WSA 3.0: Scaling Towards 2030 – the next phase

A message to the WSA Community from Peter A. Bruck
welcoming Arletty Pinel as Co-Chair of the WSA Board and Nora Wolloch as WSA President

WSA is moving into a new phase starting June 2026. WSA 3.0 is the new set up for scaling towards the year 2030 and the UN review of the SDGs.

What motivates moving to WSA 3.0?
WSA 3.0 recognizes the fact that the needs for and future of digital social impact innovation lie in the Global Majority countries.

To meet this challenge, WSA as initiative will decentralize. WSA is in the process of moving its secretariat to the Global South. We want to grow the network and WSA’s impact where it is needed most.

WSA has furthermore created a Co-Chair position for the Global South on the Board of Directors. We welcome and thank Ms. Arletty Pinel from Panama for stepping forward and taking on the responsibility to guide WSA’s scaling.

WSA 3.0 meets the challenge of the next digital era. AI is integrated into nearly every solution. Intelligence is the new oil.

AI will be used in WSA26 Award and the Call for Nomination. AI for good will be part of the jury evaluation and winners’ selection.

WSA 3.0 responds to the changes stemming from the UN General Assembly Summit for the Future. We will be moving beyond the UN WSIS framework to the Global Digital Compact. WSA will continue to work within the framework of the WSIS Action Plan and collaborate with the UNO both within the WSIS Forum in Geneva and the UN Sec. General Office in New York. WSA places a new emphasis on contributing to the achievement of the SDGs by 2030.

For more than two decades, WSA has demonstrated that digital transformation can be inclusive, locally rooted and globally relevant. With its footprint in 182 UN member states in every region of the world, WSA has brought visibility to digital solutions created by local teams for local contexts.

WSA 3.0 strengthens leadership. The operational leadership of the network and the annual call will be entrusted to an Executive Committee as subcommittee of the Board of Directors.

We welcome and thank Ms. Nora Wolloch for accepting a new role as WSA President and for chairing and coordinating the Exec. Committee. Nora has ended her tenure with ICNM as employed Executive Manager and is moving on in her professional career. She will curate the achievements of her 16 years with WSA as a volunteer in the future.

The new volunteer leadership team of the Exec. Committee brings together National Experts who have stepped forward to coordinate and support the national experts and the nomination process in their respective regions. Thank you for stepping up!!

The WSA Award Call26 reinforces the shared mission. The call for nominations will open June 15 and run until October 15. Long-standing community members Rudy Laddaga from Mexico and Connor Sattely (USA/NL) are volunteering to coordinate the operational side of the WSA26 Contest, working closely with the Executive Committee and National Experts

The format of the call will evolve through the use of agentic tech and to increase efficiency in identifying, recognizing and connecting outstanding digital innovations that improve lives and create positive impact.

National Experts are at the heart of this process. Through their knowledge of local ecosystems, they ensure that transformative ideas from every corner of the world can be seen, celebrated and connected to a global community.

Looking Towards 2030
The future of WSA is connected to the dynamism and creativity of the Global South. Thus, WSA is focusing on involving the Young, the digital natives, smart social entrepreneurs who scale the positive social impact of their solutions.

Details about upcoming Grand Jury meetings, Digital Social Impact Days and the Global Congress will be shared as plans are finalized.

The responses from the WSA community to the plans for WSA 3.0 have been inspiring. Numerous proposals, offers of support and new ideas have confirmed what many of us have long known: WSA's greatest strength has been to be a learning community of engaged people.

WSA 3.0 is an organizational transition.
Scaling towards 2030 is an invitation.
An invitation to strengthen ecosystems:

• To support digital entrepreneurs who place social impact at the centre of innovation.
• To build bridges rather than deepen divides.
• To learn from one another.

WSA 3.0 – most importantly - demonstrates that another digital future is possible, one that is inclusive, human-centred and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Because the future belongs to communities. And WSA is ready to grow with them.

Please continue to connect4impact.
Thank you.

Peter A. Bruck
Co-Chair, WSA Board of Directors