Month: July 2026

Personal Reflections on WSIS 2026 (and AIfor…?)

It was great to return to Geneva between 6th and 9th July, to participate in the WSIS Annual Forum for yet another year (in the ITU Headquarters and Palexpo), but also to explore a little bit of the AIforGood exhibition in Palexpo where I participated in a couple of sessions in the Leaders’ Lounge (as a guest without having to pay the CHF 4900, c.£4,500 pass fee!). It’s amazing to think that we gathered here 23 years ago for the first WSIS Summit! I wonder how many of us who were originally at Geneva and Tunis were here again this year?

Overall, this year’s event was much better than many previous ones, and I thoroughly enjoyed being back in Geneva again – primarily because it is always an opportunity to meet with good friends of many years, and also to meet exciting new people working in the field! Importantly, WSIS this year seemed less like a Cindarella to the glitz and glamour of AIfor…? (but see the images below). Congratulations are due especially to Gitanjali Sah and her team (particularly Ruth Sidabutar and Sarah El Omari) for all their hard work in making it such a success. Having a booth at WSIS (Booth 39) this year, for only the second time, made a huge difference, not least because it provided a focus for talking about our work in the ICT4D Collective, and also for promoting my new book, Digital Inclusion in an Unequal World: An Emancipatory Manifesto (Routledge, 2026). It also meant that I had a seat to rest in! The queues in the hot sun for the badging process reminded me of even longer queues at the Tunis part of the original WSIS Summit in 2005!

I hope the selection of pictures below conveys a sense of the fun and energy we enjoyed last week (thanks to the Official ITU photographer and other friends for some of these) – it was so good meeting up with these friends – old and new!

The above pictures are all about friendship and being human. For a very different perspective, the images below convey something of the technical interests in AIforGood (largely driven by scientism, digital determinism and technological instrumentalism)

During this year’s WSIS programme, I contributed to the following sessions (where recordings and further documentation are available these can be accessed through the highlighted links below):

Thanks again to all those who worked so hard in the ITU to make this such an enjoyable few days.

And after a long hot day’s work, it is always good to return to Les Brasseurs for beers and flammenkueches!

My involvement in the WSIS Annual Forum (and AI for …?), 6-10 July 2026

I have long believed in the value of the WSIS Annual Forum, and have been actively involved in most of the events since the original summit in June 2023. It is always a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new ones. It’s also a good chance to catch a glimpse of new things and ideas, and watch the theatre of how people present themselves at such gatherings. I have even been known to be a little bit provocative (see picture at foot of this post), as in 2019 when I changed the polystyrene letters of WSIS around to make MISS on the main stage in front of the then SG! I will one again be taking an active role in various sessions along with colleagues from the ICT4D Collective, and would love to see you at some of the sessions listed below (even if only online!). I am particularly seeking to promote my new book Digital Inclusion in a Unequal World: An Emancipatory Manifesto at every opportunity I can in the event! If you are in Geneva then, do please join the sessions in which we will be involved, visit our stand in the Exhibition, or meet us for a drink in one of our favourite hostelries!

WSIS 2026 Exhibition, 8th-9th July

The ICT4D Collective has a stand in the small exhibition area on 8th and 9th July (although sadly our specially prepared banners have been banned!). This is only the second time that we have participated in the exhibition, and along with Prof G. ‘Hari’ Harindrath I will be present at the stand for much of the time when we are not involved in sessions. Find out more about our research and practice at the stand, take away some of our resources (especially those prepared on safe wise and secure use of digital tech jointly developed with our colleagues in the LBT community in Rio de Janeiro), read some of our working papers (and take them away on the evening of 9th), buy a copy of Digital Inclusion in an Unequal World: An Emancipatory Manifesto at a 30% discount (first come first served) or get a 20% discount voucher.

Celebrating the publication of Digital Inclusion in an Unequal World: An Emancipatory Manifesto

Following successful pre-launch and launch events for mt’s latest book at the ITCILO in Turin (Italy), at UNU-GOV’s headquarters in Guimarães (Portugal), and during eLearning Africa in Accra (Ghana) several of the authors are going to be present during WSIS including Benita Rowe, G. ‘Hari’ Harindranath, Mei Lin Fung, and Revi Sterling, and will be talking about during and after our session on 6th July. A small number of signed copies of the book will also be available at the >30% discounted price (of £25, CHF 28, €30, US$35) during the session and at our Exhibition stand. We may well also celebrate together at a local hostelry (probably Les Brasseurs) on the evening of 6th July.

Session: Digital Inclusion in an Unequal World, 6th July

Please join our session on Monday 6th July from 16.00-16.45 in Room L1 Montbrillant for a lively discussion about what we all need to do if the poorest and most marginalised are indeed to benefit from, rather than being enslaved through, the use of digital tech. See the great speakers lined up below!

Session: The future of education and research in the AI era: equipping young people for tomorrow, 7th July

I’m going to be a panellist in Session 541 being convened by the ITU from 10.00-10.45 on Tuesday 7th July in Room G3, ITU Varembé, and have been asked to address the question “Given your background in digital inclusion, how should universities in the developing world prepare students for the age of AI?  How can AI be used to expand educational opportunities and drive economic and social development?” – in only three minutes. Guess I will be saying something along the lines of most universities across the world should be closed down, and we should focus much more on technical and vocational training instead. The key thing will be to retain our humanity and avoid digital dementia!

Session: AI Empowerment for Older People from a Gender Mainstreaming Perspective, 7th July

I’m also a panellist in Session 188 being convened by the Aging & Technology Policy Lab, KAIST Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy (South Korea), from 13.00-13.45 on Tuesday 7th July in Room A, ITU Tower Building. We will be speaking about how elderly women can benefit from the use of AI (if at all!). Clearly personalised care plans will be important, but again retaining our dignity and humanity are for me even more important.

Session: Connecting the Unconnected in the field of Education Excellence, Cyber Security & Rural Solutions and Women Empowerment in ICT, 7th July

Prof. N.K. Goyal from the CMAI Association of India, along with CSAI and TEMA has once again invited me to moderate this showcase of Indian ingenuty in Room A on Tuesday 7th July from 15.00-15.45. As in previous years, I will have the enjoyable but challenging task of moderating a very full session of Indian speakers! My red and yellow cards will definitely be necessary!

Session: Foresight for FAIR Cities – Exploring AI Risks and Mitigation Strategies, 9th July

This important session in Room B Palexpo from 16.00-16.45 on Thursday 9th July is being convened by UNU-EGOV to address some of the risks of AI and strategies that can be put in place to mitigate them in the context of their project on “FAIR Cities: Foster AI for Inclusive and Responsible Cities“. I’m excited to have been invited as a speaker, and guess I may focus on the implications for rural areas and oceans! All too often urban societies exploit the non-urban and I fear that these processes will be accelerated by the design and use of AI!

Partner2Connect session at AI for Good, 9th July

The ITU’s Partner2Connect initiative is convening a session on Building the future we want: scaling inclusive AI solutions through collaboration on 9th July from 14.00-15.00 during the AI for Good Summit and I have been asked to moderate the session on “Children, Youth, and Online Protection”. This should be an exciting and highly interactive “engagement”. I’m honoured to have been given this role, not least because what I have to say can at times be thought of by some as being somewhat unpalatable. It is great to know that my friends in the ITU understand that I am indeed a good friend, and a sign of this is indeed to be challenging and at times critical.

©ITU/I.Wood