WSIS

UNDESA - Institutional Home of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Secretariat

UNDESA provides the institutional home for the Internet Governance Forum. The concept of the IGF emerged between the two phases of WSIS. The intention was to fill “a vacuum within the context of existing structures” and to address “issues that are cross-cutting and multidimensional and that either affect more than one institution, are not dealt with by any institution or are not addressed in a coordinated manner”. The second phase of WSIS in Tunis requested the Secretary-General of the United Nations to convene the IGF with the mandate to deal with the broad range of issues related to Internet governance as defined by the Tunis Agenda in the section relating to Internet governance, from paragraph 22 to 82. Through dialogue, the IGF seeks to develop a common understanding of these issues and raise awareness of the development dimension of Internet governance. By setting development and capacity building as its cross-cutting and overarching priorities, the IGF made it clear that Internet governance is not an end in itself, but should be responsive to the economic and social dimensions of development.

The IGF is not a traditional United Nations process. Its purpose is to bring people together from all stakeholder groups. They are to meet as equals, neither to make decisions nor to negotiate, but to discuss, exchange information and share good practices. While the IGF may not have the power to make decisions, it informs and inspires those who do. The Forum develops a common understanding of how we can maximize the opportunities the Internet offers, how we can use it for the benefit of all nations and peoples and how we can address any related risks and challenges. For more information about IGF, please visit : www.intgovforum.org

Statements by UNDESA Officials at the Annual IGF Forums

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● Internet Governance Forum 2013

Opening Remarks by Mr. Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs - Eighth Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, (delivered by Mr. Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination & Inter-Agency Affairs, 21 October 2013, Bali, Indonesia

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● Internet Governance Forum 2012

Press Statement by Mr. Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs - Seventh Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, 5 November 2012, Baku, Azerbaijan

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● Internet Governance Forum 2011

Opening Remarks by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs - Sixth Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (delivered by Mr. Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination & Inter-Agency Affairs), 27 September 2011, Nairobi, Kenya

Closing remarks by Ms. Haiyan Qian, Director, Division for Public Administration and Development Management of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (delivered by Mr. Vyacheslav Cherkasov, Senior Public Administration & Governance Officer), 30 September 2011, Nairobi, Kenya

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● Internet Governance Forum 2010

Opening Remarks by Mr. Sha Zukang, USG for Economic and Social Affairs - Fifth Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (delivered by Mr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development), 14 September 2010, Vilnius, Lithuania

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● Internet Governance Forum 2009

Opening Remarks by Mr. Sha Zukang, USG for Economic and Social Affairs - Fourth Meeting of Internet Governance Forum 15 November 2009, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

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● Internet Governance Forum 2008

Address by Assistant Secretary-General Jomo Kwame Sundaram at the Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum 3-6 December 2008, Hyderabad, India

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Enhanced Cooperation on International Public Policy Issues Pertaining to the Internet

● Report of the Secretary-General on enhanced cooperation on public policy issues pertaining to the Internet (A/66/77 - E/2011/103)
Arabic |  Chinese |  English |  French |  Russian |  Spanish 

● Open consultations on enhanced cooperation on international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet - Closing Remarks by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affair, 14 December 2010.
English 

● Remarks by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs to the Economic and Social Council - Introduction of the Report of the Secretary-General on enhanced cooperation in public policy issues related to the Internet and the note of the Secretary-General on continuation of the Internet Governance Forum delivered by Mr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development on 16 July 2010.
English 

● Conference room paper on enhanced cooperation on public policy issues pertaining to the Internet, prepared by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPIDG) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) for the Thirteenth session of the Commission on Science and Technology for DevelopmenThirteenth session, Geneva, 18 May 2010.
English 

 ● ECOSOC Resolution 2009/92 - The Secretary-General of the United Nations was asked by WSIS to report to the ECOSOC on enhanced cooperation on public policy issues pertaining to the Internet. In response to that, the USG for Economic and Social Affairs wrote to ten key organizations working with the Internet to request their inputs on activities and recommendations.
Arabic |  Chinese |  English |  French |  Russian |  Spanish 

 ● Video statement by Mr. Zukang, USG for Economic and Social Affairs, delivered at WSIS Form 2010
 

Facilitation Meetings by UNDESA for the action lines C1, C11 and C7eGov

WSIS Forum 2022 30 May–3 June 2022 
● Outcomes(see pages 42-47)
● ALFM Action Line C1, C7 and C11: Creating synergies and partnerships on e-government between national and local levels

WSIS Forum 2021 17–21 May 2021 
● Outcomes(See pages 92-94)
● ALFM Action Line C1, C7: E-Government and C11: Digital government transformation

WSIS Forum 2020 7–10 September 2020 
● Outcomes(See pages 40-42)
● ALFM Action Line C1, C7: E-Government and C11: Digital government during the times of pandemic and beyond

WSIS Forum 2019 8–12 April 2019 
● Outcomes
● Action Lines C1, C7 E-Government and C11: Digital Government Assessment, Promotion of New Technologies and Partnerships

WSIS Forum 2018 19–23 March 2018 
● Outcomes
● Action Lines C1 and C11, C7 Facilitation Meeting - Aligning ICT and e-Government Strategies with National Development Strategies

WSIS Forum 2017 12–16 June 2017 
● Action Lines C1 and C11 Facilitation Meeting - The Role of Private Sector in Mobilizing ICTs for SDGs
● Action Line C7 eGov Facilitation Meeting - Eradicating Poverty and Promoting Prosperity through Digital Government
● Outcomes

WSIS Forum 2016  2–6 May, Geneva Switzerland 
● Action Lines C1 and C11 (International and Regional Cooperation) - The Role of Public Authorities and Global/Regional Cooperation in Ensuring that No One is Left Behind in the Information Society
● Action Line C7 eGov Facilitation Meeting - How e-Government can ensure that no one is left behind in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
● WSIS Forum 2016 Outcome Document (For the report of C1 & C11, see pages 37-40 and for the report of C7eGov, see pages 79-82)

WSIS Forum 2015 25-29 May, Geneva Switzerland
● Tenth Facilitation Meeting on Action Lines C1, C7 and C11
● WSIS Forum 2015 Outcome Document (See page 96 for the session report)

WSIS Forum 2014 (WSIS+10 High Level Event) 09-13 June, Geneva Switzerland
● Ninth Facilitation Meeting of Action Lines C1, C7eGov and C11
● Report of the Facilitation Meeting
● ITU WSIS+10 High Level Outcome Documen 

WSIS Forum 2013 13-17 May, Geneva Switzerland
● Eight Facilitation Meeting of Action Lines C1, C7eGov and C11 (11h00 - 12h45, Thursday 16 May 2013)
● Report of the Facilitation Meeting 
● WSIS Forum 2013 Outcome Document

WSIS Forum 2012 14-18 May, Geneva Switzerland
● Seventh Facilitation Meeting of Action Lines C1, C7eGov and C11
● WSIS Forum 2012 Outcome Document (see pages 71, 93, 104, 127)
● Workshop on Future Government: A Global Perspective in Connection to OGD and Citizen Engagement

WSIS Forum 2011 16-20 May, Geneva Switzerland
● Sixth Facilitation Meeting of Action Lines C1, C7eGov and C11  
● Outcome Document for Action Lines C1, C7eGov and C11

WSIS Forum 2010 10-14 May, Geneva Switzerland
● Fifth Facilitation Meeting on Implementing WSIS Action Lines C1, C7e-Gov and C11
● Report of the Expert Group Meeting: e-Government and New Technologies

WSIS Forum 2009 18-22 May, Geneva Switzerland
● Fourth Facilitation Meeting on Implementing WSIS Action Lines C1, C7e-Gov and C11
● UNDESA 2009 Report on Implementation of WSIS Action Lines

WSIS Forum 2008 13-30 May, Geneva Switzerland
● Third Facilitation Meeting on Implementing WSIS Action Lines C1, C7e-Gov, and C11
● Agenda of the meeting
● Connecting the World by 2015, Mr.Clark, ITU
● Update on the Recent Developments on the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, Ms.Muylkens, ITU

WSIS Forum 2007 14-25 May, Geneva Switzerland
● Second Facilitation Meeting on Implementing WSIS Action Lines C1, C7e-Gov, and C11 (24/5/2007)
● UNDESA 2007 Report on Implementation of WSIS Action Lines
● Summary Report of the Second Facilitation Meeting on Implementing WSIS Outcomes Related to Action Lines C1 and C7eGov

WSIS Forum 2006 9-19 May, Geneva Switzerland
● Press Release for the First WSIS Stakeholder Consultative Meeting in May 2006 English French
● Summary Report on WSIS Consultation Meeting on Action Line C7: e-government: ICT Applications: E-government
● Summary on WSIS On-line Consultation on C1 and C7eGov 29 June – 12 July 2006

UN General Assembly Resolutions on WSIS and its follow-up

● 77th Session -  Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 14 December 2022 (76/189) Distr. Date: (20th Dec 2022)
● 76th Session -  Information and communications technologies for sustainable development(76/189) Distr. Date: (5 Jan 2022)
● 75th Session -  Information and communications technologies for sustainable development(75/202) Distr. Date: (29 Dec 2020)
● 74th Session -  Information and communications technologies for sustainable development(74/197) Distr. Date: (10 Jan 2020)
● 73rd Session - Information and communications technologies for sustainable development(73/218) Distr. Date: (8 Jan 2019)
● 72nd Session - Information and communications technologies for sustainable development(72/200) Distr. Date: (17 Jan 2018)
● 71st Session - Information and communications technologies for development(71/212) Distr. Date: (18 Jan 2017)
● 70th Session - Information and communications technologies for development(70/184) Distr. Date: (04 Feb 2016)
● 70th Session - Outcome document of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (70/125) Distr. Date: (1 Feb 2016)
● 69th Session -Information and communications technologies for development (69/204) Distr. Date: (21 Jan 2015)
● 68th Session - Modalities for the overall review by the General Assembly of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (68/302) Distr. Date: (13 Aug 2014)
● 68th Session -Information and communications technologies for development (68/198)Distr. Date: (15 Jan 2014)
● 67th Session -Information and communications technologies for development (67/195)Distr. Date: (5 Feb 2013)
● 66th Session -Information and communications technologies for development (66/184)Distr. Date: (6 Feb 2012)
● 65th Session -Information and communications technologies for development (65/141)Distr. Date: (2 Feb 2011)
● 64th Session -Information and communication technologies for development (64/187)Distr. Date: (9 Feb 2010)
● 63rd Session -Information and communication technologies for development (63/202)Distr. Date: (28 Jan 2009)
● 62nd Session -Information and communication technologies for development (62/182)Distr. Date: (31 Jan 2008)
● 60th Session - World Summit on the Information Society (60/252)Distr. Date: (27 Apr 2006)
● 59th Session - World Summit on the Information Society (59/220)Distr. Date: (11 Feb 2005)
● 57th Session - World Summit on the Information Society (57/238)Distr. Date: (31 Jan 2003)
● 56th Session - World Summit on the Information Society (56/183)Distr. Date: (31 Jan 2002)

ECOSOC Resolutions related to WSIS follow-up

● ECOSOC Resolution 2021/28: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2021/28) (30 Jul 2021)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2020/12: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2020/12) (24 Jul 2020)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2019/24: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2019/24) (5 Aug 2019)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2018/28: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2018/28) (7 Aug 2018)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2017/21: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2017/21) (24 Aug 2017)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2016/22: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2016/22) (18 Aug 2016)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2015/26: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2015/26) (16 Sep 2015)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2014/27: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2014/27) (27 Aug 2014)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2013/9: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2013/9) (24 Oct 2013)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2012/5: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2012/5) (17 Aug 2012)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2011/16: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2011/16) (26 Jul 2011)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2010/2: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2010/2) (19 Jul 2010)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2009/7: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/2009/7) (24 Jul 2009)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2008/3: Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2008/3) (18 Jul 2008)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2007/8: Flow of information for the follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society (E/RES/2007/8) (25 Jul 2007)
● ECOSOC Resolution 2006/46: Follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society and review of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (E/RES/2006/46) (28 Jul 2006)

Reports of the UN Secretary-General on WSIS follow-up

● 2021 Report of the Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/77/62-E/2022/8) (14 January 2022)
● 2020 Report of the Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/76/64-E/2021/11) (4 March 2021)
● 2019 Report of the Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/75/62-E/2020/11) (13 January 2020)
● 2018 Report of the Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/74/62-E/2019/6) (4 March 2019)
● 2017 Report of the Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/73/66-E/2018/10) (1 March 2018)
● 2016 Report of the Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/72/64-E/2017/12) (27 Feb 2017)
● 2015 Report of the Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/71/67-E/2016/51) (29 Feb 2016)
● 2014 Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/70/63–E/2015/10) (23 Feb 2015)
● 2013 Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/69/65–E/2014/12) (3 Mar 2014)
● 2012 Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/68/65–E/2013/11) (26 Mar 2013)
● 2011 Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels [includes Addendum] (A/67/66–E/2012/49) (12 Mar 2012)
● 2010 Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/66/64–E/2011/77) (14 Mar 2011)
● 2009 Report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/65/64-E/2010/12) (8 March 2010)
● 2008 Report of the Secretary-General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society outcomes at the regional and international levels (A/64/64-E/2009/10) (13 March 2009)
● 2007 Report of the Secretary General: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (A/63/72-E/2008/48) (April 2008)
● 2006 Report of the Secretary-General: Promoting the building of a people-centred, development-oriented and inclusive information society: Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the World Summit on the Information Society outcomes (E/CN.16/2007/2) (3 April 2007)

UN GA Resolutions on Science, technology and innovation for development

● 76th Session - Science, technology and innovation for sustainable development (76/213) (7 Jan 2022)
● 75th Session - Information and communications technologies for sustainable development (75/202) (29 Dec 2020)
● 74th Session - Science, technology and innovation for sustainable development (74/229) (15 Jan 2020)
● 73rd Session - Impact of rapid technological changes on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets (73/17) (3 Dec 2018)
● 72nd Session - Science, technology and innovation for sustainable development (72/228) (18 Jan 2018)
● 71st Session - Information and communications technologies for sustainable development (71/212) (18 Jan 2017)
● 70th Session - Science, technology and innovation for development (70/213) (17 Feb 2016)