The United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on WSIS+20, held on 16-17 December 2025, marked a significant milestone in the global review of progress made by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), 20 years after it began. The UN General Assembly formally recognised the Internet Governance Forum as a permanent UN body, ensuring a lasting multistakeholder platform for global Internet governance.
The High-Level Meeting further strengthened global commitments to cybersecurity, privacy and digital trust, aligned digital governance efforts through the Global Digital Compact, and anchored human rights, gender equity and ethical governance of AI and emerging technologies within the UN’s digital development framework.
IFIP’s Stakeholder Contribution
On 17 December 2025, during the 67th Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, IFIP delivered a stakeholder intervention presented by Dr Gurvirender Tejay, alongside representatives from ITU, OHCHR, UNESCO, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNIDO and ICANN.
In his speech, Dr Tejay emphasised evidence-based policymaking and the importance of sustainable digital education and open access, as seen through IFIP’s Digital Library, the systematic adoption of security and privacy by design principles, and IFIP’s contribution to developing frameworks for digital equity and fairness. In a world rapidly changing due to AI, IFIP called for ethical principles embedded by design, a core topic of Working Group 12.13 “AI for Global Security” and aligned with UNESCO principles.
His key message was that, “IFIP stands ready to contribute knowledge, standards expertise and capacity building support to help shape a human-rights-respecting, secure, inclusive and trustworthy digital future. We have an ascending initiative to improve the UN SDGs to cover the broader potential and challenges of information processing and the global information society.”
Dr Tejay’s engagement with IFIP spans nearly two decades. His first involvement with IFIP was in 2005 as a presenter at the IFIP WG 11.1 and WG 11.5 Joint Working Conference on Security Management, Integrity and Internal Control in Information Systems, leading to subsequent contributions to IFIP WG 11.1 (Information Security Management).
Since 2011, his primary IFIP activity has been with IFIP WG 8.11/11.13 (Information Systems Security Research), reflecting a sustained scholarly focus on security governance, organisational security and socio-technical dimensions of cybersecurity.
In 2025, Mr Tejay further expanded his IFIP involvement by joining IFIP WG 9.6/11.7 (IT Misuse and Law) and IFIP WG 11.8 (Information Security Education), aligning his work with operational, ethical and educational dimensions of ICT governance.
Statement from IFIP President, Kai Rannenberg
“By strengthening our connection with the United Nations, IFIP has a unique opportunity to amplify its global voice and influence. We encourage our Technical Committees’, Working Groups’ members, and Member Societies to engage more closely with UN agencies and partners – transforming technical expertise into meaningful action through joint projects, shared initiatives and IFIP-led events.
“Together, we can elevate IFIP’s visibility and credibility while advancing ethical governance, digital inclusion, and socially responsible ICT development for the benefit of societies worldwide.”
Recently, the IFIP Executive Committee agreed to appoint three IFIP Principal Delegates to the United Nations in New York, Geneva and Vienna. Further details will be announced in the February issue of IFIP Insights.
From the UN General Assembly Floor: Reflections
The experience underscored that influence in multilateral settings is not exercised at the podium alone. It begins with proactive engagement but is shaped in real time through situational awareness during meetings. Informal discussions, the sequencing of statements and behind-the-scenes negotiations often determine the direction and tone of debates as much as formal interventions. Attentiveness to these dynamics is critical to understanding when, where and how to engage effectively.
The meeting also highlighted how geopolitical alignments and timing can rapidly redefine the space for intervention. Coordinated positions among country groups, strategic sequencing by major actors and shifting alliances can quickly alter the landscape. In such environments, perspectives that are not actively and consistently reinforced risk being sidelined. This reinforces the necessity of assertive, evidence-based advocacy – delivered diplomatically but with persistence – to ensure that expertise remains visible, credible and influential as decisions take shape.
For IFIP, expertise alone is not enough. Sustained presence, sharp situational awareness and assertive advocacy are essential to ensuring that its contributions shape outcomes where global digital decisions are made.
Why WSIS+20 matters
Two decades after WSIS, the digital landscape has evolved dramatically. While connectivity and innovation have accelerated, challenges such as inequality, misinformation, cybersecurity risks, and ethical concerns have grown in parallel. The WSIS+20 High-Level Meeting provided a timely opportunity to take stock of achievements, identify gaps and renew collective commitments.
IFIP’s engagement reaffirmed the importance of evidence-based policy, technical expertise and professional responsibility in shaping global digital futures.
Learn more about the WSIS+20 UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting: https://publicadministration.desa.un.org/wsis20/GA%20High-Level-Meeting
Watch Dr Tejay’s full speech here (at 02:42:04, 3.5 minutes): https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k15/k154dwxahu