Pantami to Chair 2022 World Summit on Information Society Forum – Business Post Nigeria

By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has been appointed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to chair the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2022 taking place at the ITU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
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.
The platform serves as a key forum for discussing the role of ICTs as a means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 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 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.
In a letter to announce his appointment, the Secretary-General of the ITU, Mr Houlin Zhao, explained that the Minister was chosen for the job due to his “overall commitment to information and knowledge societies and the active role he has played in the WSIS process.”
The theme for this year’s event is ICTs for Well-Being, Inclusion and Resilience: WSIS Cooperation for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs.
A statement issued on Monday by the Technical Assistant to the Minister on Research and Development, Mr Femi Adeluyi, it was stated that the appointment of Mr Pantami has given Nigeria and Africa the unique role of coordinating the activities of the WSIS in its 20th year.
“It is apparent that the world has taken notice of the giant strides of Nigeria’s digital economy under the supervision of the Minister,” a part of the statement read.
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