16 December 2025 - The United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on the Twenty-Year Review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) opened today, marking two decades of shaping the digital world as the longest-standing global digital governance process.
Reflecting the extensive reach of online spaces across sectors and societies, the meeting convened government representatives, United Nations leadership, civil society, youth and more to look back on 20 years of progress and deliberate a digital future that serves people and sustainable development.
WSIS+20 comes at a time when digital technologies have increasingly shaped economies, social progress and daily life. Initially launched in 2005 as the Internet ascended into the mainstream, WSIS in 2025 is assessing how societies govern powerful digital systems — including artificial intelligence, data ecosystems, platforms, and digital public infrastructure — while protecting human rights, trust, and inclusion. Emerging issues including online trust and the widening digital divide have made the collaborative nature of WSIS, with a legacy of digital capacity-building and sustained engagement across sectors in its consultative processes, more critical than ever.
A resolution is expected to be adopted on 17 December 2025, outlining countries' shared commitment to shaping a digital future that empowers people, expands opportunity and upholds human rights. It underscores that meaningful and affordable connectivity has become essential to daily life — from accessing education and health services to participating in the modern economy — and calls for faster action to close the world’s widening digital gaps. The text highlights the need for greater investment in digital infrastructure, stronger digital skills, and the responsible development of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, so that their benefits reach everyone safely and equitably.
It will also reinforce the collaborative, multistakeholder approach that has been at the heart of the WSIS process since its inception, bringing governments, business, civil society and the technical community together to help steer the future of the digital world. The resolution emphasizes the importance of trustworthy governance of data and AI, more predictable policy environments for digital development, and stronger measures to build confidence and security online. It is further expected to elevate the UN Internet Governance Forum and its critical role as a global platform for inclusive digital public policy, and to strengthen WSIS follow-up mechanisms, including refreshed targets, improved measurement and regular reporting, to ensure sustained progress in the years ahead.
Over the course of three days, the WSIS+20 High-Level Meeting from 16 to 17 December will be complemented by 35 side events starting on 15 December, engaging Member States, the UN system, and over 130 stakeholder organizations. Held in person at and outside United Nations Headquarters, as well as fully online, the side events will explore key issues shaping the digital future, including media in the digital age, digital public infrastructure, digital cooperation and ecosystems, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and digital inclusion and financing.
About WSIS
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), launched in Geneva in 2003 and concluded in Tunis in 2005, established a global multistakeholder framework for addressing information and communication technology (ICT) issues, including digital inclusion, cybersecurity, development, and digital cooperation. WSIS aims to build a people-centric, inclusive and development-oriented information society where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information.
Learn more about the High-Level Meeting on the Twenty-Year Review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20): https://publicadministration.desa.un.org/wsis20