India participated in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS +20) Forum High-Level Event 2024 held in Geneva, Switzerland from 27th to 31st May 2024.
- This marks the 20 years of progress made in the implementation of the outcomes of the WSIS.
- The Indian delegation at WSIS+20 was led by Niraj Verma, Additional Secretary, Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Communications, Government of India (GoI).
About WSIS +20 Forum High-Level Event 2024:
Co-organisers: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Host: ITU and Swiss Confederation, with support of remote participation.
About WSIS:
i.The WSIS is a unique two-phase United Nations (UN) summit initiated to create an evolving multi-stakeholder platform to address the issues raised by information and communication technologies (ICTs) through a structured and inclusive approach at the national, regional and international levels.
- 1st phase took place in Geneva in 2003 and the 2nd phase took place in Tunis(Tunisia) in 2005.
ii.It introduced a framework for global digital cooperation to build people-centric, inclusive and development-oriented information and knowledge societies.
Key Points:
i.While addressing a session on “Harmonizing Global Collaborations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry: A Roundtable on the Future of AI Standardization, Regulation and Industry Development “ in Geneva, Niraj Verma underscored that India is leading in drafting international standards for responsible and trustworthy AI.
ii.Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Communications has released a standard for assessing and rating fairness in AI systems.
- It is also framing another standard for assessing and rating the strength of AI systems.
“AI for Good” Global Summit: India Took Over the Baton to Host WTSA 2024 in New Delhi
India also participated in the “AI for Good” Global Summit held at the International Conference Center Geneva (CICG), Geneva, Switzerland from 30th to 31st May 2024.
- The summit was organised by ITU in partnership with 40 UN sister agencies and co-convened with the government of Switzerland.
- Indian delegation for the summit was also led by Niraj Verma, Additional Secretary (Telecom).
Points to note:
i.During the Summit, India officially took over the baton of hosting the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly 2024 (WTSA-24) in New Delhi, Delhi from 15th to 24th October 2024.
ii.The host country website of WTSA 2024 (https://www.delhiwtsa24.in/) was also launched during the summit.
About WTSA:
i.WTSA, a quadrennial event (happening once in 4 years), defines the next period of study for the ITU-Telecommunication Standardization Sector(ITU-T).
ii.It is one of the three conferences organised by the ITU. The other 2 conferences are the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) and the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC).
About International Telecommunication Union (ITU):
ITU was initially established in 1865 as the “International Telegraph Union” and was later renamed as International Telecommunication Union in 1934.
Secretary-General– Doreen Bogdan-Martin (First woman Head of ITU)
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
