WDFT Awards
We celebrate outstanding achievements and industry recognition that demonstrate exceptional innovation and leadership in digital technology.
World Digital and Frontier Technologies Awards
Technology for Humanity, Innovation for Good
MAJOR AWARDS
World Digital and Frontier Technologies Awards
Technology for Humanity, Innovation for Good
Technology’s highest purpose is to advance human well-being and build a better future. It drives sustainability, bridges divides, and empowers communities through inclusive innovation. Guided by ethics, it becomes a force that uplifts dignity, expands opportunity, and creates lasting global impact.
Launched at the 2025 UN World Summit for Social Development, the WDFT Awards honor pioneers who leverage technology for the common good—celebrating breakthroughs that shape a more equitable, resilient, and hopeful world.
AWARD
Goals
The WDFT Awards are not just an accolade but a statement of principle and a catalyst for action, advancing technologyas a cornerstone of a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world.
Establish a Global Benchmark for Impact
Champion Responsible Technological Development
Foster Global Consensus and Collaboration
Accelerate Solutions for Global Challenges
AWARD
WDFT Awards
World Digital & Frontier Technologies Awards
The WDFT Awards recognize outstanding contributions that combine technical excellence with meaningful societal impact.
Fields of Focus
The Awards honor pioneering work across technology's core and cutting edge.
Scientific Breakthrough Award
Honors groundbreaking innovations that push the boundaries of digital and frontier technologies.
Engineering Excellence Award
Recognizes outstanding engineering achievements that turn advanced technologies into scalable, high-impact systems.
Humanity Impact Award
Celebrates initiatives that ensure technology delivers meaningful benefits to society and advances the public good.
AWARD
The awards are in progress
Nominate (including self-recommendations) the projects you consider most valuable.
Award Ceremony@DWC 2026
Digital World Conference 2026
Geneva, Switzerland, April 2026
Amb. Prof. Muhammadou M.O. Kah
Chairman of the WDFT Awards Committee , UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD)
In 2026, the WDFT Awards will place a special spotlight on the most transformative advancements in Artificial Intelligence—a technology reshaping economies, societies, and the future of human development. We invite leading scientists, innovators, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and institutions from around the world to join this global evaluation initiative.
This year’s Awards seek to recognize breakthroughs that push the boundaries of AI science, engineering, governance, and real-world impact. From foundational models and secure AI architectures to responsible deployment, societal benefit, and global cooperation, the 2026 focus aims to highlight work that not only advances the state of the art but also exemplifies Technology for Humanity.
The WDFT Awards call upon the global community to submit outstanding contributions that demonstrate technical excellence, ethical integrity, and a commitment to shaping a safe, inclusive, and sustainable AI future. Together, we will identify the leaders and innovations defining the next chapter of the AI era.
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Selection Process
We follow a rigorous and transparent five - stage pipeline
Steering Committee
Providing strategic direction and governance oversight
The Steering Committee will invite technical leaders from Digital Technology 360° and distinguished figures in governance, science, and industry.
Digital Technology Development Guide
Audrey Azoulay
Director-General of theUNESCO
Championing digital inclusion, AI ethics, and cultural preservation in the digital age.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
ITU Secretary-General
Championing global digital connectivity and fostering a more inclusive digital economy
Vint Cerf
Turing Award laureate（2004）
TCP/IP and the Internet, Internet Governance and Global Expansion
Robert (Bob) E. Kahn
Co-inventor of TCP/IP
TCP/IP and the Internet, Digital Object，Architecture and the Handle System
Tim Berners-Lee
Inventor of the World Wide Web
Pioneered HTTP, URLs, and HTML to shape the modern Internet.
Barbara Liskov
Turing Award Laureate (2008)
Data Science, Programming Languages, and Software Engineering
Geoffrey Hinton
Turing Award Laureate (2018)
Neural Networks, Deep Learning, and Backpropagation
Yoshua Bengio
Inventor of the World Wide Web
Deep Learning, AI Ethics, and Global AI Policy Advocacy
Yann LeCun
Turing Award Laureate (2018)
Convolutional Neural Networks and AI
Andrew Yao
Turing Award Laureate (2000)
Cryptography, Computational Theory, and Secure Multi-Party Computation
Whitfield Diffie
Pioneer of Public-Key Cryptography
A pioneer of public-key cryptography and co-inventor of the Diffie–Hellman key exchange, transformed modern digital security.
Adi Shamir
Turing Award Laureate (2002)
RSA Algorithm, Cryptography, and Secure Communication
Bill Gates
Co-founder, Microsoft
Personal Computing, Microsoft, and Global Philanthropy
LeeElon Musk
CEO, Tesla & SpaceX
Electric Vehicles, Space Exploration, and Futuristic Technologies
Larry Page
Co-founder, Google
Google, Search Engine Technology, and AI-driven Innovation
Sergey Brin
Co-founder, Google
Google, Search Engine Technology, and Cutting-edge Tech Ventures
Mark Zuckerberg
Founder & CEO, Meta (Facebook)
Social Media, Facebook, the Metaverse, and AI Development
Jeff Bezos
Founder & Executive Chairman, Amazon
E-Commerce, Amazon, and Space Exploration
Jensen Huang
Founder & CEO, NVIDIA
Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), NVIDIA, and AI Computing
REN Zhengfei
Founder & CEO, Huawei Technologies
Telecommunications, 5G Technology, Consumer Products, and Global Leadership
Jack Ma (MA Yun)
Founder, Alibaba Group
E-Commerce, Alibaba, and the Digital Economy
Pony Ma (MA Huateng)
Founder & CEO, Tencent
Social Media, Tencent, and Digital Ecosystems
Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Commission
Leading Europe’s digital transformation and ensuring digital sovereignty through ethical AI, data governance, and cybersecurity
Amandeep Gill
Chair,UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation
Leadership in global digital governance, particularly in AI ethics, data privacy, and the Global Digital Compact.
Tshilidzi Marwala
Rector of United Nations University (UNU Rector)
Advancing AI and digital governance, with significant contributions to education, academia, and technology for global development.
Rebeca Grynspan
Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP Administrator)
Driving global policies on digital trade, the digital economy, and development, with a strong focus on inclusivity and sustainability.
Daren Tang
Director General of the World Intellectual Property (WIPO)
Shaping global intellectual property governance in the digital age, particularly in AI, blockchain, and digital innovations
LIU Liehong
Director of the National Data Administration of China
Leadership in digital governance, telecommunications, and data management in China.
Laurie E. Locascio
CEO of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
Leadership in digital technology governance, advancing standards for emerging technologies, and promoting innovation through public-private partnerships.my