At the historic moment of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) +20 overall review by the United Nations General Assembly, it is evident that there is a public financing deficit when it comes to supporting the development of digital infrastructural capabilities in the Global South. The share of Official Development Assistance is insufficient, and Southern governments are facing burgeoning debt burdens. Against this backdrop, we need innovative financing mechanisms for furthering digital equality and inclusive digital economies. Leading scholars like Mazzucato have pointed to the risks of mission drift and public value erosion in financing mechanisms that lack sufficient guardrails.

The WSIS+20 side event, organized by the Global Digital Justice Forum, represented by members IT for Change and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), in partnership with UNDP and Co-Develop, on 15 December 2025 in New York, seeks to take stock of the learnings and present ideas on innovative financing mechanisms to further digital equality and inclusive digital economies in the ongoing AI transition.

From this standpoint, the session will address the following questions through a panel discussion, also bringing in insights/learnings from initiatives and case studies in the digital and other development sectors:
Q1. What are the primary financing frameworks that have guided the WSIS implementation since 2005, and in what ways have they succeeded or failed?
Q2. How can we centre public accountability and public value in financing digital innovation infrastructures (from connectivity to cloud and AI)?
Q3. What kind of financing architectures are needed for equitable and inclusive innovation futures?
The main ideas will be summarized afterwards in order to fuel discussions and work surrounding the implementation of the results of the WSIS +20 review.

Learn more about the event here.