The international Telecommunication Union (ITU) on behalf of itself, UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDPÂ is inviting contributions to the Open Consultation Process on the thematic aspects and innovations on the format of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2019.
The process aims at ensuring a participatory and inclusive spirit of the Forum, scheduled to hold from April 8 to 12, 2019 at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva. This process actively engages governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, the technical community and intergovernmental organizations in the preparatory process to ensure broad ownership and further improvements of the Forum.
The WSIS Forum 2019 Open Consultation Process is structured in five phases as follows:
Phase one which takes place on July 2, 2018 will see the launch of the Open Consultations (Virtual Launch at https://connect.itu.int/itu-spm-roomg2/) at 14:30-15:30 CEST and is open to all stakeholders. It will witness
- Launch of the WSIS Forum 2019 website for the official submissions
- Official submissions         to the WSIS Secretariat on the thematic aspects and innovations on the format, to be made via wsis.org/forum
- Open call for nominations for WSIS Forum 2019 multi-stakeholder High-Level Track Facilitators
- Launch of the WSIS Photo Contest 2019
Phase two scheduled for November 2018 will have its first Physical Meeting: Open Forum on Implementation of WSIS Action Lines and WSIS Forum (during IGF).
Phase three will hold in January/February 2019 and will be the second physical meeting, which will take place at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva.
Phase four fixed for February 10, 2019 is the deadline for submissions of official contributions and binding requests for workshops.
Phase five which is the final phase will take place on March 8, 2019 and it is the final Brief on the WSIS Forum 2019: it will also take place at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva.
The WSIS Forum is an annual global multi-stakeholder platform which facilitates the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines for advancing sustainable development. It is co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD, in close collaboration with all WSIS Action Line co-facilitators and other UN organizations.
The Forum 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.
The Open Consultation Process will include a collection of inputs from regional and national WSIS related events and the physical meetings of the Open Consultation Process will benefit from remote participation.
Updates will be available online at www.wsis.org/forum.
