This year’s World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum will take place from 6 to 10th July 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together global leaders, policymakers, regulators, civil society organisations, private sector representatives, academics, and development partners to explore how digital technologies can advance sustainable development and foster inclusive digital transformation worldwide.
As part of the WSIS Forum 2026 agenda, the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (SPIDER) will host a session on Wednesday 8th July 2026. The discussions will focus on advancing digital transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa by strengthening regulatory capacity and inclusive frameworks and initiatives. The session will be held under the theme: Enabling Inclusive Digital Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Regulatory Capacity-Building through Multilingual Peer-to-Peer Learning. The panel discussion will feature five delegates from the implementing partners and stakeholders of the iPRIS project. The discussions will be moderated by Aliyu Yusuf Aboki, Executive Secretary of WATRA, who will also outline the digital transformation agenda from an African regional perspective.
Edna Soomre, project lead of the iPRIS project at SPIDER, will open the discussion with a presentation on human-centred digital transformation, examining how initiatives that consider intersectionality in the digital space can help ensure that digital technologies contribute meaningfully to social and economic development. Katarina Schyberg, iPRIS project manager at the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS), will discuss the value of the European Union-Africa regulatory exchange and peer learning. Her discussions will highlight how cross-border collaboration strengthens regulatory capacity and supports digital transformation efforts.
Tantely Jeans, an iPRIS Project Manager at the Institut Luxembourgeois de Régulation (ILR), will explore the role of multilingual capacity-building in advancing Francophone regulatory cooperation and facilitating knowledge exchange among telecom regulators. Manuel Cabugueira, a Board Member at the National Communications Authority (ANACOM), will present the upcoming iPRIS Lusophone cohort to expand regulatory collaboration and peer-learning opportunities across Lusophone Africa. Finally, Aliyu Yusuf Aboki, executive secretary of the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), will share insights into WATRA's efforts to strengthen regional regulatory cooperation and promote harmonised approaches to digital development across West Africa.
Through these discussions, the session will demonstrate how multilingual peer-to-peer learning, regional cooperation, and inclusive regulatory frameworks can help accelerate Africa’s digital transformation agenda while ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age.
Register online to follow the sessions live: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2026/Agenda/Session/158
iPRIS is coordinated and implemented by SPIDER in strategic and technical partnership with the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) and Institut luxembourgeois de régulation (ILR), as well as ARTAC, CRASA, EACO, and WATRA.
iPRIS is funded by the European Union, Sweden, and Luxembourg as part of the Team Europe Initiative “D4D for Digital Economy and Society in Sub-Saharan Africa” (Code: 001).
