- Digital Access Programme Brought The Honour
By Sonia Meetes, Cyber Era NG Special Correspondent, Switzerland and Angeline Mgbele, Bureau Chief, Northern Nigeria
Telecommunications sector regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), made Nigeria nay Africa proud as it was honoured today in Geneva, Switzerland as the best in the Access to information and knowledge, category, among its global peers, at the inauguration of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) High-Level Event 2025, Cyber Era NG learns.
We gather that NCC’s Digital Access Programme(DAP) attracted the recognition.
Attended by ministers, industry leaders, and representatives of international organizations and civil society, the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025, was in preparation for the United Nations General Assembly’s review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process due in December.
With over 150 countries represented, the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025 sets the stage for renewed commitments to harness digital technologies for sustainable development, universal connectivity, and global collaboration. The event is co-hosted by ITU, the UN agency for digital technologies, and the Swiss Confederation.
During the WSIS Prizes 2025 Ceremony, 19 winners were announced, showcasing outstanding projects that use emerging technologies to bridge the digital divide and advance socio-economic progress on a global scale.
Category 1: The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
Organization: Engineering and Technical Center of the President’s Affairs Administration (Republic of Kazakhstan)
Project: Situational-Analytical Complex
Category 2: Information and communication infrastructure
Organization: Telefónica del Perú (Peru)
Project: Internet para Todos
Category 3: Access to information and knowledge
Organization: Nigerian Communications Commission (Federal Republic of Nigeria)
Project: Digital Awareness Programme
Category 4: Capacity building
Organization: Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (Malaysia)
Project: National Information Dissemination Centre
Category 5: Building confidence and security in use of ICTs
1. Organization: Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (Thailand)
Project: Anti Online Scam Operation Center (AOC)
2. Organization: Centre for Development of Telematics (Republic of India)
Project: AI & Facial Recognition Powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification
Category 6: Enabling environment
Organization: Dept. of Communications and Digital Technologies (Republic of South Africa)
Project: Digitech
Category 7: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-government)
Organization: Department of Government Enablement (United Arab Emirates)
Project: TAMM AI Assistant: The AI-Powered Government Agent Redefining Public Services
Category 8: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-business)
Organization: Department of Information and Communications Technology – MIMAROPA Region (Republic of the Philippines)
Project: From Weeks to Minutes: How Occidental Mindoro Revolutionized Business Permitting
Category 9: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-learning)
Organization: Ministry of Education (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
Project: Madrasati Learning Management System
Category 10: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-health)
Organization: PHARMACCESS (United Republic of Tanzania)
Project: A New Era in Zanzibar’s Healthcare: The Game-Changing Role of Digital Unique IDs
Category 11: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-employment)
Organization: Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population (Republic of Azerbaijan)
Project: Graduates Employment Ranking
Category 12: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-environment)
Organization: China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (People’s Republic of China)
Project: Rapid, accurate and secure production, dissemination and communication of early warning for meteorological disaster
Category 13: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-agriculture)
Organization: Ministry of Agriculture and Forest (Kingdom of Bhutan)
Project: Agricultural Marketing Information System (AMIS)
Category 14: ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life (E-science)
Organization: Biomedical Neuroscience Institute (BNI), University of Chile (Chile)
Project: Improving brain proteostasis as a strategy to reduce the adverse effects of aging on the cognitive decline of the elderly
Category 15: Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content
Organization: BASAibu (Republic of Indonesia)
Project: Empowering Youth Through Digital Innovation: Enhancing Capacity, Opportunities, and Participation in Civic Life
Category 16: Media
Organization: The Usawa Institute (Republic of Zimbabwe)
Project: Girls Speak Out
Category 17: Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
Organization: National Cyber Security Agency (State of Qatar)
Project: Cyber Security Education Curriculum – 2025
Category 18: International and regional cooperation
Organization: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (Federal Republic of Germany)
Project: One Health Data Alliance Africa
