The World Summit Forum on the Information Society (WSIS) was held from 7 to 10 September 2020 in a virtual format.
This year's theme - “Fostering Digital Transformation and Global Partnerships: WSIS Action Lines for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” - included special tracks with thematic themes, high-level meetings, regional workshops.
At the inauguration ceremony, ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao noted that this year marks 15 years since the inception of the World Summit on the Information Society. Also, Mr. Zhao said that during this period there has been a noticeable increase in the use of digital technologies, transforming the lives of people around the world.
Thanks to the format, the WSIS Forum was attended by over 15,000 people from about 150 countries, including representatives of the countries of the Regional Commonwealth in the field of communications.
The Chairman of the RCC Commission for Coordination of International Cooperation, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Parshin Maxim Viktorovich, took part in the Session of the WSIS Forum and made a presentation.
The main topic of discussion was the influence of government on the transition to a digital society and the achievement of sustainable development goals.
The Chairman of the High-Level Working Group on the Development of the Information Society, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan Velizade Elmir Tofig oglu, took part in the round table of ministers within the framework of the WSIS Forum.
The main topics of discussion of the above event were bridging the digital divide, issues on the mechanisms of global cooperation to accelerate the digital transition.
The agenda of the Forum included sessions on the following topics:
- On policy issues;
- Overcoming the digital division;
- ICT applications and services;
- Building confidence and security in the usage of the ICT;
- Inclusiveness, access to information and knowledge for everyone;
- Digital Economy and Trade / Development Finance and the Role of ICTs;
- WSIS lines of action and the 2030 Agenda;
- Knowledge societies, capacity building and e-learning;
- Ethical aspects of the information society and the knowledge society;
- Gender mainstreaming and ICT.
Also in the session within the framework of the WSIS Forum, Minkin Vladimir Markovich, Chief Researcher of FSUE "NIIR", took part and made a presentation on the achievement of the SDGs and digital transformation of the society.
The Forum also announced the winners and champions of the 2020 WSIS Awards, representing all seven continents and all WSIS interest groups. In addition, the winning entries in the WSIS Forum 2020 Photo Contest highlighted the vital and catalytic role of ICTs in achieving development goals.
A total of 800 entries were submitted for the 2020 WSIS Awards. At the stage of online voting, 354 projects remained, of which five winners were selected in each of the 18 nominations of the competition.
As part of the virtual ceremony, the prizes of the competition were received by the representative of the RCC Telecommunication and Infocommunication Operators Board , PJSC Rostelecom in the nomination "Access to Information and Knowledge" for the "ABC Book of the Internet" educational project for the elderly and people with disabilities.