Agenda

Digital technologies are rapidly transforming societies and economies, and have the potential to address complex and interconnected development challenges and build a sustainable future for all - as envisioned in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, more needs to be done to leverage the development potential of digital technologies, especially when  roughly one-third of the global population  remain unconnected to the Internet .  

After around 20 years of engagement from all WSIS stakeholders, the WSIS process remains the leading global platform for multistakeholder collaboration to make ICTs a critical driver of global development.

Highlighting the theme of the WSIS Forum 2023 (13-17 March), this session will focus on how ICTs and the WSIS Action Lines can help build back better and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in LDCs, learning from the COVID-19 experience to build an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable societies and economies. The session will emphasize the importance of strengthening partnerships and digital cooperation to achieve goals and targets across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to deliver on The Doha Programme of Action adopted in 2022. 

Moreover, this discussion will focus on the strategic ways and concrete actions that governments, and partners leverage ICTs, raising key challenges and gaps, identifying digital capacities to prioritize based on needs on the ground, and the synergies necessary to support those, in the context of the LDCs.

Since its inception, UNGIS has played an important role in the WSIS process, including forging collaboration and partnerships among UN Chief Executives Board (CEB) members to achieve WSIS objectives. UNGIS is committed to maintaining ICT and science and technology issues at the top of the UN agenda and advocating for the implementation of ICTs for development solutions in the programmes of CEB members. Drawing on the respective competencies of the different members of the Group, UNGIS is working collectively to implement more coordinated actions, greater coherence and effectiveness in the UN’s overall support to the implementation of the WSIS outcomes.

The WSIS process is built on the framework of the 11 WSIS Action Lines that cover all aspects of ICTs for development. Since 2015, the WSIS process and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development have been aligned, so that stakeholders can integrate ICTs into their approaches in executing the activities/initiatives to realize the 2030 Agenda.