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13 Oct 2025

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

Closed for endorsements as of 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. Africa ICT Alliance – AfICTA
  5. Article 19
  6. Associação DNS.PT, .PT (ccTLD .pt)
  7. Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
  8. Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication
  9. Community NetHUBs
  10. Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR)
  11. CyberPeace Institute
  12. Daniele Turra, Youth IGF Italy
  13. Data Privacy Brasil
  14. DENIC eG
  15. Derechos Digitales
  16. DigiSphere Centre for Digital Creativity
  17. DigiSphere Limited
  18. DNS Africa Media and Communications
  19. DotAsia Organisation
  20. European Center for Not-For-Profit Law Stichting
  21. FactSpace West Africa
  22. Fundación Multitudes
  23. Global Forum for Media Development
  24. Global Network Initiative
  25. Global Partners Digital (GPD)
  26. Identity Digital Inc
  27. International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICCNL)
  28. International Chamber of Commerce Business Action to Support the Information Society initiative (ICC BASIS)
  29. Internet Australia
  30. Internet Society (ISOC)
  31. Internet Society Artificial Intelligence SIG
  32. Internet Society Burundi Chapter
  33. Internet Society Cameroon Chapter
  34. Internet Society Colombia Chapter
  35. Internet Society Cybersecurity SIG
  36. Internet Society Dominican Republic Chapter
  37. Internet Society Ethiopia Chapter
  38. Internet Society Hawaii Chapter
  39. Internet Society Jamaica Chapter
  40. Internet Society Libya Chapter
  41. Internet Society Mexico Chapter
  42. Internet Society Nigeria Chapter
  43. Internet Society Paraguay Chapter
  44. Internet Society Philippines Chapter
  45. Internet Society Tanzania Chapter
  46. Internet Society Venezuela Chapter
  47. InternetNZ (.nz)
  48. Kijiji Yeetu
  49. Knowledge House
  50. Kontemporary Konsulting Ltd
  51. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
  52. National Internet Exchange of Afghanistan (NIXA)
  53. NetMission.Asia
  54. Nominet UK
  55. Paradigm Initiative
  56. Public Interest Registry (PIR)
  57. Seoul National University – Graduate School of International Studies
  58. Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland (SIDN)
  59. STOPAIDS
  60. Success Bridge Community Development Foundation
  61. Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC)
  62. Tech Global Institute
  63. The Usawa Institute
  64. The Wikimedia Foundation
  65. Tucows Domains
  66. Vietnam network of People living with HIV
  67. WACC
  68. Wikimedia CH
  69. Wikimedia Deutschland e. V.
  70. Young Digital Leaders of Canada | Jeunes leaders numériques du Canada
  71. Yumbe District Local Government

List of endorsing individuals:

  1. Aare Adebunmi Akinbo
  2. Abdou MFOPA POUNTOUGNIGNI, (President of ISOC Cameroon)
  3. Adeel Nayyar
  4. Alejandra Stolk
  5. Alembe Joseph Lubembela
  6. Alvin Valeriano de Borja Marcelo
  7. Amged B Shwehdy
  8. Andrea Melyn Catalan
  9. Anthony Lee, TWNIC
  10. Anupam Gautam
  11. Arinola Akinyemi
  12. Atukwase Ramadhan
  13. Azeem Sajjad
  14. Bismillah sadiqi
  15. Bruna Martins dos Santos
  16. Dr. Hosein F. Badran, Principal Advisor, Badran Digital Consulting, Canada
  17. Dr. Konstantinos Komaitis, Democracy and Tech Initiative, Atlantic Council
  18. Dr. Nazarius Nicholas Kirama
  19. Dr. William J. Drake, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Columbia University
  20. Dramiga Moses
  21. Engr. Kunle Olorundare, SMIEEE (President of ISOC Nigeria)
  22. Fatoumata Nimaga, Marketing & Communication Lead at Green Fad
  23. Francesca Bosco, CyberPeace Institute
  24. Hossam R Elgamal
  25. Jasmine Ko Yee Man
  26. Jefferson Limjuco
  27. Jenna Fung, NetMission.Asia
  28. JImson Olufuye
  29. Kiki Fong Lim
  30. Kodzo Yayra Christophe Philippe
  31. Madeline M. Salvino
  32. Manal Ismail
  33. Margaret Naa Oyoo Owoo
  34. Matiullah Safi
  35. Minseo Kim, M.A. Student
  36. Muswagha Katya
  37. Nana Ama Yeboah Addo
  38. Navina Jastin Mutabazi
  39. Nduwayo Eraste
  40. Nkoro, NKoro E.
  41. Osvaldo Larancuent
  42. PHAM HUYEN TRANG
  43. Prof. Wolfgang Kleinwaechter
  44. Rafi Uddin
  45. Sara (Meg) Davis
  46. Srinivasa Rao Ravipudi