The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami has been appointed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the Chairman of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) forum 2022.
A statement signed by the Technical Assistant, Research and Development to the Minister, Dr. Femi Adeluyi disclosed that the appointment was conveyed to the Minister through a letter from the Secretary-General of the ITU, Houlin Zhao.
The event will take place at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Zhao noted that Pantami was appointed “in light of his overall commitment to Information and Knowledge Societies and the active role he has played in the WSIS Process” and it followed consultations with various stakeholders as the forum is to be attended by several high stakeholders, including Cabinet Ministers from ITU countries.
According to the statement, “The appointment of Professor Pantami has given Nigeria, and indeed the African continent, the unique role of coordinating the activities of the WSIS in its 20th year; following the WSIS Phase I meeting that took place in 2003.
“It is apparent that the world has taken notice of the giant strides of Nigeria’s digital economy under the supervision of the Minister.
“Pantami extends his immense gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for the constant support he has given the sector.
“The WSIS Forum 2022 serves as a key forum for discussing the role of ICTs as a means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, with due regard to the global mechanism for follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UNGA Resolution A/70/1).
“The WSIS Forum also provides a platform to track the achievements of WSIS Action Lines in collaboration with the UN Agencies involved and provides information and analysis of the implementation of WSIS Action Lines since 2005.
“The WSIS Forum is co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, and UNCTAD with the engagement of 24 other United Nations Agencies, including FAO, ILO, ITC, UNDESA, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNHCR, UNODC, UNEP, UPU, UN Tech Bank, WMO, WIPO, WHO, WFP, UN Women and UN Regional Commissions.
“In a follow-up to the UN General Assembly outcomes in 2015 on the Overall Review of the implementation of the WSIS Outcomes that called for a close alignment between the WSIS Process and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the overall theme for this year is ICTs for Well-Being, Inclusion, and Resilience: WSIS Cooperation for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs.
“The Forum aims at enhancing cooperation, partnership, innovation, exchange of experiences and good practices in ICTs for sustainable development.”