ITREALMS Media Announces 2026 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum (NDSF), Focuses on Sustaining WSIS Vision and Multistakeholder Synergy - ITREALMS

PR@ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

As the global community accelerates toward a more integrated digital future, ITREALMS Media Group, through its flagship digital rights initiative, the Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum (NDSF), has officially announced the 2026 edition of its annual convening on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D).

The forum, scheduled for Thursday, June 11, 2026, at the Welcome Centre Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos, will bring together policymakers, tech innovators, and civil society under the theme: “Sustaining WSIS Vision with Multistakeholder Synergy in Nigeria.”

WSIS: NCC’s DAP wins 2025 Prize for Access to Information and Knowledge - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has won the 2025 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) prize for its project on the Digital Awareness Programme (DAP), under Category C3, which is on Access to Information and Knowledge, reports ITREALMS.

The DAP, one of hundreds of projects submitted for the WSIS Prizes competition 2025, received the highest number of votes in its category, earning it the top honour. 

NDSF 2025: Nigeria ICT stakeholders urged to engage in WSIS review process - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The stakeholders in Nigeria's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector have been tasked to actively engage in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) review process, reports ITREALMS.

This call was made by Dr. Jimson Olufuye, Principal Consultant at Kontemporary Konsulting Ltd and Chairman of the 2025 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Africa Forum on Internet Governance for Development.

WSIS chair: Danbatta applauds Pantami - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has congratulated the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, on his appointment as the Chairman of the 2022 World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Forum by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Danbatta described the choice of the Minister as chair of the Forum as a worthy recognition of Nigeria’s leadership role in the global digital economy ecosystem, noting that Nigeria has continued to hold a front-row seat in the promotion of information and communication technology (ICT) as a driving force for national development since the assumption of office of the Minister.

Pantami to chair WSIS 2022 - ITREALMS

ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!


The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has named the Federal Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), as the chairman of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) 2022, reports ITREALMS.

The WSIS Forum 2022, ITREALMS gathered started from 15 March onwards in a virtual format with the final week being held physically with enhanced remote participation from 30 May to 3 June 2022 at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme of ICTs for Well-Being, Inclusion and Resilience: WSIS Cooperation for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs.

WSIS prize 2018 now up for grabs, deadline January 2

ITREALMS:

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has continued to grow and develop towards the WSIS Forum 2018, with WSIS prize now up for grabs until January 2, reports ITRealms.

The prize, ITRealms gathered would form part of the 2018 WSIS Forum slated to hold in Geneva, Switzerland from 19-23 March 2018.

Vladimir Stankovic of WSIS, CSD, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said that the annual Forum serves as a platform to discuss how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can accelerate progress on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The Forum hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and co-organized by ITU, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); provides an opportunity to exchange information and share best practices. It represents the world’s largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community.

The annual WSIS Prizes have emerged as a popular and integral part of the WSIS stocktaking process, because they recognize individuals, governments, civil society, local, regional and international agencies, research institutions and private-sector companies for their success in leveraging the power of ICTs as an enabler of development.

ITRealms further reports that deadline for submission of applications is January 2, 2018.

Nonye Dom/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

WSIS forum kicks off in Geneva

ITRealms:

The four-day World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) forum 2016, today, May 2, kicked off in Geneva, Switzerland, reports ITRealms.

The forum expected to last till Friday this week is being hosted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNDP) and UN Development Programme (UNDP) at the  ITU Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland.

ITRealms also reports that the WSIS Forum serves the UN as a mechanism for coordination of multi-stakeholder implementation activities, information exchange, creation of knowledge, sharing of best practices and continues to provide assistance in developing multi-stakeholder and public and private partnerships to advance development goal, building on the UN General Assembly Overall Review of the implementation of the WSIS outcomes which recognized the necessity of holding this Forum on an annual basis.

In addition, the forum calls for a close alignment between WSIS and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) processes.

The chairman of the WSIS Forum 2016 High-Level Track, Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda (USA) said the Policy Sessions will be moderated by High-Level Track Facilitators (HLTF) nominated and identified by Civil Society, Private Sector, Technical Community and Academia stakeholders. Remote participation is available through both Adobe Connect and live webcast. Geneva time is CEST, 6 hours ahead of NYC.

@ITRealms.DSA

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

UN-WGIG unveils book on WSIS+10

ITRealms:

The United Nations (UN) Working Group on Internet Governance (UN-WGIG) has released its 10^th anniversary reflections to mark the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+10, reports ITRealms.

The UN General Assembly, ITRealms recalls reviewed the progress made over the past decade and negotiated a text that addresses a number of global Internet governance issues, while 2015 is also the 10th anniversary of a multistakeholder experiment that helped bring the WSIS to a successful conclusion through the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). 

Convened in 2004, the WGIG assembled 40 representatives of governments and stakeholders who engaged in months of intensive peer-level dialogue and collective analysis. The WGIG process was an important turning point and catalyst in the intergovernmental recognition of multistakeholder processes for Internet governance.

ITRealms reports that in June 2005, the WGIG released a widely noted report that advanced a “broad definition” of Internet governance; holistically addressed a range of policy issues; offered four competing models for the ”oversight” of critical Internet resources; and proposed the establishment of the Internet Governance Forum. The report significantly influenced the final agreement adopted by WSIS same year.

This book, edited by William J. Drake and published by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), CGI.br, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Internet Society, reflects on the WGIG’s procedural and substantive contributions to the evolving global Internet governance dialogue and institutional ecosystem. Written by former WGIG members and others who played key roles in the debates on the WGIG and WSIS, the volume is a follow-up to a book produced in the summer of 2005: William J. Drake, ed., Reforming Internet Governance: Perspectives from the UN Working Group on Internet Governance. 

Some fo the topics include: historical overview; understanding Internet governance; institutionalizing multistakeholder cooperation; from oversight to stewardship; Internet governance for development; and closing reflections.

ITRealms further gathered that other contributing authors include: Fiona Alexander, Peng Hwa Ang and Sherly Haristya, Karen Banks and Anriette Esterhuysen, Nitin Desai, Avri Doria, William J. Drake, Raúl Echeberría, Baher Esmat, Juan Fernández González, Hartmut R. Glaser and Diego R. Canabarro, David Hendon, Jānis Kārkliņš, Wolfgang Kleinwächter, Jovan Kurbalija, Markus Kummer, Olivier Nana Nzépa, Alejandro Pisanty, Paul Wilson and Pablo Hinojosa, and Michael Yakushev.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +ITRealms DSA

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Breaking News: 18 winners emerge @ WSIS Prize 2015 information society

ITRealms:

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Houlin Zhao Tuesday morning unmasked the 18 winners of the WSIS Prizes 2015 at the WSIS High-Level Opening Segment, which was held at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, reports ITRealms.

The WSIS Prizes 2015 contest provides a platform to identify and showcase success stories across the 11 WSIS Action Lines defined in the Geneva Plan of Action.

ITRealms gathered that in line with the inclusive, multistakeholder character of the WSIS event, the prizes recognize the outstanding achievements of a wide range of organizations in strengthening implementation of the vision and targets set by the World Summit on the Information Society in 2003 (Phase 1) and 2005 (Phase 2).

“The WSIS Project Prizes provide an international platform to identify and showcase the successful initiatives and best practices that could be easily replicated by other countries and organizations, to further drive momentum around ICTs as a catalyst for socio-economic development,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.

This year’s WSIS Project Prize winners include government departments, international organizations, private sector companies, NGOs and academia. More than 300 projects were nominated for the 2015 contest, more than twice the number of nominations in 2014, reflecting the prestigious nature of the award and the growing importance of ICTs in national development strategies.

ITRealms also reports that the awards were conferred through online voting involving over 100,000 stakeholders from around the world.

This year’s 18 winners are:

• Action Line C1 The role of government and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
  Winner: Young Innovations, Nepal
• Action Line C2 Information and communication infrastructure
  Winner: Ministry of Communications and Transportation, Mexico
• Action Line C3 Access to information and knowledge
  Winner: Prime Minister’s Office, Bangladesh
• Action Line C4 Capacity building
  Winner: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, United Arab Emirates
• Action Line C5 Building confidence & security in the use of ICTs
  Winner: Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico (RSE), Italy
• Action Line C6 Enabling environment
  Winner:  Ministry of Finance, Kazakhstan
• Action Line C7 E-government
  Winner: Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia
• Action Line C7 E-business
  Winner: Ministry of Economy and Finance, Uruguay
• Action Line C7 E-learning
  Winner: Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India
• Action Line C7 E-health
  Winner: FHI 360, United States of America
• Action Line C7 E-employment
  Winner: Ministry of Manpower, Oman
• Action Line C7 E-environment
  Winner: Central Agency for Information Technology, Kuwait
• Action Line C7 E-agriculture
  Winner: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation, Netherlands
• Action Line C7 E-science
  Winner: Iran University of Science and Technology, Iran
• Action Line C8 Cultural diversity & identity, linguistic diversity
  Winner:  South-West University ‘Neofit Rilski’, Bulgaria
• Action Line C9 Media
  Winner: Radio Farm International, Canada
• Action Line C10 Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
  Winner: Rwanda Media Commission, Rwanda
• Action Line C11 International & regional cooperation
  Winner: Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean

 

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

Working Group proposes alternative internet

ITRealms:

A council working group of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has proposed some requirements for improvement of the existing Internet, as alternative to having an all-inclusive innovative internet, reports ITRealms.

A joint contribution made to the group by Saudi Arabia and Syria available to ITRealms stated that the proposals apply to a new, alternate internet to support development of the technology, protocols, and governance required for a new, alternate internet optimized for international applications and for WSIS principles, including innovation, competition, and investment.

To prepare guidelines, the group said, from the perspective of Internet-related public policy issues, regarding those characteristics require a new, alternate internet.

And to leverage on the experience and expertise of the ITU and to recommend that the ITU leads the coordination effort on development activities of a new, alternate internet.

In addition, ITRealms reports that instructing the ITU Secretariat to study those activities already underway in support of a new, alternate internet, both within and exterior to the ITU, and provide a summary of those activities.

Further, ITRealms gathered from the working group position is to establish a coordinated effort among ITU-T, ITU-D, and relevant UN organizations regarding international agreements and treaties required for a new, alternate internet optimized for international applications.

Experts argued that the memo from the group dated 2009 may have been overtaken by events although its important to revisit consistently the issue of alternative internet.

Ayo Omidele/GEE

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

JACITAD to Jonathan: Make broadband democracy dividend

A non-governmental organisation, the Joint Action for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Awareness and Development (JACITAD), has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to turn the availability of broadband initiatives in the country into democracy dividends for Nigerians.

The group made this call in its 2011 agenda for the ICT sector in the country.

Speaking through its president, Prince Ogbonnia Osuagwu, they called on President Jonathan to use the accessibility of broadband with the commercial launch of MainOne Cable and Glo-1 since last year.

To achieve this, Prince Osuagwu in the company of the Secretary-General of JACITAD, Mr. Oluwaseun Ayotokun informed ITRealms Online that the government led by President Jonathan, should as matter of urgency consider broadband as digital right of the citizens.

This call, JACITAD said is in line with the recent recommendations of the global telecom body of the United Nations, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

“We all know today that broadband has become the life wire of any economy,” Osuagwu said.

The group pointed out that in any society where broadband is scarce or the cost is high as it is in Nigeria, “no matter other natural resources that may be available in that society they may still be groping in the dark.”

Apart from other rich natural and human resources available to Nigeria, JACITAD noted that two monolithic initiatives berthed at the shores of Nigeria in the preceding year of 2010, but there is nothing to suggest that the government of the day has plans to drive this plan to the populace.

“We feel that all it takes is for the government of the day to cash-in on that to transform the economy,” the group said, advising President Goodluck Jonathan to emulate the United States President, Mr. Barrack Obama, who has since launched a dedicated fund for broadband penetration drive to the rural areas of the country.

“We wouldn’t mind if he would take it as his efforts of delivering democracy dividends,” JACITAD said.

ITRealms Online recalls that last May, at the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2010 in Geneva, ITU and United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) proclaimed the establishment of a top level Broadband Commission for Digital Development (BCDD), which will define strategies for accelerating broadband rollout worldwide and examine applications that could see broadband networks improve the delivery of a huge range of social services, from healthcare to education, environmental management, and safety to name a few.

The Commission, which comprised of some 30 top names from around the world, represents technology, business and social enterprises leaders with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of Grupo Carso, Mr. Carlos Slim Hélu, as co-chairmen, while ITU Secretary-General, Dr. Hamadoun Touré and UNESCO Director-General, Ms. Irina Bokova, will serve as joint vice chairpersons.

The Commission has the support of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who received the Commission’s findings during the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Summit in New York last September.

Speaking then at the launch of BCDD, Dr Touré said that governments now need to view broadband networks as basic national infrastructure.

“In the 21st century, affordable, ubiquitous broadband networks will be as critical to social and economic prosperity as networks like transport, water and power,” he said, pointing out that not only does broadband deliver benefits across every sector of society, it also helps promote social and economic development, and will be key in helping us get the MDGs back on track.

JACITAD was formed in 2003 to champion and assist in molding the understanding of media practitioners within the information and communication technology sector.

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D