The recent high level review of the WSIS+10 outcomes by the United Nations was told that WSIS should explicitly recognize ICT Professionalism since the implementation of WSIS action lines and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires the services of a skilled, competent, ethical, accountable, trustworthy ICT workforce.

The WSIS+10 High Level Meeting was convened by UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft in New York on Monday 14 December. Although bad weather prevented IFIP IP3 Vice-chair and Global Industry Council chair, Stephen Ibaraki, from attending the event in person, his speech was read aloud during the meeting, allowing IFIP to be represented during the review.

Mr Ibaraki’s words reminded other invited luminaries of IFIP’s continued work in driving progress across all the 17 SDGs and 11 WSIS action lines through the efforts of IP3, the TCs and WGs, our many conferences and workshops, and our involvement in WSIS events.

With IFIP’s World IT Forum (WITFOR 2016) scheduled for Costa Rica in September, Mr Ibaraki’s speech quoted the WITFOR goal to, “bring together members of the ICT community from governments, academia, industry and associations, to discuss recent proposals aimed to reach the sustainable development goals, promoted by the United Nations, to improve global conditions by reducing poverty and hunger; achieving universal education; promoting gender equality; ensuring environmental sustainability; combating diseases and reducing mortality and much more.”

As a result of IFIP’s representation at the WSIS+10 review, ITU, the UN agency for ICT, has shown its interest in attending WITFOR to present the Matrix that intersects the WSIS action lines with the SDGs and to showcase plans for its implementation.