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Poland set to host UN digital summit

05.12.2021 13:15
Hundreds of international policy makers and industry leaders are expected to flock to the southern Polish city of Katowice for a United Nations digital summit starting on Monday.
Audio
The International Congress Centre in Katowice, southern Poland.
The International Congress Centre in Katowice, southern Poland.Photo: PAP/Andrzej Grygiel

The event, due to be held from December 6 to 10, will focus on "internet governance and the future of the digital world," according to Krzysztof Szubert, a government official in charge of Poland's preparations for the summit.

Krzysztof Szubert Krzysztof Szubert. Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz

"This will be the most important event in the digital industry this year," Szubert told reporters ahead of the 16th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

The main topic up for discussion will be "internet united" in the sense of the World Wide Web being available to everyone and "connecting all its users into one community," according to the gov.pl website.

The summit's agenda includes issues such as free internet access, the security of IT systems, sustainable economic development and human rights in the context of digitization, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency has reported.

Officials including Poland's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki are expected to take part in the conference, alongside the UN secretary-general and digitization ministers from around the world.

(gs)

Source: IAR, gov.plintgovforum.org

Click on the audio player above to listen to an interview in which Danuta Isler discusses the challenges of making Poland more digital with Piotr Mieczkowski, managing director of the Digital Poland Foundation.