The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 Forum High-Level Event took stock of the achievements, key trends, challenges, and opportunities in building people-centric, inclusive, and development-oriented information and knowledge societies. The meeting assessed the Forum’s relevance amidst profound changes driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and other new and emerging technologies.

The High-Level Event marked 20 years in the implementation of the outcomes WSIS achieved in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2003 and in Tunis, Tunisia, in 2005.

The Chair’s summary notes that in an effort to assess “our digital present and future,” participants offered reflections on a broad range of topics, including cybersecurity and trust, AI, emerging technologies, meaningful access to infrastructure and content, and the digital divides.

Some of the main takeaways from more than 200 sessions as summarized by the Char include:

• The digital growth must be sustained and accelerated if the aim of connecting all humanity is to be realized.
• Much more needs to be done to foster “digital diversity” as it will be critical for dealing with biases and adjusting AI platforms to local and cultural specificities.
• WSIS processes should play a critical role in the technical standardization and broader digital policy dynamics interface.
• The concept of digital public goods is central for managing data, information, and knowledge and accelerating the achievement of the SDGs.
• It is important to ensure that AI governance debates and mechanisms are “more prominently anchored” in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.

With respect to digital technology and sustainable development, the Chair’s summary notes that while there is no specific SDG on digital matters, digital technologies can serve as a cross-cutting enabler of all SDGs, becoming the “invisible 18th SDG.”

Looking towards the Summit of the Future (SoF) and beyond, the summary emphasizes the need for multistakeholder collaboration in ensuring that past achievements guide future progress, with WSIS outcomes serving as a comprehensive roadmap for leveraging digital technologies for sustainable development and social inclusion. It notes broad agreement that the WSIS Forum, AI for Good Global Summit, and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) should form the basis for further implementation of the WSIS vision, and that the Global Digital Compact should leverage and further strengthen these structures.

The High-Level Event took place in Geneva from 27-31 May 2024. It was co-organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Switzerland and ITU acted as co-hosts. The 2024 AI for Good Global Summit convened in parallel. [Chair’s Summary] [Highlights, Announcements, and Key Outcomes] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on WSIS Forum 2023]