02 Jul 2025 WACC to advocate for digital justice at World Summit on Information Society +20
WACC and partners will champion a people-centred digital transformation at the World Summit on the Information Society +20 High-Level Event (WSIS+20) in Geneva on 7–11 July.
With a seven-member delegation of staff and national partners from the Global South, and in collaboration with leading international civil society organizations, WACC will advocate for a fundamental shift in digital governance – a new digital paradigm rooted in communication rights, with digital justice at the center.
The WSIS+20 event, hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), marks 20 years since the original two-phase World Summit on the Information Society. Government representatives and stakeholders from around the world will gather to review progress on the original WSIS outcomes and action lines from 2003 and 2005, while discussing the future of digital governance and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
Call for a new digital paradigm
WACC’s advocacy comes at a critical juncture as the world grapples with mounting digital challenges two decades since the original WSIS, said Philip Lee, WACC General Secretary.
“The current digital system has failed to deliver on the promises of WSIS,” he noted. “Instead of bridging divides, we’ve seen growing inequality. Instead of democratizing information, we’ve witnessed the concentration of digital power in the hands of a few corporations.”
Twenty years on, a new paradigm is needed, according to the WACC general secretary, one that prioritizes public interest over private profit. “It’s time for a fundamental transformation that puts people and communities at the centre of digital governance.”
In this context, WACC seeks to move discussions addressing digital divides from technical connectivity solutions to comprehensive, rights-based approaches that build and sustain communities, foster trust and belonging, and truly provide “communication for all,” said Sara Speicher, WACC Deputy General Secretary.
WACC is calling for four fundamental steps to move from connectivity to community:
- Prioritize community-centred solutions. This means bottom-up digital solutions shaped by communities – because everyone has the right to exercise digital sovereignty and shape their digital future.
- States must be key players. States must step up as guarantors of the public interest in the digital sphere. For-profit actors alone cannot – and should not – define our digital future.
- Support civil society. Civil society plays a vital role in reaching the most marginalized, confronting online harms, and safeguarding rights. Its work must be resourced and promoted.
- Close, not widen, the digital gap. Digital transformation – including artificial intelligence – must be designed to close, not widen, the digital divide. Justice, inclusion, and equity must guide technological progress.
On the ground at WSIS+20
WACC engagement at WSIS+20 will include:
- Community gathering with ecumenical partners, 8 July
Sharing common concerns, hosted by the World Council of Churches - LeadersTalkX, 9 July
Intervention by WACC General Secretary Philip Lee on building inclusive and knowledge-driven digital societies - WSIS session “Communication is Humanitarian Aid: Safeguarding Rights in Times of Risk”, 10 July
Organized by WACC in collaboration with the Communicating with Disaster-Affected Communities (CDAC) Network - Ceremony for WSIS Prizes 2025 Nominees, 11 July
Receiving recognition for two WACC projects ranked in the top third of all projects submitted for the WSIS Prizes 2025 contest: Voices of the Amazon and Tackling Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence
WACC will also maintain a stand in the WSIS+20 Exhibition space throughout the event.
Building on two decades of advocacy
WACC’s engagement at WSIS+20 builds on its long history of communication rights advocacy, Lee stressed.
“WACC was a co-host of the Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS) Campaign during the original 2003 and 2005 WSIS events, which resulted in the landmark civil society declaration ‘Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs.’”
Currently, WACC participates in the Global Digital Justice Forum alongside dozens of other organizations, contributing to the civil society advocacy document “Digital Justice, Now! A Call to Action for WSIS+20 and Beyond.” The organization also is an active part of the Global Digital Rights Coalition for WSIS, which has developed recommendations for making the WSIS process more transparent and inclusive.
In preparation for WSIS+20, WACC released a significant publication titled “Taking a Progressive and Decolonial Approach to Digital Ecosystems,” which outlines alternative visions for digital development that center community needs and rights. Several recent issues of its quarterly journal, Media Development, have delved deeper into more democratic and just approaches to digital governance.
Addressing contemporary digital challenges
WACC’s advocacy responds to urgent contemporary challenges in the digital sphere, said Lorenzo Vargas, WACC Programme Director. He listed key concerns including the crisis in journalism as a result of collapsed financial models, low levels of trust in media institutions, and the rise of anti-rights political actors aided by digital disinformation.
WACC also emphasizes the intersection of digital rights with broader global challenges like climate change, geopolitical tensions, and threats to democracy, according to Vargas. “Digital governance discussions cannot be separated from these wider contexts and must address how technology can contribute to solutions rather than exacerbating problems.”
He noted that some of these issues were already raised by WACC and project partners last year in response to the UN Global Digital Compact, adopted at the 2024 Summit of the Future.
Global coalition building
WACC’s participation in WSIS+20 reflects its commitment to building broad coalitions for digital justice. Vargas said the organization works with partners across different sectors and regions to advocate for policies that ensure that digital technologies serve human flourishing rather than corporate interests.
“Community organizations play a fundamental role in reaching the most vulnerable and addressing online harms. We need support to continue to do our work,” noted Patience Zirima from Gender and Media Connect, a WACC project partner in Zimbabwe.
“Too often, digital solutions are imposed from the top down without consulting the communities they claim to serve. We’re advocating for an approach that recognizes community expertise and ensures that digital transformation serves social justice rather than undermining it.”
Zirima is part of WACC’s delegation at WSIS+20 alongside two other representatives from the organization’s global network of partners working on communication rights, media justice, and digital equity issues.
“This diversity of perspectives strengthens WACC’s ability to advocate for inclusive digital policies that consider different cultural, economic, and social contexts,” Vargas explained.
The WACC delegation includes:
- Philip Lee, WACC General Secretary
- Sara Speicher, WACC Deputy General Secretary
- Lorenzo Vargas, WACC Programme Director
- Kemly Camacho, co-founder and current general coordinator of the Sulá Batsú Cooperative, Costa Rica
- Xian Guevara, Deputy Secretary General of the Computer Professionals Union, Philippines
- Patience Zirima, Executive Director of Gender and Media Connect (GMC), Chairperson of Amnesty International Zimbabwe
- Laine McCrory, incoming PhD student in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, whose participation in WSIS+20 is being sponsored by the WACC North America region.
Looking beyond WSIS+20
For WACC, WSIS+20 is one milestone in a longer journey toward digital justice, rather than an endpoint.
“While WSIS+20 provides an important opportunity to assess progress and set future directions, the work of digital transformation extends far beyond this single event,” stressed Speicher, pointing to plans for follow-up advocacy, continued coalition building, and ongoing support for community-led digital initiatives
“We’re calling for sustained commitment to building alternative digital ecosystems that prioritize community needs, environmental sustainability, and social justice.”
Image generated by ChatGPT
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