WSIS Forum 2026 Inaugural session

The moderator highlights that the 2026 WSIS Forum is not merely another annual gathering but a landmark event marking the beginning of the third decade of the WSIS process. It follows the WSIS Plus 20 review conducted in December 2025, which extended the mandate for another ten years of cooperation and digital development.

The moderator explicitly stated that the WSIS Forum 2026 marks the start of the third decade and the third mandate of the WSIS process , and that this year's Forum is set to kick off another 10 years of cooperation and digital development following the WSIS Plus 20 review in December last year .

Guy Ryder underscores that the WSIS Plus 20 outcome, adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2025, represents a renewed and collective commitment to digital cooperation at the global level. This outcome was the product of extensive and inclusive consultations, reflecting a broad consensus among member states and stakeholders.

Ryder noted that the General Assembly's adoption of the WSIS Plus 20 outcome last December represented a renewed commitment to collective action , and that the 2026 WSIS Forum is the very first major gathering following this landmark adoption, offering a real opportunity to translate commitments into implementation .

Ryder acknowledges that while significant progress has been made in connectivity since 2003, the digital divide has not been eliminated but has instead transformed. It now manifests along new dimensions such as access to artificial intelligence, computing power, and data governance, rather than simply internet access.

Ryder pointed out that nearly one third of humanity remains offline and that the digital divide has not closed but has simply changed its shape, now running along contours of AI access, computing power, and data governance .

Ryder argues that digital inclusion must be matched by digital capacity, meaning that countries require a comprehensive package of resources — not just connectivity — to genuinely benefit from the digital age. This includes infrastructure, skills, financing, data, and access to emerging technologies, all oriented towards sustainable development.

Ryder stated that digital inclusion must be matched by digital capacity, and that countries need access to infrastructure, skills, financing, data, and emerging technologies in ways that really do advance sustainable development .

Ryder argues that the pervasive impact of AI across society and the economy makes it imperative that the UN system operates in a coherent and coordinated manner. Fragmentation, competing mandates, or confusion among platforms would undermine the effectiveness of the international system in serving member states.

Ryder stated that as AI reshapes nearly every dimension of society and the economy, coherence across the UN system becomes absolutely essential , and he thanked ITU, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, and the regional commissions for developing a joint implementation roadmap for coherence between the Global Digital Compact and WSIS . He also warned that there cannot be a fragmented UN digital and AI landscape, nor competing platforms or confusion for the governments the system is meant to serve .

Ryder stresses that the various international digital and development frameworks must be aligned and mutually reinforcing rather than operating as separate, parallel processes. The collective responsibility of the international community is to ensure these commitments generate tangible results for people and communities.

Ryder argued that implementation must be coherent across the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, the 2030 Agenda, and the WSIS Framework, forming one coherent framework and not parallel tracks .

Ryder highlights the concrete step taken by key UN agencies to develop a joint implementation roadmap that bridges the Global Digital Compact and the WSIS framework. This roadmap is intended to guide how the UN organises its work, aligns its mechanisms, and supports practical implementation on the ground.

Ryder thanked ITU, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, and the regional commissions for their work over the past year to develop a joint implementation roadmap for coherence between the Global Digital Compact and WSIS , and stated that this roadmap must guide how work is organised, how mechanisms are aligned, and how implementation is supported practically and on the ground .

Ryder emphasises that developing countries have been central to the WSIS process from its very beginning, actively shaping it to ensure that development priorities remain at the core of global digital cooperation. This perspective continues to resonate strongly today.

Ryder noted that WSIS has long held special significance for developing countries, who helped shape the process from its inception to ensure that development remained at the centre of global digital cooperation , and that representatives from developing countries have repeatedly highlighted WSIS as a platform where their development priorities can be advanced through concrete action .

Ryder calls for ensuring that the most disadvantaged countries are not left behind in the digital transformation, but are instead empowered to both shape and benefit from the shared digital future. This is framed as a core responsibility of the international community.

Ryder stated that the collective responsibility is to ensure that every country, particularly those furthest behind, can participate fully in shaping and benefiting from the shared digital future .

Gungubele, speaking on behalf of South Africa as the outgoing WSIS Forum chair, frames the WSIS Plus 20 review outcome as a validation of the multi-stakeholder nature of the WSIS process. He emphasises that the renewal of the mandate is not to be taken lightly, as it is simultaneously a recognition of past achievements and an imperative for future action.

Gungubele stated that for South Africa, chairing the WSIS Plus 20 process was a profound honour, made more meaningful by what it represents - a validation of WSIS as a truly multi-stakeholder mechanism and a mandate renewed by UNGA to carry this work into its next year . He added that the renewal is both a vote of confidence and a call to action .

Gungubele acknowledges the significant progress made over two decades of the WSIS process in connecting people globally, while drawing attention to the substantial number still excluded. He highlights that this exclusion is disproportionately concentrated in Africa and developing countries, making it a matter of particular urgency.

Gungubele noted that 20 years on, 5.5 billion people have been connected, yet 2.6 billion remain excluded, and that this exclusion is disproportionately concentrated in Africa and developing countries .

Gungubele argues that the renewed WSIS mandate must be matched with concrete implementation, including strengthening the WSIS action lines and deepening capacity building. He specifically calls for emerging technologies such as AI to be governed in a manner that is both inclusive and ethical.

Gungubele stated that the union gives the platform to close the digital gap, but only if commitment is matched with implementation, WSIS action lines are strengthened, capacity building is deepened, and emerging technologies like AI are governed inclusively and ethically .

Gungubele reaffirms South Africa's commitment to the WSIS process and its readiness to collaborate with all stakeholders in translating the renewed mandate into concrete, measurable outcomes. The focus is on the billions of people who remain without meaningful connectivity.

Gungubele stated that South Africa stands ready to work with all stakeholders to turn the renewed mandate into tangible outcomes for the regulators and the billions still waiting to be meaningfully connected .

In his role as representative of the outgoing WSIS Forum chair, Gungubele stresses that the renewal of the WSIS mandate carries significant responsibility. He calls for concrete action through strengthening WSIS action lines and deepening capacity building to ensure that commitments are translated into real-world impact.

Gungubele stated that the renewal is both a vote of confidence and a call to action, and that the community must match commitment with implementation, strengthen WSIS action lines, deepen capacity building, and ensure emerging technologies like AI are governed inclusively and ethically .

Bogdan-Martin argues that the 20-year review and the resulting new mandate to 2035 have injected fresh energy into the WSIS community. She contends that the rapidly changing technological landscape and challenging political environment require WSIS to evolve into a new kind of forum capable of meeting these demands.

Bogdan-Martin stated that the 20-year review of WSIS by the UN General Assembly resulted in a new mandate to 2035 that has re-energised the community for the decade ahead , and that a new digital era demands a new kind of WSIS, one that can rise to a challenging political moment and a technological landscape changing faster than ever .

Bogdan-Martin presents a mixed picture of global connectivity progress: while internet use has reached 74% globally, a substantial 2.2 billion people remain entirely offline. She identifies affordability, relevant content and services, and digital skills as the persistent barriers preventing universal meaningful connectivity.

Bogdan-Martin noted that global internet use reached 74% by the end of last year , while at the same time 2.2 billion people are still completely offline , and that affordability, relevant content services, and digital skills remain stubborn barriers on the path to universal, meaningful connectivity .

Bogdan-Martin highlights concrete steps being taken to address the financing gap for digital development, including the convening of a dedicated task force. She also reports significant progress towards the Partner2Connect goal, with $82 billion in pledges already secured against a target of $100 billion.

Bogdan-Martin stated that she and the UN secretariat have convened a task force on financing for digital development with concrete recommendations expected by 2027 , and that with $82 billion in pledges, the Partner2Connect goal of mobilising $100 billion by the end of the year is within reach , with the WSIS community helping to get there and potential additional commitments expected later that day .

Bogdan-Martin identifies the closure of the $2.8 trillion financing gap as a critical and urgent priority for the WSIS community. This framing positions financing not merely as a technical issue but as a central challenge that the community must collectively address.

Bogdan-Martin explicitly called on the community to close the $2.8 trillion financing gap as the second of her three key priorities for the WSIS community to maintain momentum to 2035 .

Bogdan-Martin warns that as AI advances rapidly, there is a real risk of a new digital divide emerging on top of the existing one, separating those with AI capacity from those without. She argues that the WSIS community, with its multi-stakeholder approach and focus on people-centred development, is uniquely positioned to address this challenge.

Bogdan-Martin stated that the third priority is to build AI capacity so that a new divide does not open up on top of the old one , and that as AI races ahead, the WSIS community is uniquely placed to answer the questions everyone is asking about how to keep people at the centre .

Bogdan-Martin highlights the strong alignment between the Global Digital Compact and the WSIS framework, noting that every major GDC commitment has been mapped into the 11 WSIS action lines. She stresses the importance of maintaining this alignment and building on the synergies between the two frameworks.

Bogdan-Martin stated that every major GDC commitment, from open AI models to digital public infrastructure, has been mapped into the 11 WSIS action lines , and that every effort must be made to keep that alignment and build on those synergies , which is why GDC coherence has a dedicated track at the forum .

Luzio, representing Switzerland as co-host, affirms that the WSIS Plus 20 review process demonstrated the sustained and broad commitment of the international community to digital cooperation. She frames this as evidence of the enduring value and relevance of the WSIS process.

Luzio stated that the WSIS Plus 20 review process demonstrated the international community's continued commitment to strengthening digital cooperation , and that the Swiss government is firmly committed to the WSIS vision and will continue to play its part in advancing its implementation .

Luzio argues that AI is no longer a peripheral technology but is fundamentally reshaping economic, political, and infrastructural realities. She contends that existing governance frameworks, democratic safeguards, and forms of international cooperation must adapt effectively to keep pace with these rapid changes.

Luzio stated that AI increasingly shapes economic, political, systemic, and infrastructural realities , and that governance frameworks, democratic safeguards, and established forms of international cooperation must therefore find effective ways to keep pace . She also noted that the key question is how to ensure AI advances in a way that strengthens trust, improves opportunity, and serves the public interest .

Luzio highlights the unique value of the WSIS process as a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together a diverse range of actors to collectively shape the digital future. She frames this inclusive approach as the reason why the WSIS process remains so valuable.

Luzio stated that the WSIS process remains so valuable because it provides a platform where governments, international organisations, the private sector, academia, the technical community, and civil society come together to shape the digital future .

O'Connor emphasises that the 2026 WSIS Forum is a pivotal moment, being the first major gathering since the UN General Assembly adopted the WSIS Plus 20 review outcome. He argues that the time for reflection has passed and that the forum must now focus on translating commitments into concrete implementation.

O'Connor stated that only months ago the UN General Assembly adopted the WSIS Plus 20 review by consensus, reaffirming that the shared digital future must be people-centric, inclusive, and development-oriented , and that as this is the first forum since that review, the task is clear: the time for reflection is over and this is the time for implementation .

O'Connor argues that before applications, services, and algorithms, telecommunications infrastructure must be established as the foundational layer of the digital economy. He contends that telecom is not merely one sector among many but the essential backbone upon which all other digital services depend.

O'Connor stated that before the apps, services, and algorithms, there is the telecommunications infrastructure, which is the backbone of modern life, and that education, health, commerce, and security all run on that backbone, making telecom not one sector among many but the foundation of them all .

O'Connor reframes the digital divide as fundamentally a development divide, arguing that the inability to access digital technologies has profound consequences for human development more broadly. He calls for connecting the world and maintaining that connectivity as a shared global responsibility, framing resilience as a lifeline rather than a luxury.

O'Connor noted that nearly three quarters of humanity is online, yet 2.2 billion people are offline, and that this is no longer just a digital divide but a development divide . He stated that connecting the world and keeping it connected is what resilience means, and that resilience is not a luxury but a lifeline .

O'Connor argues that the complexity and scale of building a shared digital future necessitates collaboration across governments and sectors. He presents the WSIS Forum as the unique platform that fulfils this function by bringing all relevant actors together.

O'Connor stated that no single government and no single sector can build this future alone, and that the WSIS Forum brings everyone to the same table .

O'Connor highlights the UAE's long-standing and engagement with the WSIS process, distinguishing its role as a genuine partner rather than a passive observer. He points to the UAE's contributions to the WSIS stocktaking platform as concrete evidence of this commitment.

O'Connor stated that for two decades, the UAE has worked with WSIS not as an observer but as a partner, with contributions to the WSIS stocktaking now past 500 projects, each one putting technology in the service of people .

O'Connor uses the UAE's experience of maintaining network connectivity during real crises — including subsea cable cuts — as a practical example of the importance of network resilience. He offers to share the lessons learned from this experience with the broader international community.

O'Connor stated that in a region that has seen real disruption, the UAE has stayed stable and connected, and that when subsea cables were cut and crises hit, their networks kept school lessons going and hospitals operating . He added that the UAE stands ready to share what it has learned because the resilience of the global network is a responsibility all carry .

The video narration presents quantitative evidence of the WSIS process's scale and reach, highlighting the large number of projects registered on the stocktaking platform and the extensive participation in the forum. These figures are presented as evidence of a global community actively working to translate the WSIS vision into concrete action.

The narration stated that the WSIS stocktaking platform now holds over 21,000 projects driving change worldwide , with over 55,000 participants engaged and 641 WSIS prize submissions since 2012 , describing this as a global community turning vision into reality .

The video narration frames the WSIS process as fundamentally defined by its multi-stakeholder character, bringing together a diverse range of actors united by a shared purpose. This is presented as the defining spirit of the World Summit on the Information Society.

The narration described the WSIS Forum as a place where governments, industry, civil society, academia, and global partners come together with a shared purpose to build a digital world that is open, inclusive, and accessible to all , and characterised this as the spirit of partnerships, aspirations, and multi-stakeholderism that defines WSIS .

Hendy reframes the central challenge of the WSIS process not as a question of whether digital technology can support development — which he considers settled — but as a question of whether the coming decade's digital transformation will exacerbate or reduce existing inequalities. He frames this as a profound responsibility for both current and future generations.

Hendy stated that the question before the international community today is no longer whether digital technology can support development, as it is known that it can , but rather whether the digital transformation of the coming decade will widen existing gaps or help close them, and that this is the responsibility for current and future generations .

Hendy argues that technology, including AI, is not inherently directed towards good or ill outcomes but is shaped by the decisions, rules, and partnerships that humans establish around it. This framing positions responsible governance as the central task of the WSIS process in the AI era.

Hendy stated that technology does not carry a moral direction on its own, and that it reflects the choices made, the rules set, and the partnerships built , and that this is why the next phase of WSIS must be a phase of implementation focused on helping countries move from connectivity to meaningful use and from access to real capability .

Hendy argues that the multi-stakeholder nature of WSIS is not merely a procedural formality but a substantive condition for producing better decisions and outcomes. The diversity of voices brought together at WSIS is presented as a core source of its value.

Hendy stated that WSIS has a special value because it brings the world's diverse voices to one table, and that this diversity is not a formality but a condition for better decisions .

Hendy articulates an ambitious vision for the Global South that goes beyond mere connectivity to participation in shaping the digital economy. He calls for building local capacity, content, innovation, and trusted digital services that respond to the specific development needs of developing countries.

Hendy stated that for developing countries and the Global South more broadly, the ambition is not only to be connected to the digital economy but to help shape it, building local capacity, local content, local innovation, and trusted digital services that respond to their own development needs .

Hendy outlines Egypt's vision for its chairmanship of the WSIS Forum, centred on a shift from planning and commitment to concrete implementation. He articulates a progression from mere connectivity to meaningful use, and from access to real capability, as the key objectives of this phase.

Hendy stated that it is a great honour for Egypt to assume the chairmanship of the WSIS Forum , and that the next phase of WSIS must be a phase of implementation, helping countries move from connectivity to meaningful use, from access to real capability, and from digital adoption to digital value creation .

Hendy pays tribute to South Africa's leadership of the WSIS Forum during the critical WSIS Plus 20 review year, characterising it as thoughtful and inclusive. He frames Egypt's chairmanship as building upon this strong foundation rather than starting afresh.

Hendy extended sincere appreciation to South Africa for its distinguished chairmanship of the WSIS Forum in 2025, a pivotal year marked by the WSIS Plus 20 review and important global discussions on the future of digital cooperation, noting that South Africa provided thoughtful and inclusive leadership . He stated that Egypt is proud to build on this strong foundation as it takes forward the next chapter of the WSIS process .

Hendy outlines Egypt's approach to its chairmanship role, emphasising listening, consensus-building, and the translation of shared priorities into practical cooperation. He redefines success not by the number of sessions held but by the bridges built, partnerships enabled, and tangible progress achieved.

Hendy stated that Egypt's role as chair is to listen, to build consensus, and to help turn shared priorities into practical cooperation , and that success will not be measured by the number of sessions held but by the bridges built, the partnerships enabled, and the tangible progress achieved together .

Hamzah presents Malaysia's leadership in developing the ASEAN 5G Skills Framework as a concrete initiative to address the talent and skills gap in advanced digital infrastructure across the region. The framework was developed through extensive consultation with ASEAN member states, industry, academia, and international organisations.

Hamzah stated that Malaysia led the development of the ASEAN 5G Skills Framework through extensive consultation and validation with ASEAN member states, industry stakeholders, academia, and international organisations . The framework identifies 50 critical job roles, 111 prime and power skills, and 12 high-priority skills gaps across areas such as network infrastructure, cloud technologies, cybersecurity, AI, data engineering, and digital services . He noted the framework is designed to accommodate different levels of digital maturity, making it adaptable within ASEAN and relevant to other regions .

Hamzah presents Malaysia's MCMC Five-Year Plan 2030 as a comprehensive strategic roadmap for guiding the country's digital transformation. At its core is a human-centred approach that ensures technological progress is accompanied by strong governance, accountability, and public trust.

Hamzah stated that the Five-Year Plan 2030 serves as MCMC's strategic roadmap to guide Malaysia's digital transformation, focusing on expanding meaningful connectivity, strengthening digital trust, enhancing data governance, developing digital talent, and enabling responsible innovation . He noted that at its core is a human-centred approach ensuring technological progress is accompanied by strong governance, accountability, and public trust .

Hamzah presents Malaysia's Sebenarnya.my platform as a successful national initiative to combat misinformation and strengthen public trust in the digital information ecosystem. The platform's scale of usage is presented as evidence of strong public trust and reliance on verified information.

Hamzah stated that Malaysia established Sebenarnya.my as the country's official national fact-checking platform, providing the public with timely access to verified and authoritative information through collaboration with government agencies, ministries, and relevant stakeholders . As of 31st May 2026, the platform had recorded more than 439 million views, reflecting strong public trust and reliance on the platform for verified information .

The Saudi Arabian representative reaffirms the Kingdom's strong and continued commitment to the ITU's core mission, framing it as an approach based on continuity and effective contribution. This commitment is presented in the context of Saudi Arabia's candidacy for re-election to the ITU Council.

The representative stated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirms its firm commitment to the ITU mission and international organisations in linking humanity, building capacity, promoting trust, and harnessing technology to serve sustainable development , and that based on this approach of continuity and effective contribution, the Kingdom looks forward to renewed confidence and submits its candidacy for re-election to ITU Council membership .

Gitanjali, in her opening welcome, characterises the WSIS Forum as fundamentally defined by a spirit of partnerships, aspirations, and multi-stakeholderism. She frames this spirit as the essence of the World Summit on the Information Society, setting the tone for the entire forum.

Gitanjali invited delegates to enjoy the curtain-raiser video as a glimpse into the spirit of partnerships, aspirations, and the spirit of multi-stakeholderism that defines the World Summit on the Information Society .