South Africa’s Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has won an award from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), for using emerging technologies to bridge the digital divide and advance socio-economic progress.
Nineteen winners were announces at a WSIS Prizes 2025 Ceremony at the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025, held in preparation for the United Nations General Assembly’s review of the WSIS process due in December, attended by ministers, industry leaders, and representatives of international organizations and civil society.
The 2025 edition of the annual Forum marks 20 years of progress in building inclusive, people-centered information societies and begins to shape a vision beyond 2025.
With over 150 countries represented, the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025 sets the stage for renewed commitments to harness digital technologies for sustainable development, universal connectivity, and global collaboration. The event is co-hosted by ITU, the UN agency for digital technologies, and the Swiss Confederation.
“For 20 years, WSIS has united the global community around a vision of a digital world that works for everyone,” says ITU secretary-general Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “As we approach the UN General Assembly’s review, the WSIS+20 High-Level Event is a crucial opportunity to identify priorities for the next phase of global digital cooperation.”
The World Summit on the Information Society places people at the centre of digital progress and establishes agile governance processes to keep pace with emerging technologies.
Since WSIS was first convened two decades ago, notable global shifts include:
- Internet connectivity has expanded from approximately 1 billion users in 2005 to over 5.5 billion today.
- Technology infrastructure has evolved from basic dial-up connections to advanced 5G networks, robust cloud computing systems and satellite-enabled broadband service.
- Multistakeholder cooperation has emerged as a vital approach to addressing complex digital challenges, while previous efforts were often fragmented.
WSIS Prizes – 2025 winners
The following prize winners for 2025 were announced:
Category 1: The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development – Engineering and Technical Center of the President’s Affairs Administration (Republic of Kazakhstan) for the project: Situational-Analytical Complex
Category 2: Information and communication infrastructure – Telefónica del Perú (Peru) for the project: Internet para Todos
Category 3: Access to information and knowledge – Nigerian Communications Commission (Federal Republic of Nigeria) for the project: Digital Awareness Programme
Category 4: Capacity building – Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (Malaysia) for the project: National Information Dissemination Centre
Category 5: Building confidence and security in use of ICTs – Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (Thailand) for the project: Anti Online Scam Operation Center (AOC); and Centre for Development of Telematics (Republic of India) for the project: AI & Facial Recognition Powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification
Category 6: Enabling environment – Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (Republic of South Africa) for the project: Digitech
Category 7: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-government) – Department of Government Enablement (United Arab Emirates) for the project: TAMM AI Assistant: The AI-Powered Government Agent Redefining Public Services
Category 8: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-business) – Department of Information and Communications Technology – MIMAROPA Region (Republic of the Philippines) for the project: From Weeks to Minutes: How Occidental Mindoro Revolutionised Business Permitting
Category 9: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-learning) – Ministry of Education (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) for the project: Madrasati Learning Management System
Category 10: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-health) – PHARMACCESS (United Republic of Tanzania) for the project: A New Era in Zanzibar’s Healthcare: The Game-Changing Role of Digital Unique IDs
Category 11: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-employment) – Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population (Republic of Azerbaijan) for the project: Graduates Employment Ranking
Category 12: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-environment) – China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (People’s Republic of China) for the project: Rapid, accurate and secure production, dissemination and communication of early warning for meteorological disaster
Category 13: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-agriculture) – Ministry of Agriculture and Forest (Kingdom of Bhutan) for the project: Agricultural Marketing Information System (AMIS)
Category 14: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-science) – Biomedical Neuroscience Institute (BNI), University of Chile (Chile) for the project: Improving brain proteostasis as a strategy to reduce the adverse effects of aging on the cognitive decline of the elderly
Category 15: Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content – BASAibu (Republic of Indonesia) for the project: Empowering Youth Through Digital Innovation: Enhancing Capacity, Opportunities, and Participation in Civic Life
Category 16: Media – The Usawa Institute (Republic of Zimbabwe) for the project: Girls Speak Out
Category 17: Ethical dimensions of the Information Society – National Cyber Security Agency (State of Qatar) for the project: Cyber Security Education Curriculum – 2025
Category 18: International and regional cooperation – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (Federal Republic of Germany) for the project: One Health Data Alliance Africa