IEEE to Join Stakeholders at the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland

PISCATAWAY, N.J., USA, 29 April 2016 – IEEE, the world's largest professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, today issued the following statement commending the U.S. State Department on the launch of its “Global Connect” initiative:

IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, today announced its participation as a contributing sponsor at the upcoming World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Forum being held 2-6 May 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland. The WSIS Forum, which incorporates the recently adopted United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is the largest gathering of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) community that focuses on making the information society accessible to all.

IEEE will be joining more than 1,800 global leaders from government, civil society, industry, academia and the technical community to discuss and help advance solutions so that all citizens of the world have meaningful access to the information society. IEEE’s engagement at WSIS complements its existing open, global and collaborative work in Internet Governance, security and privacy, including: IEEE Internet Initiative, IEEE Big Data Initiative, IEEE Computer Society, IEEE Cybersecurity Initiative, IEEE Internet of Things Initiative, IEEE Smart Cities, and the IEEE Standards Association Industry Connections program for Ethical Considerations in the Design of Autonomous Systems, which helps provide recommendations for the ethical implementation of standardized intelligent technologies, as well as others.

“Through the IEEE Internet Initiative, IEEE shares the goals of the WSIS Forum to focus on allowing all of us to enjoy the benefits of a society powered by Information,” said Oleg Logvinov, chair of the IEEE Internet Initiative. “We are committed to working with all stakeholders to realize a fully connected world society so we collectively advance technology for the benefit of humanity.“

WSIS participants can connect with IEEE at the following sessions:
The IEEE Internet Initiative World Café workshop, held on 5 May 2016 from 12:30-15:00 CEST in the ICT Discovery Room, will explore WSIS action lines and SDGs as they relate to e-Health data policy. The session will include a technical demonstration and discussion on personal healthcare device interoperability, and encourage participation and discourse on identifying and addressing major policy issues, as well as brainstorming telemedicine application development based on policy requirements.

A thematic, interactive workshop, “Internet Governance, Security, Privacy and the Ethical Dimension of ICTs in 2030,” held on 5 May from 16:45-18:15 CEST, will discuss obstacles in addressing security, privacy and the ethical dimension of ICTs in today’s Internet and ICT-centric world, identify critical issues, and discuss possible opportunities to create more positive outcomes in the future. The panelists are Oleg Logvinov, President and CEO, IoTecha Corporation, Dr. M.G. Michael, Ph.D., Honorary Associate Professor, School of Computing and Information Technology at the University of Wollongong, Christine Runnegar, Director, Security and Privacy Policy, Internet Society, and Dr. Greg Shannon, Ph.D., Chief Scientist for the CERT Division, Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, and past chair of IEEE Cybersecurity Initiative.

In addition, Oleg Logvinov will be delivering IEEE’s intervention at the High Level Policy segment of the meeting on 3 May from 10:15-10:45 CEST.

IEEE’s participation at WSIS Forum 2016 follows the successful Global Connect Stakeholders: Advancing Solutions event co-hosted by IEEE and the World Bank on 13 April 2016 in Washington DC, which convened 160 of the top connectivity network engineers, regulatory experts and representatives from government to develop a plan of action addressing the Global Connect Initiative’s ambitious goals.

About IEEE Internet Initiative
The IEEE Internet Initiative is a cross-organizational, multi-domain community that connects technologists and policymakers from around the world to foster a better understanding of, and to improve decisions and advance solutions affecting, Internet governance, cybersecurity, and privacy issues. Learn more at internetinitiative.ieee.org.

About IEEE
IEEE is a large, global professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at www.ieee.org.


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