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Ministers, industry leaders, and representatives of international organizations and civil society joined together today at the inauguration of the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025, in preparation for the United Nations General Assembly’s review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process due in December.
RELATED: WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025 in Geneva to guide next phase of global digital development
The 2025 edition of the annual Forum, held from 7 to 11 July 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland, comes at a key moment for digital development, as WSIS marks 20 years of progress in building inclusive, people-centered information societies and begins to shape a vision beyond 2025.
With over 150 countries represented, the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025 sets the stage for renewed commitments to harness digital technologies for sustainable development, universal connectivity, and global collaboration. The event is co-hosted by ITU, the UN agency for digital technologies, and the Swiss Confederation.
“For twenty years, WSIS has united the global community around a vision of a digital world that works for everyone,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “As we approach the UN General Assembly’s review, the WSIS+20 High-Level Event is a crucial opportunity to identify priorities for the next phase of global digital cooperation.”
Contributing to global digital progress
The World Summit on the Information Society places people at the centre of digital progress and establishes agile governance processes to keep pace with emerging technologies.
Since WSIS was first convened two decades ago, notable global shifts include:
- Internet connectivity has expanded from approximately 1 billion users in 2005 to over 5.5 billion today.
- Technology infrastructure has evolved from basic dial-up connections to advanced 5G networks, robust cloud computing systems and satellite-enabled broadband service.
- Multistakeholder cooperation has emerged as a vital approach to addressing complex digital challenges, while previous efforts were often fragmented.
The WSIS+20 High-Level Event provides an opportunity to reflect on these achievements and chart a forward-looking path to explore emerging trends such as artificial intelligence and data governance, while addressing persistent inequalities in access to technology.
WSIS Prizes 2025 winners announced
During the WSIS Prizes 2025 Ceremony, 19 winners were announced, showcasing outstanding projects that use emerging technologies to bridge the digital divide and advance socio-economic progress on a global scale.
Category 1: The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
Organization: Engineering and Technical Center of the President’s Affairs Administration (Republic of Kazakhstan)
Project: Situational-Analytical Complex
Category 2: Information and communication infrastructure
Organization: Telefónica del Perú (Peru)
Project: Internet para Todos
Category 3: Access to information and knowledge
Organization: Nigerian Communications Commission (Federal Republic of Nigeria)
Project: Digital Awareness Programme
Building Capacity, Confidence and Enabling Environment
Category 4: Capacity building
Organization: Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (Malaysia)
Project: National Information Dissemination Centre
Category 5: Building confidence and security in use of ICTs
1. Organization: Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (Thailand)
Project: Anti Online Scam Operation Center (AOC)
2. Organization: Centre for Development of Telematics (Republic of India)
Project: AI & Facial Recognition Powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification
Category 6: Enabling environment
Organization: Dept. of Communications and Digital Technologies (Republic of South Africa)
Project: Digitech
Benefiting from ICT applications
Category 7: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-government)
Organization: Department of Government Enablement (United Arab Emirates)
Project: TAMM AI Assistant: The AI-Powered Government Agent Redefining Public Services
Category 8: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-business)
Organization: Department of Information and Communications Technology – MIMAROPA Region (Republic of the Philippines)
Project: From Weeks to Minutes: How Occidental Mindoro Revolutionized Business Permitting
Category 9: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-learning)
Organization: Ministry of Education (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
Project: Madrasati Learning Management System
Category 10: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-health)
Organization: PHARMACCESS (United Republic of Tanzania)
Project: A New Era in Zanzibar’s Healthcare: The Game-Changing Role of Digital Unique IDs
Category 11: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-employment)
Organization: Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population (Republic of Azerbaijan)
Project: Graduates Employment Ranking
Category 12: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-environment)
Organization: China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (People’s Republic of China)
Project: Rapid, accurate and secure production, dissemination and communication of early warning for meteorological disaster
Category 13: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-agriculture)
Organization: Ministry of Agriculture and Forest (Kingdom of Bhutan)
Project: Agricultural Marketing Information System (AMIS)
Category 14: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-science)
Organization: Biomedical Neuroscience Institute (BNI), University of Chile (Chile)
Project: Improving brain proteostasis as a strategy to reduce the adverse effects of aging on the cognitive decline of the elderly
Cultural Diversity, Media, Ethical Dimensions, Int’nl Cooperation
Category 15: Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content
Organization: BASAibu (Republic of Indonesia)
Project: Empowering Youth Through Digital Innovation: Enhancing Capacity, Opportunities, and Participation in Civic Life
Category 16: Media
Organization: The Usawa Institute (Republic of Zimbabwe)
Project: Girls Speak Out
Category 17: Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
Organization: National Cyber Security Agency (State of Qatar)
Project: Cyber Security Education Curriculum – 2025
Category 18: International and regional cooperation
Organization: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (Federal Republic of Germany)
Project: One Health Data Alliance Africa
The WSIS+20 High-Level Event takes place alongside ITU’s AI for Good Global Summit 2025, providing a platform that brings together global communities to engage on the impact and future of digital technologies.
