The WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event 2024 is scheduled to be held from 27 to 31 May 2024, co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD and co-hosted by ITU and the Swiss Confederation, with the support of remote participation.

On 29^th May, ISC hosted a thematic workshop at the WSIS+20 Forum, with the theme of Promoting age-friendly digital technologies collaboration and innovation for an inclusive information society. Representatives from multi stakeholder community were invited to share their insight at the workshop. Mr. Dai Wei, Deputy Secretary-General of ISC, participated the workshop and delivered an opening remarks. Ms. Hu Xianhong, Programme Specialist at UNESCO IFAP Secretariat, Mr. Su Wei, Director of Information Accessibility Research Center of Lanzhou University, Mr. Francesco Florio, Software Director of Huawei Device Business Group, Europe and Ms. Wang Ce, Researcher of China Mobile Research Institute shared their keynote speeches on the workshop.

Dai Wei said, Chinese authorities have issued a number of policies and laws focusing on solving the difficulties encountered by the elderly and the disabled when using digital technologies, to  improve the policy design of information accessibility and elderly-inclusive digital society. This year is the 30th anniversary of China's full-function access to the international Internet, and Internet Society of China, acting as Chinese Internet industry organization, has a history of 23 years. Since its establishment, ISC has earnestly fulfilled its social responsibilities, organized and carried out a series of public welfare activities, and strived to narrow the digital divide and promote the construction of an Internet that benefits everyone. Since 2021, ISC has provide free upgrading and transformation service for more than 30,000 government websites and public service websites. In the future, ISC is willing to cooperate with all parties to integrate resources, further promote the standardization of digital technology in the field of aging and accessibility, strengthen exchanges and cooperation at home and abroad, and jointly promote the high-quality development of aging and accessibility.

Xianhong Hu began by introducing IFAP, established by UNESCO Member States in 2001. She emphasized that age-friendly digital technologies align with all IFAP priorities, especially Information Accessibility. She highlighted the challenges of digital inclusion for the elderly, noting the digital divide in aging societies and the need for targeted efforts as outlined in the IFAP new Strategic Plan 2023-2029. She stressed the importance of promoting universal accessibility for women, girls, children, and the elderly, advocating for these principles to be integrated into national development plans to address digital inequalities.

Su Wei shared his team's groundbreaking research in AI applied to Braille information processing. With Braille serving as a crucial language for blind individuals, he highlighted the challenges faced by current AI models in accurately processing Braille, particularly for complex content like Chinese-Braille Translation, mathematical formula speech synthesis. To address these hurdles, his team developed the Braille Online Platform of China (BOP) that provided service for more 17 million Chinese visually impaired individuals.

Francesco Florio introduced, in 2019, Huawei launched TECH4ALL, an initiative to make digital technologies more inclusive and ensure that no one is left behind in our rapidly developing digital world, via fully leveraging its expertise. To fulfill this commitment, Huawei spares no efforts in creating a seamless digital experience for the target group. These efforts also aim to enable all users to access and use information on an equal and convenient basis. Huawei is on a mission to bridge the digital divide and build a world that's accessible to people of all ages, using technology to make it easier to connect and interact with each other and the surroundings.

Wang Ce delivered a speech titled Technology Assists the ‘Slow Group’ in the “Fast Era” - China Mobile’s Practical Measures and Future Prospects in the Field of Digital Aging. As a pioneer in the industry, China Mobile recognized the unique needs of the elderly early on, and has been consistently enhancing the provision of accessible information products and services, focusing on areas such as age-appropriate information and communication products, and innovative applications for smart health and wellness. Looking ahead, high-quality promotion of digital aging construction needs to be guided by the development concept of co-governance, co-construction, and sharing by the whole society, actively explore new paths for technology to empower digital aging around the new generation of information technology represented by AI, and continuously improve the diversified, personalized, precise, and intelligent supply of barrier-free information products and services for the elderly, in order to realize the vision of sharing digital dividends and inclusive development of the digital economy by the whole society, and contribute to the global development of barrier-free information.