Achieving a Global Information Society: Linking the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with WSIS+10

2015 marks the end of two major United Nations processes that signify the beginning of a new era in international development, an age when Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet and telecommunications, are considered vital to facilitate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN has recognized how important international development is by adopting the SDGs and initiating a ten-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10). The WSIS+10 process will ultimately produce an outcome document with the potential to steer the course of ICTs for development. Stakeholders input will help preserve the WSIS vision of building a people-centric, inclusive, and development-oriented Information Society.

The WSIS+10 review has acknowledged the importance of ICTs and critical obstacles to sustainable development, such as the digital divide, which has the potential to exacerbate social and economic inequalities. Connecting the Sustainable Development Goals with the WSIS+10 process will help the international community achieve its development goals. It’s still possible for organizations to engage in the WSIS review by submitting comments to the forthcoming zero-draft document or by organizing and participating in side events during the second interactive stakeholder consultation on October 19. Only involvement from a diverse range of stakeholders and communities can help us achieve a truly inclusive global Information Society.
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