the need for careful attention to human-centered implementation.

### South African Minister Solly Malatsi

Minister Malatsi’s acceptance of the WSIS chairmanship provided a powerful conclusion to the ceremony. He emphasized global representation and responsibility, declaring: “We are not here simply representing the interest of the organisations that are funding our participation, but we are representing the aspirations of the whole world. From the remote villages across all of Africa to the financial districts… to the serene streets of Geneva.”

He posed fundamental questions for the week’s proceedings: “How can we ensure that digital transformation continues to advance equity, inclusion, and human dignity in the face of emerging technologies? How do we respond to the deepening global inequalities and interconnected challenges in the digital age?”

## Major Themes and Discussion Points

### Multi-Stakeholder Approach as Core Strength

All speakers demonstrated consensus regarding WSIS’s multi-stakeholder approach as its fundamental strength and primary contribution to global digital governance. This inclusive framework, bringing together diverse sectors and stakeholders, was consistently identified as the “beating heart” of the WSIS process that provides legitimacy, expertise, and implementation capacity beyond traditional intergovernmental processes.

### Persistent Digital Divides and Inequalities

Despite celebrating connectivity achievements, speakers unanimously acknowledged significant digital divides that persist and, in some cases, are deepening. The discussion revealed new forms of digital exclusion emerging around artificial intelligence governance, with developing countries systematically excluded from key AI initiatives despite AI’s projected transformative impact.

The economic dimensions of digital inequality were emphasized, particularly how debt burdens limit developing countries’ ability to invest in digital infrastructure and capacity building, creating structural constraints that extend beyond technical connectivity issues.

### Integration with Global Digital Compact

A significant focus was placed on integrating WSIS with the Global Digital Compact and other UN initiatives. Speakers agreed that WSIS should help guide implementation of these newer frameworks rather than operating in parallel, leveraging WSIS’s proven multi-stakeholder mechanisms while incorporating broader political commitments.

### Human-Centered Development

Speakers consistently emphasized that digital development must prioritize human needs, empowerment, and inclusion. This consensus extended to concerns about artificial intelligence, with speakers arguing that AI development must maintain human agency and serve human flourishing rather than replacing human decision-making.

## Areas of Consensus

The discussion revealed remarkable agreement across several key areas:

– **Multi-stakeholder governance**: Universal support for maintaining and strengthening WSIS’s inclusive approach

– **Human-centered development**: Strong consensus that technology must serve people rather than the reverse

– **Integration imperative**: Agreement that WSIS should integrate with and guide implementation of the Global Digital Compact

– **Persistent challenges**: Honest acknowledgment that significant digital divides remain despite 20 years of progress

– **Monitoring needs**: Support for developing more robust frameworks to track WSIS progress and impact

## Key Outcomes and Commitments

### Leadership Transition

The ceremony successfully completed the formal transition of WSIS chairmanship from Switzerland to South Africa, with the symbolic handover including the ceremonial gavel transfer. This transition brings fresh perspective and leadership from the Global South while maintaining continuity in principles and approach.

### Joint Implementation Framework

Speakers committed to developing a joint implementation roadmap for WSIS and the Global Digital Compact, avoiding duplication while enhancing cooperation. This represents a mature response to the proliferation of digital governance initiatives, emphasizing coordination over competition.

### Enhanced Monitoring

The discussion established commitment to developing more robust monitoring frameworks for WSIS progress, with UNESCO proposing indicators based on human rights, openness, accessibility, and multi-stakeholder participation principles.

## Future Challenges and Priorities

### Bridging Digital Divides

While there was strong consensus on addressing digital inequalities, specific mechanisms for effectively bridging persistent divides, particularly the gender digital divide and Global South exclusion from AI governance, require further development.

### Emerging Technology Governance

The rapid pace of AI development creates urgency that may conflict with the deliberative nature of multi-stakeholder processes. Balancing innovation with inclusion while ensuring governance frameworks don’t stifle beneficial development remains a key challenge.

### Resource Mobilization

The gap between political commitment and practical implementation persists, particularly regarding funding mechanisms for digital capacity building in developing countries and ensuring meaningful rather than tokenistic participation from resource-constrained stakeholders.

## Conclusion

The WSIS Plus 20 opening ceremony successfully established a foundation for the week’s discussions by balancing celebration of achievements with realistic assessment of ongoing challenges. The strong consensus among diverse stakeholders on core principles, combined with the symbolic leadership transition to South Africa, demonstrates WSIS’s continued relevance and adaptability.

The ceremony’s most significant achievement was establishing a clear narrative connecting WSIS’s 20-year legacy to contemporary challenges while setting an ambitious agenda for ensuring digital transformation serves all of humanity. The commitment to integrating with the Global Digital Compact while maintaining WSIS’s distinctive multi-stakeholder approach provides a practical framework for enhanced global digital cooperation.

However, translating this consensus into concrete action on persistent digital inequalities and emerging technology governance will ultimately determine the success of WSIS Plus 20. The ceremony concluded with Minister Malatsi’s challenge to represent “the aspirations of the whole world,” setting high expectations for meaningful progress in addressing the digital divides that continue to limit the benefits of technological advancement for billions of people worldwide.

Gitanjali Sah: Over twenty years ago, a bold idea was born. To harness technology for good. That idea became WSIS. Its mission, a digital future built on inclusion, transparency and equality. Since then, WSIS has brought together governments, innovators, civil society and communities to shape a connected world that works for all. The WSIS Action Lines established a framework to evolve alongside technology. Our stocktaking platform now holds over 15,000 initiatives, capturing the pulse of global progress. From infrastructure to ethics, cyber security to capacity building, and by creating an enabling environment for legal and regulatory frameworks, WSIS proves the 20 years of digital cooperation really works. Its outcomes will be essential in the United Nations General Assembly overall review. As we reflect on two decades of impact, we celebrate a legacy of partnership and look ahead with purpose to create a digital society that is inclusive, equitable and sustainable for generations to come. Welcome to the WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2025. Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2025. Thank you for joining us here in Geneva as we celebrate two decades of this UN process, the World Summit on the Information Society. This milestone reflects our collective commitment to a people-centered, human-oriented, inclusive information and knowledge societies and towards a digitally inclusive future. Over the next five days, we will engage in dynamic discussions, tackle digital challenges and shape the future of global digital governance together. WSIS is about being together, multi-stakeholders coming together to ensure that we get a chance to shape policy. Let’s explore our successes, learn from our experiences and envision a more connected and inclusive digital world. As we embark on this pivotal journey at the WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2025, it is my distinct honor to invite Ms. Sulyna Nur Abdulla, Chief of Strategic Planning and Membership and Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the ITU, to lead us through the inaugural session. Thank you, Sulyna. Over to you.

Sulyna Nur Abdulla: Thank you. Thank you very much, Gitanjali. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to the inaugural session of the WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2025. It’s truly a pleasure to see so many familiar faces and new ones gathered here today. Celebrating 20 years of the World Summit on the Information Society, or WSIS as we fondly call it, is a milestone for the global WSIS community and the world writ large. This High Level Event brings together an incredible fusion of perspectives and expertise. It shows us how much we have achieved and the potential to continue on this path when we unite for a common purpose towards a shared digital journey. To get us started, it’s my distinct pleasure to invite our co-hosts and co-organizers to join me on stage. First, the co-hosts of the WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2025, Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union, His Excellency Thomas Schneider, Ambassador and Director of International Affairs for the Federal Office of of Communications of Switzerland, representing the Swiss Confederation, our co-organisers, Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director General for Communication and Information for UNESCO, Ms. Robert Opp, Director of UNDP Representation Office in Geneva, and joining us a little later will be Mr. Pedro Manuel Moreno, Deputy Secretary General of UNCTAD. Please, let’s give them a warm round of applause to welcome them. Thank you. Please, please, please be seated. Thank you. I don’t think that was warm enough. Can we try again? Thank you. Thank you very much. And now, please join me in welcoming the ITU Secretary General, Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, to address us. Secretary General, please, the lectern is yours.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin: Thank you. Thank you, Sulyna. Good morning, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. It’s wonderful to have you all here with us as we begin this milestone week, especially here in Switzerland, which is the home of the ITU and the home of the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, which took place right here in Geneva in 2003. Looking out at this full room, how many of you were here in 2003? Raise your hand. Okay. I’m seeing maybe, what do you think, Henriette? Maybe 20, 25? Okay. Too few, too few. So, back in 2003, the WSIS determined that the World Summit on the Information Society would be with the greatest conviction that the Information Society must be people-centered, inclusive, and development-oriented. The outcome in the form of the Geneva Declaration was described by the then Swiss President as a constitution for the Information Society. This marks 20 years since the conclusion of the Tunis phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, which set a bold vision to shape our shared digital future, that reaffirmed our commitment to turning the digital divide into digital opportunities, that called on the international community to take the necessary steps to ensure that all countries have equitable access to the benefits of the Information Society. This week is a time for all of us to reflect, reflect on how far we have come, and start to chart the path forward for the next two decades. WSIS remains a global benchmark for digital cooperation and for inclusive digital development. Its action lines have established a clear guiding framework for implementing concrete change, and its outcome documents were adopted at the highest political level by heads of state and heads of government. I think, ladies and gentlemen, it is something worth celebrating. 20 years ago, just 1 billion people, 16% of the world’s population, was online. Today, that figure stands at 68%, and that progress stems from the WSIS vision of an open and inclusive Information Society that drives digital I think it can be summed up in two words. Multi-stakeholder participation. That’s the beating heart of the WSIS process in which 160 countries have been part of. We’ve had some 50,000 stakeholders join from governments, from international organizations, from the private sector, civil society, academia, the technical community, and youth. There’s lots of youth here this week as well. And that’s what makes this forum so powerful. In the days ahead, we look forward to working closely with the incoming chair of this year’s WSIS Forum, His Excellency Minister Solly Malatsi of South Africa. And I also want to recognize as well that we have our co-facilitators of the WSIS Plus 20 process with us. We have the ambassador from Albania. Welcome, ambassador. And we will also have the ambassador from Kenya, both working in New York on that WSIS Plus 20 process. So we’re very happy to have you with us. I also want to recognize our co-organizers and to thank them, our fellow UN family members, UNDP, UNESCO, UNCTAD, and the 50-plus UN entities that have contributed. I also want to recognize our sponsors that have made this WSIS Plus 20 high-level event possible. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, as digital technologies grow more complex and emerging challenges come into view, we need broad, inclusive, multi-stakeholder participation now more than ever before. It’s worth remembering And today, the WSIS process stands strong and agile in helping guide the implementation of the Global Digital Compact and the Pact of the Future that was adopted by UN member states last year. Ladies and gentlemen, we know that digital can accelerate progress on every development front, from poverty eradication, to quality education, to stronger institutions, to improved health care. And we know that this next phase, this next part of the WSIS journey has to focus on universal meaningful connectivity for all. Community building and digital skills to ensure that no one is left behind, cybersecurity to protect users and build trust in digital technologies, and of course, strengthened digital cooperation as envisaged by the WSIS from the very, very start. Throughout the last 20 years, we have taken groundbreaking actions. We’ve laid the groundwork for an inclusive digital transformation across all sectors and all regions. But to meet the needs of our ever-evolving technological landscape, the next two decades have to be about scaling, scaling our activities to keep pace, being, as the Broadband Commission mentioned yesterday, being bold and also being intentional. As the UN Secretary General put it when he visited the ITU last year, technical expertise and commitment. The commitment to collaboration are the very qualities that our world needs as we navigate this new digital age. And our experience with the WSIS is a guarantee that we have the conditions to be able to move forward positively. So as we mark this milestone moment together, let us do more than just reflect on our past. Let’s get inspired. Let’s get inspired by the digital opportunities around us all. Let’s get energized, energized by the spirit of cooperation that we feel in this very room. And let’s move forward, positively building a digital future that we can all be proud of, that benefits everyone, everywhere. I thank you very much.

Sulyna Nur Abdulla: Thank you, Secretary General, for your inspiring remarks, and I mean that, and sharing your WSIS vision and experience with us. Before I invite the next speaker, I would like to take a moment to reflect on how full this room is. Thank you very much to everyone who have made their way here this morning amidst the heavy traffic of Geneva. I realize that it’s standing room only, and I thank those of you who are standing for your patience and understanding. Now I have the pleasure to invite Ambassador Thomas Schneider to deliver his welcome remarks. Ambassador, I turn the lectern over to you now. Thank you.

Thomas Schneider: Thank you. Secretary General, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Friends, it is a great honor for me. on behalf of the Swiss Confederation to welcome you all to Geneva for the Swiss plus 20 forum high-level event 2025. Switzerland is very proud to be co-host of this forum in partnership with the ITU. This year’s edition is particularly special not only because we are marking two decades since the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis but also because for the first time the forum and the AI for Good summit is being held at Pol Expo. It’s actually the first time since the WSIS Summit in December 2003 that I’ve been here in this building so it’s quite nice to see also how the building developed. It’s been Switzerland’s privilege to serve as a chair of last year’s WSIS plus 20 high-level event. This event offered not just a moment of reflection but a chance to renew our shared commitment to building inclusive equitable and rights-based digital societies. As a chair we sought to facilitate a dialogue that was open, inclusive and grounded in multi-stakeholder collaboration. We were inspired by the diversity of voices from governments, civil society, private sector, academia and youth that came together to discuss our digital future. Together we reflected on the achievements that we’ve made but we also had recognized that challenges still persist. The digital divide remains a reality. Cybersecurity risks, online misinformation, ethical concerns surrounding AI and other issues demand urgent attention. For us still the WSIS principles and action lines continue to serve as a pertinent framework for discussion on Internet and digital policy and governance issues. WSIS values and principles The principles have been referenced in many policy documents over the years, they have been further developed in the framework of instruments. Multi-stakeholder mechanisms emanating from the WSIS, like the Internet Governance Forum and the WSIS Forum, have in our view stood the test of time and adapted their focus to reflect the fast evolving digital space and the opportunities and challenges associated with so-called both old and new digital technologies. These mechanisms should be the basis for future implementation of the WSIS vision, but they also should be further strengthened and leveraged through the Global Digital Compact and in support of its implementation. As we prepare for the WSIS overall review by the UN General Assembly later this year, time has come to think boldly and widely about a strengthened and further developed inclusive framework for Internet and Digital Governance and Cooperation, which will be fit for purpose and serve us as well as the current framework has done for the last 22 years. In this regard, and given the current research situation of the multilateral system, we think that it is essential that for the implementation of WSIS as well as of the GDC, we do make best use of the existing structures which have proven to work and adapt well so far. In order to avoid duplication, we invite you to think about a joint implementation roadmap for WSIS, including GDC, based on an even closer cooperation amongst all partners and stakeholders. This week is essential in shaping what we call a vision of a WSIS+. We encourage all of you to actively engage, share your insights and contribute to the discussions. In closing, I would like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank all those who contributed to the success of this WSIS process. Of course, our co-host, the I2, but all the other co-organizers of the WSIS Forum, all Action Alliance facilitators, but most importantly, of course, you, the participants who are bringing life and meaning to this dialogue. And of course, I’m looking forward to the new chairmanship from our friends from South Africa. Thank you very much.

Sulyna Nur Abdulla: Thank you very much, Ambassador Schneider. And through you, we extend our sincere appreciation to Switzerland for its continued support and commitment to the WSIS process and for chairing the WSIS Plus 20 High Level Event 2024. We now turn to our co-organizers for their remarks, and I’m very pleased to invite Mr. Pedro Manuel Moreno, Deputy Secretary General of UNCTAD, to say a few words. And I’m glad you made it, Pedro. I hear traffic was bad at your end. Over to you. Thank you.

Pedro Manuel Moreno: Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, 20 years ago we gathered with a vision. Today we stand at the edge of two worlds. In one world, artificial intelligence and frontier technologies are transforming human life. That market is projected to grow six-fold to 16.4 trillion US dollars by 2023. Here, a farmer in Kenya accesses global markets via smartphone, and AI diagnoses diseases in remote villages. In this world, services trade grows 9% annually, the digital economy contributes 3.1% to global GDP, and hundreds of millions find new jobs and meaning in emerging markets. In the other world, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than they spend on health or education. Only 37% of people in least developed countries have internet access and women are still less likely than men to be online. In that world, tech companies alone command market values nearly six times Africa’s GDP. And 118 countries, mainly in the Global South, are excluded from key AI governance initiatives. These are not separate worlds. They are our world, our only world. As we mark 20 years of the World Summit on the Information Society, we must ask, will the digital revolution unite us or divide us further? Will it bridge old gaps or create new ones? We stand at an inflection point. 40% of global jobs may soon be reshaped by AI. The digital economy’s environmental footprint is growing rapidly. Decisions about the future of digital governance are being made, but not by all of us, and not for all of us. So, Your Excellencies, WSIS plus 20 coincides with transformative processes across the UN system and the broader digital landscape. The global digital compact renews the push for inclusive digital cooperation. The UN 2.0 process drives institutional innovation. We are just five years from the 2030 deadline. UNCTAD is proud to be part of this journey as co-organizer of this conference, as Secretariat of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, and starting this week as Chair of the UN Group on the Information Society for 2025-2026. and many others. I am pleased to welcome you to the 20th annual UNCTAD 16 conference this October, we will also place these topics at its core. Ladies and gentlemen, 20 years ago, we dared to envision an information society for all. Today, we must dare to build it, an inclusive, empowering and equitable digital future where technology becomes a bridge, not a barrier. We must build it, not a barrier, but a bridge, not a barrier, but a bridge to the world, digitally united, sustainably connected with no one left behind. Thank you.

Sulyna Nur Abdulla: APPLAUSE Thank you, Mr. Moreno, for your remarks and for UNCTAD’s active engagement in this process. I completely agree with you that the choice is ours and the time is now. We must build it, not a barrier, but a bridge, not a barrier, but a bridge to the world. Thank you. I now invite Mr. Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director General for Communication and Information at UNESCO, to the lectern. Tawfik, please, thank you.

Tawfik Jelassi: APPLAUSE Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, distinguished members of the ILO, distinguished ambassadors, dignitaries, guests, esteemed participants, friends and colleagues. I’m very pleased to join you this morning for celebrating the 20-year mark of the World Summit on the Information Society. I’m very pleased to be here to celebrate the 20-year mark of the World Summit on the Information Society and to be making this milestone possible. My appreciation also extends to our fellow co-organizers, of course the ITU, UNDP, and UNCTAD, but also to South Africa, which is taking over the chairmanship of the WSIS. 20 years ago, the World Summit on the Information Society took place in the city of Tunis, Tunisia. How many of you were there in Tunis in 2005? Raise your hand please. Few more than in Geneva in 2003. Thomas. And as Doreen Bogdan-Martin reminded us, the vision at the time of WSIS 2005 was building a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented information society grounded in the multi-stakeholder approach. So obviously, our gathering this week here is a unique opportunity to step back and take stock of what has been done, what we have collectively achieved since 2005. Have we built this people-oriented, inclusive and development-oriented information society? As we celebrate the progress made since then, we must also reflect on our future vision, one that will be shared by both enduring and emerging challenges and opportunities. The transformative digital developments of recent years call for an equally ambitious, innovative and coordinated response. This is why UNESCO has consistently advocated for a reinvigorated, action-oriented WSIS 2.0 vision, one that is agile enough to navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving information landscape while accelerating progress. and Mr. Thomas Schneider. We are working on a number of goals toward achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030. One vision that includes, of course, addressing the gender digital divide, combating misinformation and other harmful online content, and ensuring the inclusion of women and young people in the digital world. A key feature of this renewed vision is the further strengthening of WSIS as an inclusive multi-stakeholder model. To remain effective, our cooperation within the WSIS framework and with external stakeholders must be deepened. We are working with the UNDP, the UN digital development society, which is currently chaired by UNESCO, alongside the other vice chairs and the lead implementers of the WSIS outcomes, ITU, UNDP, and OCTAD, and all members of the UNGUS group to help ensure that WSIS is an inclusive multi-stakeholder model. WSIS is an inclusive multi-stakeholder document that avoids duplication and amplifies impact on the ground. To further strengthen its effectiveness and track progress, WSIS must also establish a robust monitoring framework. WSIS is an inclusive multi-stakeholder framework which is based on the WSIS framework’s universality indicators, which embody four key principles, human rights, openness, accessibility, and multi-stakeholder participation. Moreover, the WSIS framework through its action lines can be further strengthened by with and integrating the follow-up to the Global Digital Compact and other relevant global initiatives. To truly shape a positive digital future, we must ensure the human element remains at the center of these efforts. UNESCO has long championed the concept of knowledge societies, a vision which is central to the 2030 Agenda. To this end, it will be critical that we focus on transforming information into knowledge that individuals and communities truly own, empowering them to improve their lives and create sustainable developments. And here I would like just to plug in the vision and the mission of UNESCO from 80 years ago, when UNESCO was created back in 1945 and its constitutional charter said, your mission is to build peace in the minds of men and women. Today, digital should help us building peace in the minds of men and women, and that’s why I made a reference to combating mis- and disinformation, hate speech, and other harmful online content. In closing, as you mark two decades of WSIS at the end of this year, I would like to reaffirm UNESCO commitment to building a digital future where technology truly serves humanity, grounded in rights, ethics, and inclusion. Indeed, as Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, once said, the power of the web is in its universality. Let’s strive to create a digital world that lives up to these aspirations and empowers every individual to thrive. And if you can positively answer The following two questions, then we can say that we achieved this mission. The two questions are, are we making our stakeholders and individuals more successful through what we have been offering them? Are we transforming lives? Thank you.

Sulyna Nur Abdulla: Thank you, Dr. Jelassi, for your valuable contribution and for UNESCO’s long-standing support for WSIS. So many things that you mentioned just now, but what stuck with me is, today, digital should help us build peace in the minds of men and women. Now I’m happy to invite Ms. Robert Opp, Director of the UNDP Representation Office in Geneva, to deliver her remarks. Agi, please, thank you.

Agi Veres: Thank you very much, Your Excellencies, Secretary-General, ladies and gentlemen. It’s my absolute pleasure to represent UNDP at this event, as we have been a long-standing partner. We are proud to be a co-convener of the annual WSIS Forum and working very closely with our colleagues from ITU, UNESCO and UNCTAD. The WSIS process and the community that has developed around it have played really a crucial role in global digital cooperation. Over the last 20 years, WSIS has served as one of the most inclusive and enduring platforms for digital discussions, bringing together governments, the private sector, civil society, the academia and, of course, the UN system. Two weeks after the 20th Internet Governance Forum in Oslo, our gathering here today reinforces our shared commitment to the multi-stakeholder approach, ensuring voices from across the sectors, regions, including developing countries and communities, inform digital policy and practice. As we work on the ground in 170 countries as UNDP, we have been privileged to witness how the principles underlining WSIS and its action lines have remained relevant, and in fact are even more important today. One of the WSIS’s most concrete contributions has been scaling digital capacity building efforts as one of the action lines, and we are on the ground directly supporting this capacity building for digital transformation, working through whole-of-government approaches on digital public infrastructure, co-creating new digital public goods to improve service delivery, and working on data governance to ensure that the rights of the most vulnerable are protected. Now, looking ahead to the WSIS Plus 20 review, it will be important to reaffirm the importance of the WSIS framework and also reflect the critical changes in the digital landscape, including last year’s adoption of the Global Digital Compact. The WSIS vision is also of a people-centered, inclusive, and development-oriented information society. It’s more urgently needed now more than ever. This was also the message of our flagship publication, the UNDP’s Human Development Report, which focuses this year on AI, emphasizing how human agency and empowerment must be at the heart of our approach to digital technologies. This is why building on the digital transformation is more important than ever, because leveraging AI to meet people’s expectations for a better life is a choice that the world can make. AI cannot alone solve the problems, but it holds the potential to reignite human development, and this is what we are advocating for in our Human Development Report, and generate new opportunities and help up make us for the lost time. Using the right way and building on the digital transformation that so much underlines the WSIS efforts, it will offer an opportunity to expand human capabilities. Looking ahead to the WSIS Plus 20 review and the process of our conference, we believe that the process is not only crucial for the way forward on digital transformation, but it’s also paving the way for a people-centered approach. I believe that our discussion this week will be crucial in fostering the shared commitment and approach, and we very much look forward to working closely with all our partners and stakeholders and with continued commitment from UNDP. Thank you very much.

Sulyna Nur Abdulla: Thank you, Agi, for your remarks and for UNDP’s active support in this process. Thank you to all our co-organisers for their continued collaboration and for sharing these thoughtful reflections as we move forward in the WSIS Plus 20 process. At this juncture, I would like to just go off script for a minute just to request the ITU photographers to help me take this very heartwarming picture of such a full hall, please, from this angle. Once again, I’d like to thank all our friends who are patiently standing at the side, and we’ll be with you shortly. Thank you for your understanding. In handing over of the chair of the WSIS Plus 20 high-level event, so this is going to be a little bit technical for the VIPs on stage. First, I’d like to request the co-hosts and the co-organisers to the centre of the stage, while I invite His Excellency Solly Malatsi, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies of the Republic of South Africa, to join you for the symbolic handover of the chair of the WSIS Plus 20 high-level event. Moreno, Dr. Jelassi. May I invite you, Minister Malatsi, perhaps on the red cross in front? You see, it’s rather technical. We have all these crosses up here. That’s right. Thank you. Well done. Thank you, Tawfik. Excellent. And we have a gavel that’s going to be handed over from Ambassador Schneider, who was the chair of the high-level event last year, to Minister Malatsi, Chair of 2025, witnessed by all our VIPs. Gentlemen, you may exchange the gavel, please. And can we help them with a round of applause? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. And there you have it. The difficult job is now with you, Minister Malatsi. Please, may I invite you back to your seats on stage while I invite Mr. Malatsi to say a few words? Thank you. I’m slightly taller than you, so I need to adjust the mic.

Solly Malatsi: Good morning, Excellencies, distinguished guests in the room, and everyone who is joining us virtually. It is indeed an immense honor for me and my country to take over the chairmanship of WSIS Plus 20 high-level event. This week, we gather to mark a significant milestone, the second 10-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society. Over the past two decades, WSIS has played a foundational role in shaping the global information society and remains more relevant than ever in today’s digital age. From Geneva in 2003 to Tunis in 2005, when some of us look much younger than we do. … technical and academic communities. While each of us and the people we represent come from unique and different circumstances, WSIS has allowed us to unite behind a shared global vision. One to promote an inclusive information society that delivers meaningful benefit to all citizens of the world. And as we engage over the next five days, our task is not only to reflect on the progress of the last 20 years. We must also chart a path forward. We must ask ourselves and answer honestly, where have we succeeded and where must we do better? Most importantly, how must we adapt our frameworks in the face of emerging technologies that are transforming the very fabric of our societies? And most importantly, how do we respond to the deepening global inequalities and interconnected challenges? And how do we ensure that digital transformation continues to advance equity, inclusion, and most importantly, human dignity? The WSIS plus 20 process gives us a unique opportunity to recalibrate and reimagine our approach to building an inclusive and trusted information society. But this opportunity also comes with great responsibility. We are not here simply representing the interest of the organizations that are funding our participation, but we are representing the aspirations of the whole world. From the remote villages across all of Africa to the financial districts and Mr. Thomas Schneider. I would like to welcome you to the first of the virtual meetings of New York and London from the favelas of the Rio de Janeiro to the tech corridors of Bengaluru and to the serene streets of Geneva. Your insights and the experiences will shape the outcomes of this event, which I have the honor of presenting in the form of the chair’s summary. The summary will reflect our collective priorities and our shared commitment to a digital future that is free, inclusive, and rights-based. I thus encourage you to actively participate in this week’s discussions. Let us make this moment count. We owe this not only to ourselves and the people we hold dearly, but to future generations. I would like to thank the Secretary-General and thank all of you for your work up to this moment. And the work that is coming up. I look forward to a productive, collaborative, and inspiring week ahead. Thank you very much. APPLAUSE Do I get to keep the hammer? And now we must do the symbolic takeover of the chairmanship. Thank you.

Sulyna Nur Abdulla: APPLAUSE I am reminded that I am shorter than His Excellency. Thank you, Excellency, and congratulations on your appointment to the chair of the WSIS Plus 20 High-Level Event 2025. Now, before we close the ceremony this morning, we have a special address about to be given. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the United Arab Emirates has the distinction of being the long-standing partner of the WSIS Forum, having been a major partner and sponsor since its inception in 2009. On the 20th anniversary of the WSIS process, we are delighted to invite His Excellency Majid Sultan al-Mezma, Director-General of the United Arab Emirates. of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority of the UAE to deliver a special address to commemorate this occasion. Your Excellency, welcome to the stage.

Agreement points

WSIS Multi-stakeholder Approach as Core Strength

Speakers

– Gitanjali Sah
– Doreen Bogdan-Martin
– Thomas Schneider
– Agi Veres
– Sulyna Nur Abdulla

Arguments

WSIS has brought together governments, innovators, civil society and communities to shape a connected world that works for all over 20 years

Multi-stakeholder participation with 160 countries and 50,000 stakeholders from various sectors is the beating heart of WSIS

WSIS principles and action lines continue to serve as a pertinent framework for Internet and digital policy discussions

WSIS has served as one of the most inclusive and enduring platforms for digital discussions over 20 years

WSIS is fundamentally about multi-stakeholders coming together to ensure we get a chance to shape policy

Summary

All speakers consistently emphasized that WSIS’s multi-stakeholder approach, bringing together diverse sectors and stakeholders, is its fundamental strength and what makes it effective for digital governance and policy development.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development

Human-Centered Digital Development Priority

Speakers

– Tawfik Jelassi
– Agi Veres
– Solly Malatsi
– Sulyna Nur Abdulla

Arguments

We must ensure the human element remains at the center and focus on transforming information into knowledge that empowers individuals and communities

WSIS vision of people-centered, inclusive, and development-oriented information society is more urgently needed than ever

We must adapt our frameworks in the face of emerging technologies and respond to deepening global inequalities while ensuring digital transformation advances equity and inclusion

The WSIS Plus 20 milestone reflects our collective commitment to people-centered, human-oriented, inclusive information and knowledge societies

Summary

Speakers agreed that digital development must prioritize human needs, empowerment, and inclusion, ensuring that technology serves people rather than the other way around.

Topics

Development | Human rights

Integration with Global Digital Compact

Speakers

– Gitanjali Sah
– Doreen Bogdan-Martin
– Thomas Schneider
– Tawfik Jelassi

Arguments

WSIS outcomes will be essential in the UN General Assembly overall review and help guide implementation of the Global Digital Compact

WSIS stands strong in helping guide implementation of the Global Digital Compact and Pact of the Future adopted by UN member states

We should think about a joint implementation roadmap for WSIS including GDC based on closer cooperation to avoid duplication

The WSIS framework can be strengthened by integrating follow-up to the Global Digital Compact and other relevant global initiatives

Summary

Speakers consistently agreed that WSIS should be integrated with and help guide the implementation of the Global Digital Compact to avoid duplication and maximize effectiveness.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development

Persistent Digital Divide Challenges

Speakers

– Thomas Schneider
– Pedro Manuel Moreno
– Tawfik Jelassi

Arguments

The digital divide remains a reality alongside cybersecurity risks, online misinformation, and ethical concerns surrounding AI

Only 37% of people in least developed countries have internet access and women are still less likely than men to be online

We must address the gender digital divide and ensure inclusion of women and young people in the digital world

Summary

Speakers acknowledged that despite 20 years of progress, significant digital divides persist, particularly affecting developing countries, women, and young people.

Topics

Development | Human rights

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the need to strengthen and evolve digital governance frameworks for the future, focusing on scaling activities and adapting to emerging challenges while building on existing successful structures.

Speakers

– Doreen Bogdan-Martin
– Thomas Schneider

Arguments

The next phase must focus on universal meaningful connectivity, community building, digital skills, cybersecurity, and strengthened digital cooperation

We need a strengthened and further developed inclusive framework for Internet and Digital Governance that will be fit for purpose for the next 22 years

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Cybersecurity

Both speakers highlighted the need for more inclusive governance of emerging technologies, particularly AI, and the importance of adapting frameworks to address rapid technological changes while ensuring broader participation.

Speakers

– Pedro Manuel Moreno
– Tawfik Jelassi

Arguments

118 countries, mainly in the Global South, are excluded from key AI governance initiatives

UNESCO advocates for a reinvigorated, action-oriented WSIS 2.0 vision that is agile enough to navigate rapidly evolving information landscape complexities

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development

Both speakers emphasized that digital technologies, including AI, should be used to promote positive human outcomes and social cohesion, requiring careful attention to human-centered implementation.

Speakers

– Tawfik Jelassi
– Agi Veres

Arguments

Digital should help us build peace in the minds of men and women by combating misinformation, hate speech, and harmful online content

AI holds potential to reignite human development and generate new opportunities when used correctly with people-centered approach

Topics

Development | Human rights | Sociocultural

Unexpected consensus

Economic Inequality Impact on Digital Development

Speakers

– Pedro Manuel Moreno
– Solly Malatsi

Arguments

3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health or education

We represent the aspirations of the whole world from remote villages to financial districts, and our insights will shape a digital future that is free, inclusive, and rights-based

Explanation

The unexpected consensus emerged around acknowledging that economic constraints and debt burdens in developing countries are fundamental barriers to digital development, requiring the WSIS process to address broader economic inequalities alongside digital divides.

Topics

Development | Economic

AI Governance Exclusion as Critical Challenge

Speakers

– Pedro Manuel Moreno
– Thomas Schneider

Arguments

118 countries, mainly in the Global South, are excluded from key AI governance initiatives

The digital divide remains a reality alongside cybersecurity risks, online misinformation, and ethical concerns surrounding AI

Explanation

There was unexpected consensus that AI governance is creating new forms of exclusion and inequality, with speakers from different organizations agreeing that current AI governance processes are insufficiently inclusive of developing countries.

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development

Overall assessment

Summary

The speakers demonstrated remarkably high consensus on core WSIS principles including multi-stakeholder participation, human-centered development, integration with Global Digital Compact, and acknowledgment of persistent digital divides. There was also unexpected agreement on economic barriers to digital development and AI governance exclusion.

Consensus level

Very high consensus level with no significant disagreements identified. This strong alignment suggests that WSIS has successfully built a shared understanding among diverse stakeholders about digital governance principles and challenges. The consensus provides a solid foundation for the WSIS Plus 20 process and indicates that the framework has matured into a widely accepted approach to global digital cooperation. However, the challenge will be translating this consensus into concrete actions that address the persistent inequalities and emerging challenges that all speakers acknowledged.

Different viewpoints

Emphasis on existing frameworks versus need for transformation

Speakers

– Thomas Schneider
– Tawfik Jelassi

Arguments

We should make best use of existing structures which have proven to work and adapt well so far

UNESCO advocates for a reinvigorated, action-oriented WSIS 2.0 vision that is agile enough to navigate rapidly evolving information landscape complexities

Summary

Schneider emphasizes leveraging existing proven structures while Jelassi calls for a more transformative WSIS 2.0 vision, representing different approaches to evolution versus transformation

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development

Unexpected differences

No significant unexpected disagreements identified

Speakers

Arguments

Explanation

This was a ceremonial opening session where speakers were largely aligned on core principles and vision. The minor differences in approach were expected given different organizational perspectives

Topics

Overall assessment

Summary

Very limited disagreement among speakers, with only minor differences in emphasis between evolutionary versus transformative approaches to WSIS development

Disagreement level

Low – This ceremonial opening session showed strong consensus on WSIS principles, achievements, and future direction. The minimal disagreements reflect different organizational perspectives rather than fundamental conflicts, suggesting a unified foundation for the week’s discussions ahead

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers emphasized the need to strengthen and evolve digital governance frameworks for the future, focusing on scaling activities and adapting to emerging challenges while building on existing successful structures.

Speakers

– Doreen Bogdan-Martin
– Thomas Schneider

Arguments

The next phase must focus on universal meaningful connectivity, community building, digital skills, cybersecurity, and strengthened digital cooperation

We need a strengthened and further developed inclusive framework for Internet and Digital Governance that will be fit for purpose for the next 22 years

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Cybersecurity

Both speakers highlighted the need for more inclusive governance of emerging technologies, particularly AI, and the importance of adapting frameworks to address rapid technological changes while ensuring broader participation.

Speakers

– Pedro Manuel Moreno
– Tawfik Jelassi

Arguments

118 countries, mainly in the Global South, are excluded from key AI governance initiatives

UNESCO advocates for a reinvigorated, action-oriented WSIS 2.0 vision that is agile enough to navigate rapidly evolving information landscape complexities

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development

Both speakers emphasized that digital technologies, including AI, should be used to promote positive human outcomes and social cohesion, requiring careful attention to human-centered implementation.

Speakers

– Tawfik Jelassi
– Agi Veres

Arguments

Digital should help us build peace in the minds of men and women by combating misinformation, hate speech, and harmful online content

AI holds potential to reignite human development and generate new opportunities when used correctly with people-centered approach

Topics

Development | Human rights | Sociocultural

Key takeaways

WSIS has successfully established a multi-stakeholder framework over 20 years, bringing together 160 countries and 50,000 stakeholders from various sectors to shape global digital governance

Significant progress has been made in global connectivity, increasing from 16% (1 billion people) online in 2003 to 68% today

The WSIS framework remains relevant and adaptable, with its principles and action lines continuing to guide Internet and digital policy discussions

Digital inequalities persist significantly, with only 37% of people in least developed countries having internet access and 118 countries excluded from key AI governance initiatives

The future vision requires focus on universal meaningful connectivity, digital skills, cybersecurity, and strengthened digital cooperation to address emerging technologies like AI

WSIS must evolve to integrate with the Global Digital Compact and other UN initiatives while maintaining its human-centered, inclusive approach

South Africa has officially taken over the chairmanship of WSIS Plus 20 High-Level Event 2025 from Switzerland

Resolutions and action items

Development of a joint implementation roadmap for WSIS including the Global Digital Compact to avoid duplication and enhance cooperation

Establishment of a robust monitoring framework for WSIS based on universality indicators embodying human rights, openness, accessibility, and multi-stakeholder participation

Active engagement of all stakeholders in the week’s discussions to shape the chair’s summary reflecting collective priorities

Preparation for the WSIS overall review by the UN General Assembly later in 2025

Strengthening of existing multi-stakeholder mechanisms like the Internet Governance Forum and WSIS Forum

Focus on scaling activities to keep pace with technological evolution over the next two decades

Unresolved issues

How to effectively bridge the persistent digital divide, particularly the gender digital divide and exclusion of Global South countries from AI governance

Specific mechanisms for addressing cybersecurity risks, online misinformation, and ethical concerns surrounding AI

Concrete strategies for ensuring that 40% of global jobs potentially reshaped by AI don’t exacerbate inequalities

How to balance rapid technological advancement with inclusive development that leaves no one behind

Specific funding and resource allocation mechanisms for digital capacity building in developing countries

How to effectively combat misinformation, hate speech, and harmful online content while preserving digital rights

Suggested compromises

Leveraging existing proven structures and mechanisms rather than creating new ones to avoid duplication while adapting to current needs

Integrating WSIS framework with Global Digital Compact implementation through closer cooperation among all partners

Balancing technological innovation with human-centered development by ensuring AI and emerging technologies serve humanity rather than replace human agency

Combining reflection on past achievements with forward-looking adaptation to emerging challenges in the digital landscape

Today, the WSIS process stands strong and agile in helping guide the implementation of the Global Digital Compact and the Pact of the Future that was adopted by UN member states last year.

Speaker

Doreen Bogdan-Martin

Reason

This comment is insightful because it positions WSIS not as a static 20-year-old framework, but as a living, evolving process that remains relevant to contemporary global digital governance challenges. It connects the historical WSIS process to current UN initiatives, showing continuity and adaptation.

Impact

This framing influenced subsequent speakers to emphasize the ongoing relevance of WSIS principles and their application to emerging challenges. It set the tone for viewing the anniversary not just as a celebration of past achievements, but as a foundation for future action.

Today we stand at the edge of two worlds. In one world, artificial intelligence and frontier technologies are transforming human life… In the other world, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than they spend on health or education… These are not separate worlds. They are our world, our only world.

Speaker

Pedro Manuel Moreno

Reason

This is perhaps the most thought-provoking comment in the entire discussion. It presents a stark dichotomy between technological advancement and persistent inequality, then powerfully unifies them as interconnected realities. The rhetorical structure forces listeners to confront the paradox of digital progress alongside deepening divides.

Impact

This comment fundamentally shifted the discussion from celebratory reflection to urgent action. It introduced a sense of moral urgency and responsibility that influenced subsequent speakers to address inequality and inclusion more directly. The ‘two worlds’ metaphor became a conceptual framework that other speakers referenced.

Today, digital should help us building peace in the minds of men and women, and that’s why I made a reference to combating mis- and disinformation, hate speech, and other harmful online content.

Speaker

Tawfik Jelassi

Reason

This comment is insightful because it connects UNESCO’s foundational 1945 mission to contemporary digital challenges, showing how fundamental human values must guide technological development. It reframes digital governance as fundamentally about human dignity and peace-building.

Impact

This comment elevated the discussion from technical implementation to philosophical foundations, emphasizing that digital transformation must serve human flourishing. It introduced the concept of digital technologies as tools for peace-building, adding depth to the conversation about the purpose of digital governance.

We are not here simply representing the interest of the organizations that are funding our participation, but we are representing the aspirations of the whole world. From the remote villages across all of Africa to the financial districts… to the serene streets of Geneva.

Speaker

Solly Malatsi

Reason

This comment is thought-provoking because it challenges participants to think beyond their institutional roles and consider their broader responsibility to global humanity. It emphasizes the moral weight of their decisions and the diverse constituencies they serve.

Impact

As the incoming chair’s opening statement, this comment set expectations for the week’s discussions, emphasizing inclusivity and global responsibility. It shifted focus from organizational interests to human impact, establishing a framework for more people-centered discussions.

Will the digital revolution unite us or divide us further? Will it bridge old gaps or create new ones?

Speaker

Pedro Manuel Moreno

Reason

These rhetorical questions cut to the heart of the digital transformation challenge, forcing participants to confront the fundamental uncertainty about technology’s impact on human society. They frame the entire WSIS mission as being at a critical inflection point.

Impact

These questions created a sense of urgency and choice that permeated the rest of the discussion. They established that the outcomes of digital transformation are not predetermined but depend on the decisions and actions of the participants in the room.

Overall assessment

The most impactful comments in this discussion successfully transformed what could have been a routine anniversary celebration into a urgent call for action. Pedro Manuel Moreno’s ‘two worlds’ metaphor was particularly powerful in shifting the tone from congratulatory to confrontational with existing inequalities. The combination of Bogdan-Martin’s emphasis on WSIS’s continued relevance, Jelassi’s connection to peace-building, and Malatsi’s call for global responsibility created a narrative arc that moved from historical achievement through current challenges to future obligations. These key interventions elevated the discussion from technical implementation details to fundamental questions about technology’s role in human development and social justice. The speakers built upon each other’s themes, creating a cohesive argument that digital governance is not just about technology, but about choosing between futures of division or unity.

How can we ensure that digital transformation continues to advance equity, inclusion, and human dignity in the face of emerging technologies?

Speaker

Solly Malatsi

Explanation

This is a fundamental question about adapting frameworks for emerging technologies while maintaining core values of equity and inclusion in digital transformation

How do we respond to the deepening global inequalities and interconnected challenges in the digital age?

Speaker

Solly Malatsi

Explanation

This addresses the critical issue of growing digital divides and the need for coordinated responses to global digital inequalities

Where have we succeeded and where must we do better in the WSIS process over the past 20 years?

Speaker

Solly Malatsi

Explanation

This calls for a comprehensive evaluation of WSIS achievements and failures to inform future strategies

How must we adapt our frameworks in the face of emerging technologies that are transforming the very fabric of our societies?

Speaker

Solly Malatsi

Explanation

This highlights the need to update governance frameworks to address rapid technological changes and their societal impacts

Will the digital revolution unite us or divide us further? Will it bridge old gaps or create new ones?

Speaker

Pedro Manuel Moreno

Explanation

These fundamental questions address the dual nature of digital transformation and its potential to either increase or decrease global inequalities

Are we making our stakeholders and individuals more successful through what we have been offering them? Are we transforming lives?

Speaker

Tawfik Jelassi

Explanation

These are key evaluation questions to assess the real-world impact and effectiveness of WSIS initiatives on people’s lives

Have we built this people-oriented, inclusive and development-oriented information society?

Speaker

Tawfik Jelassi

Explanation

This is a critical assessment question about whether the original WSIS vision from 2005 has been achieved

How can we establish a robust monitoring framework for WSIS based on universality indicators?

Speaker

Tawfik Jelassi

Explanation

This addresses the need for better measurement and tracking of WSIS progress using human rights, openness, accessibility, and multi-stakeholder participation principles

How can we create a joint implementation roadmap for WSIS and the Global Digital Compact to avoid duplication?

Speaker

Thomas Schneider

Explanation

This focuses on coordination between different digital governance frameworks to maximize efficiency and impact