CSTD Open Consultation on WSIS+20 – Pre 08 2024

17 June 2024 | 14:00 - 15:30 EEST | Auditorium
Consolidated programme 2024

Session teaser

CSTD consultation in the European region on WSIS at 20: Successes, failures and future expectations

This session aims to promote detailed discussions among diverse stakeholders like UN bodies, governments, the private sector, civil society, and other communities active in ICT development. The deliberations will significantly contribute to the CSTD secretariat’s report to be prepared as inputs to the General Assembly's review in 2025, which will be central to the CSTD discussions on WSIS+20 Review, as instructed by the ECOSOC.

See the detailed programme

Session description

WSIS at 20: Successes, failures and future expectations

The event, in partnership with International Telecommunication Union, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and United Nations Development Programme, aims to promote detailed discussions among diverse stakeholders like UN bodies, governments, the private sector, civil society, and other communities active in ICT development. The deliberations will significantly contribute to the CSTD secretariat’s report to be prepared as inputs to the General Assembly's review in 2025, which will be central to the CSTD discussions on WSIS+20 Review, as instructed by the ECOSOC.

Questions to be addressed:

• To what extent and how has the vision of a "people-centred, inclusive and development oriented Information Society" evolved over the past 20 years since WSIS?
• How will ongoing trends and emerging technologies, particularly AI, impact progress towards human development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Moreover, how can these trends enable or hinder the realization of the WSIS vision?
• What measures should be taken to advance international cooperation, including in terms of governance, to leverage emerging technologies for sustainable development in economic, social, environmental, and cultural dimensions?

Background:

The General Assembly adopted the A/70/125 resolution on 16th December 2015, emphasizing the need for a high-level meeting in 2025 for a comprehensive review of the World Summit on the Information Society's (WSIS) progress known as WSIS+20 Review. The primary vision of WSIS is to form a “people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented information society” using information and communication technologies for sustainable growth. Due to rapid technological change, today’s information society differs greatly from what was envisaged in 2005. However, the WSIS vision remains highly relevant.

Format

The event is an integral part of open consultations that the CSTD secretariat will conduct, as part of the WSIS+20 Review, and aims to promote detailed discussions among diverse stakeholders (governments, civil society, the private sector, the technical and academic communities involved in ICT development and the international and regional organizations). The discussions are expected to contribute to the General Assembly's review in 2025, after being discussed at the CSTD as requested by the ECOSOC.

Further reading

WSIS+20 webpage

People

Key participants:

• Keynote by: Karolis Žemaitis, Vice-Minister of the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania
• Ana Cristina Amoroso das Neves, Vice Chair of the 28th Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) of the United Nations
• Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)