The side event showed how connectivity and overall access have improved since WSIS 2005 through collaborative efforts of all stakeholders, and how a free and open Internet based on multistakeholder cooperation is an important component for development. Each participant was invited to share practical experiences of working with governments, industry, civil society and the technical community to increase access and connectivity in the past 10 years. Speakers were invited to inform a post-2015 Vision for collaboration to increase access and connectivity in developing countries, and how it relates to the implementation of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals.

The event was designed to demonstrate how a collaborative approach is required to address the challenge of access and connectivity in developing countries, and how a multistakeholder driven Internet can serve as a vehicle to implement the UN’s newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals. The event focused on collaborative efforts of all stakeholders over the past decade, and sought to identify concrete proposals on how to achieve access for ​“The next Billion” within the timescale of the SDG’s.