The AI for Good Global Summit and WSIS Forum 2026 today wrapped up a landmark Geneva Digital Week, having brought together over 12,000 participants from 177 countries to drive global efforts towards safe and responsible artificial intelligence (AI).
The week celebrated breakthroughs in AI and digital innovation, uniting world leaders, tech pioneers, policymakers, civil society, and youth from around the globe. From cutting-edge technology showcases to historic discussions on AI governance, the events underscored a shared vision: ensuring AI and digital technologies benefit all of humanity.
"At Geneva Digital Week, the world came together to shape our shared digital future," said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. "We demonstrated that AI governance, innovation and digital development are not separate challenges - and that international cooperation remains our most powerful tool to solve them, while ensuring technology benefits all people, everywhere."
From dialogue to delivery
The inaugural Global Dialogue on AI Governance , the first mandated by UN Member States, gave every country a voice in shaping the future of AI. The two-day event at the start of the week emphasized science-based collaboration as the foundation for addressing challenges such as trust, equity, and accessibility, and is set to reconvene in New York in May 2027.
Back-to-back with the AI Dialogue, the annual AI for Good Global Summit 2026 showcased the latest breakthroughs in AI innovation, showing how real-world solutions, skills development, and standards work together to translate into AI that works for all.
At the heart of the summit was the first meeting of the newly formed AI for Good Global Commission , co-chaired by Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and Salesforce Chair and CEO Marc Benioff with ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin serving as Vice-Chair. Commissioners called for urgent action on trust, equitable access, and real-world AI solutions, highlighting AI's unparalleled potential to address global challenges.
With the future of AI depending on trust, AI for Good announced a new Focus Group on Agentic AI to develop frameworks for trusted digital identity and to ensure that the behaviour of AI agents remains trustworthy and accountable throughout their lifecycle.
ITU's Goodwill Ambassador for the AI for Good AI Skills Coalition, will.i.am, highlighted the importance of skills and education at Summit events throughout the week, while also participating in the announcement of three new AI Skills Coalition partners during the initiative's annual meeting.
Throughout the global event, AI for Good highlighted AI achievements across borders, ages and disciplines through initiatives including the Robotics for Good Youth Challenge , AI for Good Film Festival , AI for Good Innovation Factory , AI for Good Impact Awards , Canvas of the Future , AI and Space Computing Challenge , and Innovate for Impact 2026 .
Advancing a people-centred digital future
Running across the week, the WSIS Forum 2026 , the UN's longest-standing platform on advancing digital development, gathered global stakeholders to explore innovative ways technology can power sustainable development.
With a renewed mandate through 2035, the Forum featured high-level discussions and grassroots exchanges spanning digital cooperation, capacity building, and refugee connectivity. Participants also celebrated the winners of the WSIS Prizes , which honoured top tech solutions for digital development.
A major milestone was reached as the Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition exceeded its USD 100 billion target, advancing efforts to connect the 2.2 billion people worldwide still offline.
WSIS also hosted the final meeting of the International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience featuring the adoption of its final report with recommendations on how to strengthen the resilience of the infrastructure that carries over 99 per cent of global data traffic.
Geneva Digital Week closes having linked policy dialogue, science, technical innovation, and actionable solutions, setting the stage for a future where AI and digital technologies work for everyone, everywhere.
