Digital Technology Governance Hub

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• Key Forums Guide

  A guide to key forums in the Internet Governance policy space

  WSIS+20 Review

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  The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was a landmark two-phase UN summit, held in 2003 and 2005, which aimed to address the issues raised by information and communication technologies (ICTs). It generated a Declaration of Principles, Action Lines, and the Tunis agenda, where the Internet Governance Forum’s mandate stems from.

  In 2015, there was a ten year review of its outcomes and implementation (the WSIS+10 Review) and preparations are currently under review for the WSIS+20 Review, which will take place in 2025.

   

  Opportunities to engage

  • UN Economic and Social Council Resolution E/RES/2023/3 has called on the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) to collect stakeholder input and organise discussions on WSIS+20 at its 27th and 28th sessions (in 2024 and 2025). There is currently a call for inputs on the review of the WSIS implementation, open until 31 March 2024 via this questionnaire.
  • From 27-31 May 2024, the WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event will be taking place in Geneva. Co-organised by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD and co-hosted by ITU and the Swiss Confederation, this meeting will serve as a platform for multistakeholder discussions to discuss trends, challenges, opportunities and achievements of the WSIS follow-up process. Stakeholders can register to attend via this link.

   

  Existing outputs

  • Geneva Declaration of Principles (link)
  • Geneva Plan of Action (link)
  • Tunis Commitment (link)
  • Tunis Agenda for the Information Society (link)
  • WSIS+10 Statement on Implementation of WSIS Outcomes and the WSIS+10 Vision for WSIS Beyond 2015 (link) 

   

  Important dates

  • 31 March 2024, deadline to submit input on the CSTD questionnaire. 
  • 27-31 May 2024, WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event, Geneva, Switzerland. 
  • May 2025, WSIS Forum 2025.
  • September 2025, UNGA High-Level Meeting on the WSIS Process

  Summit of the Future

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  The Summit of the Future is an upcoming UN event in September 2024, which aims to forge a new global consensus on multilateral solutions to current and future problems. 

  The proposal for the Summit came from a 2021 report by the UN Secretary General (“Our Common Agenda”), which was responding to commitments made by states at the UN75 Declaration in 2020. An action-oriented Pact for the Future is expected to be agreed by Member States through intergovernmental negotiations.

   

  Opportunities to engage

  • The UN Civil Society Conference (link), scheduled to take place on 9 and 10 May 2024 in Nairobi, will have a focus on the Summit of the Future.
  • Civil society engagement modalities are outlined in the co-facilitators’ letter about the preparatory process for the SOTF (link).

   

  Existing outputs

  • Resolution A/RES/76/307 (link)
  • “Our Common Agenda” report by the Secretary-General (link)
  • Co-facilitators’ letter outlining the preparatory process for the SOTF and engagement of major groups and other stakeholders and civil society (link)  
  • Zero Draft of the Pact for the Future (link)
  • Co-facilitators’ letter outlining the updated roadmap for the remainder of the second reading (link). 

   

  Important dates

  • March – April 2024, Second Reading of the Zero Draft.
  • 9-10 May 2024, UN Civil Society Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. 
  • 22-23 September 2024, Summit of the Future, New York City, US.

  Global Digital Compact

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  The Common Agenda report by the UN Secretary-General proposed a Global Digital Compact (GDC) to be agreed at the Summit of the Future in September 2024 through a technology track involving all stakeholders: governments, the United Nations system, the private sector (including tech companies), civil society, grassroots organisations, academia, and individuals, including youth. The GDC is expected to “outline shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future for all”.

   

  Opportunities to engage

  • Stakeholders can provide feedback on the GDC structural elements until 8 March 2024 (link).

   

  Existing outputs

  • Resolution A/RES/76/307 (link)
  • “Our Common Agenda” report by the Secretary-General (link)
  • “A Global Digital Compact — an Open, Free and Secure Digital Future for All.” Our Common Agenda Policy Brief 5 (link) 
  • Possible elements of a Global Digital Compact (link)

   

  Important dates

  • 8 March 2024, deadline to submit feedback on GDC structural elements. 
  • 5 April 2024, zero draft of GDC to be presented to Member States.

  NETmundial+10

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  In April 2014, Brazil hosted the “Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance”, better known as NETmundial, which gathered representatives from different stakeholder groups to discuss internet governance issues.  NETmundial aimed to forge consensus on universally accepted governance principles and to improve their institutional framework.

  Ten years on from the first edition of the meeting, NETmundial+10 will be taking place in São Paulo in April 2024, as an opportunity to reflect on outcomes and set out a future roadmap on digital governance. 

   

  Opportunities to engage

  • Participation will be hybrid, and actors interested in attending can submit a statement of interest through this link.

   

  Existing outputs

  • NETmundial 2014 Multistakeholder Statement (link)
  • NETmundial 2024 website (link)

   

  Important dates

  • 29-30 April 2024, São Paulo, Brazil, NETmundial+10 conference.

• Digital Technology Governance Calendar

• Monthly updates (The Digest)