Introduction to World Internet Conference

2023-01-29

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1. About Us

The World Internet Conference (WIC) was established as an international organization on July 12, 2022, headquartered in Beijing, China. It was jointly initiated by Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China (CNCERT), China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), Alibaba Group, Tencent, and Zhijiang Lab.

The international organization is dedicated to the governance on global internet development, and actively establishing a high-end dialogue platform for the global internet community.

A total of 110 institutions, organizations, enterprises, and individuals from around 20 countries in six continents have become members of the international organization.

Since 2014, the WIC Wuzhen Summit has been successfully held for nine consecutive years. Every year, it brings together more than one thousand representatives of governments, international organizations and leading internet enterprises, and academic institutions from around 80 countries and regions.

Through such signature events as conference forums, the Release and Presentation of Outstanding Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace, the Release Ceremony for World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements, the Light of Internet Expo, and "Straight to Wuzhen" Global Internet Competition, the WIC Wuzhen Summit has formed the "1+4" functional framework. It has achieved fruitful results in promoting conceptual consensus, strengthening dialogue and communication, promoting industrial development and facilitating technological innovation, and has become a high-end platform for the shared benefits and co-governance of global internet, as well as for the communication and cooperation of the digital economy.

The platform, starting in China, belongs to the internet community of the world.

2. Our Members

Our members come from international organizations, leading global Internet enterprises, industry associations and research institutes. Keeping faith in openness and inclusiveness, we would like to admit more eligible organizations and individuals that are willing to make contributions to WIC as our new members.

WIC's Membership consists of initiating members, members, senior members, cooperative members, non-profit institution members, and individual members. We pledge to build a favorable platform for deepening exchanges and cooperation for all members, and provide them with services and support in their own development, capacity enhancement and exhibition & display.

3. Our Organizational Management

World Internet Conference has three main bodies, including the General Assembly, the Council and the Secretariat. The General Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of WIC and shall be held once every 5 years. The Council is the executive body of WIC, shall run the day-to-day work of WIC during the interval between the General Assemblies. The Secretariat is the standing executive body of the World Internet Conference, responsible for carrying out various daily work.

WIC has invited prestigious figures who have made great contributions to the development of the Internet to form the High-level Advisory Committee. The Committee serves as a think tank to discuss the issues and challenges on the development of WIC, and provide intellectual support for global Internet development.

4. Wuzhen Summit

Wuzhen Summit, the annual meeting of WIC, is held in the picturesque ancient town of Wuzhen, located in the south of Yangtze River, China.

Wuzhen Summit mainly consists of conference forums, the Release Ceremony for World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements, the Light of Internet Expo, "Straight to Wuzhen" Global Internet Competition, and the Release and Presentation of Outstanding Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace. These signature events have composed the "1+4" functional architecture of the Summit.

Release Ceremony for World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements

Release Ceremony for World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements, which has been held for seven consecutive years, is a major event of the World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit. It aims to showcase the latest scientific and technological achievements in the global Internet industry, lead frontier innovation in science and technology, advocate technical exchanges and cooperation, and act as a display platform for the world's leading Internet scientific and technological innovation achievements.

The WIC collected 257 application projects globally in 2022, from such countries and regions as China, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and Sweden, covering a wide range of cutting-edge fields, including 5G and 6G, IPv6, artificial intelligence, big data, cybersecurity, supercomputing, high-performance chips, and digital twins.

The Review Committee recommended 57 advanced achievements, which were compiled in the Charm of Science and Technology, in which 15 World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements and 5 Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements nominated projects were included. During the Wuzhen Summit, with the innovative use of high-tech means, such as naked-eye 3D technology and the CNC laser, 15 World Leading Scientific and Technological Achievements were presented on the spot and 5 nominated projects were released in the form of videos.

Release Ceremony for World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements collects the latest scientific and technological achievements in the Internet field around the world, highlights the creative contribution of Internet practitioners, guides the development trend of Internet technology in the future, and creates a wide space for international exchanges and mutual learning and for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

Release and Presentation of Outstanding Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace

Release and Presentation of Outstanding Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace, which has been held for two consecutive years, is a major event of the World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit. It has gradually become a platform for promoting international exchanges and cooperation and building a community with a shared future in cyberspace.

The WIC launched an open call to collect practice cases from the global community in 2022. A total of 213 practice cases were collected from more than 150 countries and regions, covering five major fields, including the development of Internet infrastructure, online cultural exchanges, the innovative development of the digital economy, ensuring cybersecurity and the international governance of security.

Considering such factors as international leadership, implementation effectiveness, representativeness and replicability, the Review Committee recommended 60 cases, which were compiled in the Collection of Practice Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace. During the Wuzhen Summit, 12 outstanding cases were presented on the spot in the form of “storytelling” by innovative means, such as a robotic arm numerical control LED screen and naked-eye 3D technology, which vividly told moving stories of respecting the diversity of civilization in the world.

Going along with the trend of digital, networked, and intelligent development, the Release and Presentation of Outstanding Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace focuses on the major subjects of Internet development and governance, and fully reflects the diversity of participants, the inclusiveness of value creation, the innovations of technological development, and the extensiveness of exchanges and cooperation. These new practices and achievements rooted in all parts of the world vividly tell success stories of different parties in promoting innovation, development, and effective governance in the Internet field, reflecting the sincerity of the international community to deepen cooperation and pursue mutually beneficial results in cyberspace, and highlight the vitality and the vision of building a community with a shared future in cyberspace.

At Wuzhen Summit, high-level representatives of international organizations and governments, heavyweights in the field of Internet, and top scholars exchange their views on focus issues as well as trending topics of global cyberspace. The Summit will constantly gather global wisdom, facilitate communication and mutual trust, deepen international cooperation in digital fields, share opportunities of innovation-driven development, and promote more consensus as well as achievements centered on building a community with a shared  future in cyberspace. Additionally, we will also launch a series of member activities during Wuzhen Summit, creating diverse and in-depth interaction platforms for our vast membership.

5. Major Activities

Focusing on the latest topical issues on the global Internet including digital economy, cyberspace governance, cyber security, cyber culture, technology innovation and so on, we will bring together resources of different parties to organize regular events and activities, to develop global public welfare projects, and to establish a global platform for exchange and display of scientific and technological achievements and industrial applications. We are committed to fulfilling the following missions:

(1) Promote industrial digitalization and digital industrialization, accelerate the building of global Internet infrastructure and push forward the global poverty reduction undertaking in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Bridge digital divide, focus on capability building, and improve digital literacy for all citizens.

(2) Facilitate dialogues on hot issues of global Internet governance among multi-stakeholders, promote consensus, and gather wisdom and output achievements for the development of digital economy and society.

(3) Respond to the challenges in cyberspace security, effectively establish a collaborative mechanism for the maintenance of Internet security, and play a positive role in building a more secure and stable cyberspace.

(4) Build an online platform for cultural exchanges and mutual learning, and advance the use of digital technologies for better protecting  achievements  of  human civilization, improving mutual trust, and promoting cultural exchanges, especially the cultural exchanges in cyberspace among young people.

(5) Facilitate open cooperation and collaborative innovation of network technologies. Organize WIC members to participate in the exchanges, popularization and practices related to the visions, requirements and standards of Internet technologies. Promote the cultivation of cutting-edge technology and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.