Register to receive reports from the Summit of the Future 2024
Note: By clicking on the Submit button, you are agreeing to our Privacy policy.
The Summit of the Future is a high-level UN event aimed at forging a new international consensus on how to deliver a better present and safeguard the future. The Summit is scheduled for 22-23 September 2024. The event will bring together UN member states, UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, academic institutions, the private sector, and youth under the theme, ‘Summit of the Future: Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow’.
The main objectives of the Summit of the Future are:
To forge a new global consensus on what our future should look like and what we can do today to secure it;
To adopt a concise, action-oriented Outcome Document, ‘A Pact for the Future,’ which will be agreed in advance by consensus;
To establish a UN Special Envoy for Future Generations;
To address other institutional reforms and initiatives.
The summit is described as a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity to recommit to fundamental principles and further develop the frameworks of multilateralism so they are fit for the future’. It follows on from a series of UN Summits and aims to strengthen global governance for the sake of present and future generations.
The summit will consist of an opening segment, plenary sessions, four interactive dialogues and a closing segment. The topics of the interactive dialogues will be:
Transforming global governance and turbocharging the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
Enhancing multilateralism for international peace and security.
Towards a Common Digital Future: strengthening inclusive innovation and cooperation to bridge the digital divides.
The Future Starts Now: enhancing the global system for current and future generations.
The Secretary-General of the UN is also convening the Summit of the Future Action Days on 20 and 21 September 2024 at UN Headquarters in New York.
For more information about the summit, please refer to the dedicated web page.
The 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79) will open on Tuesday, 5 September 2023. The general debate of the 79th session of the General Assembly will open on Tuesday, 24 September, continue through Saturday, 28 September, and conclude on Monday, 30 September 2024.
The general debate of the UN General Assembly is the opportunity for heads of state and government and ministers to come together at the UN Headquarters and discuss world issues. The theme of this year’s general debate will be ‘Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations’. Heads of state and government and ministers will explore solutions to intertwined global challenges to advance peace, security, and sustainable development.
The highly anticipated Summit of the Future will also be held during UNGA on 22-23 September 2024, preceded by Action Days on 20-21 September.
The Global Standards Symposium (GSS) provides a high-level forum for discussion and coordination open both to ITU members and non-members. The theme of GSS-24 is “Charting the Next Digital Wave: Emerging Technologies, Innovation, and International Standards”.
The GSS24 will be held on 14 October 2024 in New Delhi and will be chaired by Dr Raj Kumar Upadhyay, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Project Board at Centre for Development of Telematics.
The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly is held every four years and defines the next period of study for ITU-T. The WTSA-24 is planned to take place from 15 to 24 October 2024 in New Delhi, India.
Regional preparatory meetings are organized by the regional telecommunication organizations in coordination with ITU.
On October 16, the Geneva Dialogue on Responsible Behaviour in Cyberspace, established by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and led by DiploFoundation with the support of several actors, will organise a session to discuss the protection of critical infrastructure (CI) at the 2024 Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW).
Cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure (CI) and assets, often undetected by the victim, have become the ‘new normal’ in today’s heightened geopolitical climate. Additionally, decision-makers are concerned not only with malicious cyber activities, but also with insecure software development practices and global supply chains that can lead to vulnerabilities and global disruptions.
To maintain international security and peace, do both state and non-state stakeholders know what is the right thing to do to secure critical infrastructure? How do the eleven voluntary norms that states have agreed upon to promote responsible behaviour in cyberspace (“agreed cyber norms”) support operators of critical infrastructure and other relevant stakeholders? Which questions should actors focus on to reduce harm from cyber threats affecting CI?
The session will discuss these questions in the context of the Geneva Manual on Responsible Behaviour in Cyberspace, a comprehensive guide on the implementation of agreed cyber norms and confidence-building measures (CBMs) by non-state stakeholders.
The agenda and further details are published at the SICW’s website.
The G20 Leaders’ Summit 2024 is scheduled for November 18 and 19, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This annual meeting brings together the heads of state and government from the 19 member countries, plus the African Union and the European Union. Brazil will hold the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2024. The G20 Summit represents the conclusion of the work carried out by the country that holds the rotating presidency of the group. It is the moment when heads of State and Government approve the agreements negotiated throughout the year.
Three overarching priorities will define Brazil’s presidency: combating hunger, poverty, and inequality; focusing on the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social, and environmental); and advocating for international governance reform. The theme of Brazil’s presidency over G20 is ‘Building a just world and a sustainable planet’,
The second UN open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on developments in the field of ICTs in the context of international security will hold its seventh substantive session from 2-6 December.
The OEWG is tasked with study of existing and potential threats to information security, and possible confidence-building measures and capacity building. It should also further develop rules, norms, and principles of responsible behaviour of states, discuss ways of implementing them, and explore the possibility of establishing regular open-ended institutional dialogue under the auspices of the UN.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host the 19th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Riyadh on 15-19 December 2024.
The conference will be held under the overarching theme of ‘Building our multistakeholder digital future‘ and organised around four main themes:
Harnessing innovation and balancing risks in the digital space. This theme seeks to encourage dialogue and the sharing of success stories and best practices for maximising the benefits of digital innovation for everyone. It also highlights the collective efforts of all stakeholders in addressing the risks associated with rapid digital transformation.
Enhancing the digital contribution to peace, development, and sustainability. This theme will investigate how digitalisation can be a catalyst for socioeconomic change and development, impacting both present and future generations.
Advancing human rights and inclusion in the digital age. This theme will focus on innovative solutions, frameworks, and initiatives that ensure universal meaningful connectivity and safeguard human rights in the digital world.
Improving digital governance for the Internet We Want. This theme is dedicated to finding ways to reinforce and support an open, transparent, inclusive, and bottom-up governance process for the Internet in pursuit of the vision of the Internet We Want.
The conference will be held in a hybrid format. Registration is now open.
Just-in-time reporting from the IGF
As we always do, the Digital Watch Observatory will provide just-in-time reporting from the IGF. Keep this page bookmarked for reports from all main and high-level sessions, workshops, and best practice forums (BPFs).
About the IGF
The IGF is an annual UN conference that brings together stakeholders from the fields of politics, business, science and research as well as civil society to discuss current issues and topics relating to the joint shaping of the internet and the digital environment.
