WSIS Forum 2019

In 2019, The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum will celebrate its 10th anniversary of the establishment of WSIS Forum from April 8 to 12 in Geneva at the International Telecommunication Union, under the theme “Information and Communication Technologies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”.
The WSIS Forum is co-organized by The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

WSIS is, at global level, the world's largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community and provides an opportunity for information exchange, knowledge creation and sharing of best practices, while identifying emerging trends and fostering partnerships, taking into account the evolving Information and Knowledge Societies.

It builds upon the outcomes of the UN General Assembly Overall Review of the implementation of the WSIS outcomes (UNGA Resolution 70/125) that recognized the necessity of holding this Forum on an annual basis and called for close alignment between WSIS and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this context, the WSIS Forum will leverage the WSIS-SDG Matrix and serve as a platform for discussing the role of ICTs as a means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, with due regard to the global mechanism for follow up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda (UNGA Resolution A/70/1).

Its format, agenda, and thematic focus are the result of an open consultation process with the involvement of all WSIS Stakeholders. The Forum will comprise a High-Level Track (9-10 April), a WSIS prize ceremony and the Forum Track, which will offer special tracks on ICTs and Sports, Extended Reality for SDGs, WSIS Innovation track, Youth in ICTs, ICT Solutions for SDGs, a hackathon and a new edition of TEDxGeneva.