IGF 2025 Open Forum #13 Bridging the Digital Divide: Focus on the Global South

The digital divide remains a structural challenge hindering equitable global development, with particularly pronounced impacts on countries in the Global South. Issues such as inadequate infrastructure, unaffordable costs, and insufficient digital skills have constrained these nations’ capacity to effectively participate in the digital economy. Against this backdrop, aligned with the theme of "Building Digital Governance Together" and guided by the principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Digital Compact, this forum aims to spotlight the difficulties, challenges, and unmet needs faced by the Global South in bridging the digital divide. It seeks to unite stakeholders in building a more inclusive, human-centric, and sustainable digital future. The forum will convene representatives from governments, civil society organizations, research institutions, and the private sector across the Global South to amplify their voices on digital development priorities. By strengthening North-South dialogue and cooperation, it will address The digital divide remains a structural challenge hindering equitable global development, with particularly pronounced impacts on countries in the Global South. Issues such as inadequate infrastructure, unaffordable costs, and insufficient digital skills have constrained these nations’ capacity to effectively participate in the digital economy. Against this backdrop, aligned with the theme of "Building Digital Governance Together" and guided by the principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Digital Compact, this forum aims to spotlight the difficulties, challenges, and unmet needs faced by the Global South in bridging the digital divide. It seeks to unite stakeholders in building a more inclusive, human-centric, and sustainable digital future. The forum will convene representatives from governments, civil society organizations, research institutions, and the private sector across the Global South to amplify their voices on digital development priorities. By strengthening North-South dialogue and cooperation, it will address systemic inequities in digital access, governance, and innovation. Through policy debates, exchanges on technology applications, and best practice sharing, participants will explore how to harness opportunities—particularly those arising from AI advancements—to dismantle developmental barriers in the Global South, effectively narrow the digital divide, and foster more balanced global digital progress. Since establishing as an international organization in 2022, the World Internet Conference (WIC) has deepened collaboration with all parties including Global South partners to advance internet innovation and improve global governance frameworks. At the 2024 Wuzhen Summit, WIC successfully hosted a ministerial meeting with 15 countries, where digital ministers engaged in in-depth discussions on “Opportunities and Challenges of Bridging the Digital Divide in the AI Era”, yielding substantial consensus. Building on these outcomes, this forum will continue to galvanize international consensus on the digital divide and co-create a blueprint for a community with a shared future in cyberspace. Agenda 1. Setting the scene (5 minutes) - The moderator will introduce the theme and purpose of the open forum and introduce the speakers. 2. Keynote Presentation (40 minutes) – Onsite and online speakers will share their views and best practices. 3. Open discussion and Q&A (10 minutes) - The moderator will open the floor for questions and answers between the audience and speakers. 4. Wrap-up (5 minutes) – The moderator will summarise the main points and wrap up the event.

(1) As a hybrid forum, we will feature both on-site and online speakers and attendees. To maximize participation, we will invite and encourage online attendance via Zoom. On-site and online moderators will closely collaborate to energize discussions. The online moderator will promptly collect and relay questions to the on-site moderator, ensuring seamless communication between both groups. (2) Multiple staff and volunteers will be on-site for live-streaming speakers' presentations via Zoom. On-site moderators and speakers can view online questions in real-time on an LED screen. The online moderator will push meaningful questions to the on-site moderator, strictly manage speaking time, and promote the forum in advance to prepare online participants with questions and materials, enhancing the quality of discussions. (3) The organizer will create promotional materials, including graphic and textual links and posters, and disseminate them through social media platforms like WeChat, X, and Facebook. This will attract more attendees, stimulate pre-forum thinking, and foster a collaborative atmosphere.