Huge gathering of experts in Geneva explores the ways in which information and communication technology can beat poverty, inequality, disease, hunger and climate change.
More than 2,500 information and communication technology (ICT) experts from around the globe have convened in Geneva for the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2018, co-organized UNCTAD, to focus on sustainable development trends and inclusive ICT initiatives.
Participants are set to include around 500 high-level policymakers from more than 150 countries, including government ministers, and experts, civil society leaders, academics, business leaders and international organizations.
“Developing countries are at a significant disadvantage compared to developed countries when it comes to benefiting from digitalization,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said. “Narrowing digital gaps between and within countries is a key part of UNCTAD’s mandate for sustainable development.”
Exceptional occasion
The 19-23 March forum will focus on how countries can use ICT to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in priority areas such as health, hunger, education, youth inclusion, employment, gender empowerment, the environment, infrastructure and innovation.
“The WSIS Forum is an exceptional occasion to bring together stakeholders in the information society, and their diverse contributions, to better leverage technology as we work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” Dr. Kituyi said.
The WSIS forum is the world's largest annual multi-stakeholder gathering of the ICT for development community and is co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), UNCTAD, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), in close collaboration with other United Nations agencies.
"It is with great pleasure that ITU joins together with all United Nations agencies, in particular UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP to facilitate WSIS Forum 2018," ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said. “We look forward to welcoming the global ICT for development community to Geneva so that they may work together to leverage the power of ICT for achievement of the SDGs.”
Drones, robots and AI
The WSIS Forum has become a real demonstration of how the WSIS and SDGs processes are being aligned when they are implemented, building on the WSIS-SDG Matrix developed by UN WSIS Action Line Facilitators. An interactive mapping tool is available that shows the links between the Action Lines and the SDGs identified by WSIS.
The WSIS Forum 2018 will result in several concrete outcomes that will enable stakeholders to strengthen implementation of WSIS Action Lines and the alignment of the WSIS and SDG processes.
The WSIS Forum 2018 agenda features more than 200 specialized workshops covering a wide array of topics identified through a participatory process with WSIS stakeholders.
As part of this, there will be a special display of "ICT Solutions for SDGs" including drones for social development, robotics, artificial intelligence – and virtual reality for development sessions bringing together high-level personalities and world class virtual reality experiences.
WSIS Prizes for 2018 will be given in recognition of outstanding success in implementing development-oriented strategies using ICTs. This year, approximately one million online votes were cast for the 492 projects nominated out of 685 submitted.
This year's WSIS Forum marks 15 years since the first summit held in Geneva, demonstrating that the foundations of a "just and equal information society" set by the Geneva Plan of Action in 2003 are still crucial to all WSIS stakeholders.
This year's WSIS Forum is generously supported by: Platinum Partner: UAE; Gold Partner: Saudi Arabia; Partner for Specific Activities: Japan, Rwanda, IEEE, Switzerland; Contributing Partner, Poland, Oman, ICANN, ISOC; Supporting Partner: Swiss Engineering.
