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13 Oct 2025

Ten Steps to Strengthen Stakeholder Engagement in the WSIS+20 Intergovernmental Phase

Add your signature to the statement here.

Accepting endorsements until 30 October 2025.

We, the undersigned, recognise the progress made during the preparatory phase to strengthen stakeholder engagement in line with the recommendations in the Five-Point Plan for an Inclusive WSIS+20 Review and its Eight Practical Recommendations. To fully implement these recommendations and advance meaningful stakeholder engagement in the intergovernmental stage, we recommend the following ten actions: 

Recommendations for governments:

1. Meaningful dialogue: Organise regular, structured exchanges and invite written contributions to inform national and/or regional positions in advance of key milestones, publish summaries explaining how stakeholder input informed national and/or regional positions.

2. Leverage existing consultations: Actively participate in UN and stakeholder-led consultations related to WSIS+20, ensuring that government perspectives are informed by open dialogue with non-governmental actors.

3. Inclusive delegations: Invite non-governmental experts to join and advise national delegations before and during the negotiations.

4. Standing advisory mechanisms: Establish permanent multistakeholder bodies at the national level to provide guidance on digital policy related to WSIS+20 implementation and beyond.

5. Advocate for reform: Champion structured channels for independent stakeholder participation in multilateral forums and processes related to WSIS+20, grounded in openness, inclusion, transparency and consensus-building.

Recommendations for the UN, including the co-facilitators and their teams, the Office of the President Assembly, UN DESA and others:

6. Transparent input: Enhance transparency via the dedicated WSIS+20 website by publishing all submissions and iterations of the draft outcome document, including annotated versions to track government proposals and changes across drafts.*

7. Iterative feedback: Continue collecting feedback on each iteration of the draft outcome document via written inputs and hybrid or virtual consultations, and publish synthesis reports of inputs received to highlight areas of consensus, divergence, or ongoing discussion.

8. Inclusive engagement: Continue to design inclusive dialogues that balance speaking opportunities between governmental and non-governmental stakeholders and structure discussions around key questions and outstanding issues to facilitate consensus-building.

9. Open proceedings: Allow non-governmental actors to observe all intergovernmental negotiations and provide space for non-governmental stakeholders to intervene after key discussion items, publish transcripts and limit closed-door negotiations to the final stage.

10. Meaningful participation at the High-Level Meeting: Facilitate hybrid modalities, apply broad eligibility criteria, allocate speaking opportunities for non-governmental stakeholders, and provide space for side events and cross-stakeholder engagement.

 *For example, see recent negotiations on the UN Cybercrime Convention.

 

List of endorsing organisations:

  1. .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA)
  2. acAIberry Technologies, Nepal
  3. Access Now
  4. Article 19
  5. Associação DNS.PT, .PT (ccTLD .pt)
  6. Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
  7. Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication
  8. CyberPeace Institute
  9. Data Privacy Brasil
  10. DENIC eG
  11. DotAsia Organisation
  12. European Center for Not-For-Profit Law Stichting
  13. FactSpace West Africa
  14. Fundación Multitudes
  15. Global Forum for Media Development
  16. Global Network Initiative
  17. Global Partners Digital (GPD)
  18. International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICCNL)
  19. Internet Australia
  20. Internet Society (ISOC)
  21. Internet Society Burundi Chapter
  22. Internet Society Dominican Republic Chapter
  23. Internet Society Jamaica Chapter
  24. Internet Society Libya Chapter
  25. Internet Society Nigeria Chapter
  26. Internet Society Paraguay Chapter
  27. InternetNZ (.nz)
  28. Kijiji Yeetu
  29. Kontemporary Konsulting Ltd
  30. National Internet Exchange of Afghanistan (NIXA)
  31. NetMission.Asia
  32. Paradigm Initiative
  33. Public Interest Registry (PIR)
  34. Seoul National University – Graduate School of International Studies
  35. Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland (SIDN)
  36. STOPAIDS
  37. Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC)
  38. Tech Global Institute
  39. The Usawa Institute
  40. Tucows Domains
  41. WACC
  42. Wikimedia CH
  43. Wikimedia Deutschland e. V.

List of endorsing individuals:

  1. Alembe Joseph Lubembela
  2. Amged B Shwehdy
  3. Andrea Melyn Catalan
  4. Anthony Lee, TWNIC
  5. Anupam Gautam
  6. Azeem Sajjad
  7. Bismillah Sadiqi
  8. Engr. Kunle Olorundare, SMIEEE (President ISOC Nigeria)
  9. Francesca Bosco, CyberPeace Institute
  10. Jasmine Ko Yee Man
  11. Jenna Fung, NetMission.Asia
  12. JImson Olufuye
  13. Manal Ismail
  14. Margaret Naa Oyoo Owoo
  15. Matiullah Safi
  16. Minseo Kim, M.A. Student
  17. Muswagha Katya
  18. Nana Ama Yeboah Addo
  19. Nduwayo Eraste
  20. Osvaldo Larancuent
  21. Prof. Wolfgang Kleinwaechter
  22. Rafi Uddin