Each year, on the occasion of the WSIS Forum, 18 WSIS stakeholders are awarded WSIS Prizes, as a unique mark of global recognition for excellence in the implementation of WSIS outcomes. To this end, 18 projects are selected as the most successful stories worldwide, under each category, to serve as best-practice models to be replicated by other stakeholders interested in information and communication technologies (ICTs) for development. These projects brilliantly demonstrate how established Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be realized in concrete actions and inspire other stakeholders all over the world to follow their success. This year, we have continued to implement the WSIS Prize Champions category for the WSIS Prizes contest.

The contest comprises 18 categories which are linked to the 11 WSIS Action Lines outlined in the Geneva Plan of Action and SDGs. A record-breaking 1.1 million votes were cast from 30 March to 30 April in the online voting process that resulted in these 90 exceptional ICT initiatives being selected for the sixth edition of the WSIS Prize contest. Voters selected from a list of 345 ICT success stories nominated through a comprehensive review by the WSIS Prizes Expert Group from 467 submitted projects. And this year, we have 90 champions out of hundreds of projects from all over the world, and 18 winners out of the 90 champions.

The Khalifa Empowerment Programme for Students – Aqdar (Arabic for “I can”) – was initiated by H.H. Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, as part of the national effort to unify resources and create a comprehensive centralized programme, which aims to develop the next generation of UAE citizens and expatriates by equipping them with the knowledge, skills and expertise to be productive members of society; to create awareness of unethical behaviour on the Internet; and to tackle potential risks.

China Communications Technology Co., Ltd (CCTC), established in 1958, is a “one-stop” service provider for network construction in the communication and information industry. Our service covers all parts of the telecommunication industry value chain, including telecommunication infrastructure services (TIS), business process outsourcing (BPO) and application and content outsourcing (ACO).

Access to information in Bangladesh (a2i), the world’s first public-service Innovation Lab+, works to ensure easy, affordable and reliable access to quality public services for all citizens of Bangladesh. With the purpose of promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in public services, a2i has been working for 10 years on developing an innovation culture for providing services at citizens’ doorsteps, simplifying service processes and delivering online services

The Ministry of Communication and Transport (Secretaría de comunicaciones y transportes - SCT) is a government agency that oversees federal infrastructure and services in two sectors: communications and transport.

The A.S. Popov Odessa National Academy of Telecommunications (ONAT) is Ukraine’s leading higher-education institution in the field of information and communication technologies. A.S. Popov ONAT’s main types of activities

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) was established in 1999 to develop the national ICT sector in Egypt. MCIT’s vision is “Achieving the digital economy through ICT to provide prosperity, freedom and social equity for all”.

The Government of the Republic of Tatarstan is the executive and regulatory authority of the Republic of Tatarstan, and is accountable to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan. It establishes and organizes the work of ministries, state committees of the Republic of Tatarstan and other subordinate executive authorities, and oversees their activity.

Turkcell is Turkey’s leading mobile phone operator, and has become the operator of choice for Syrian refugees in Turkey, by virtue of its “Hello Hope” mobile application for the integration of Syrian refugees. The Hello Hope app was designed and developed by Turkcell’s corporate university, the Turkcell Academy.

Africa will have to feed a population that will double by 2050. This is where the main challenge lies. With a population of over a billion, of whom 70 per cent are below 30 years of age, Africa is one of the most dynamic regions in the world. At the same time, most countries in Africa are highly dependent on the agricultural sector for economic development, as well as food security and employment. Yet, despite all this, most young Africans are not attracted to agriculture on account of its image, its insecurity and its lack of competitiveness and support.

ICT Watch is a civil-society organization (CSO) established in order to develop, empower and support communities, other CSOs and multiple stakeholders in Indonesia in respect of their right to information. ICT Watch believes that the Internet is one of the most powerful tools for facilitating citizens’ engagement in building democratic societies and promoting a range of human rights.

The African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG) is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Planning and Coordinating Agency of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD Agency).

The sixth, 2017, edition of Success Stories contains the greatest success stories in the form of 18 winning projects from different countries of the world, together with the inputs from 72 Champion projects, i.e. those receiving the highest number of votes in each category.