The spotlight turned to the builders of global connectivity during the Honoring Global Connectors session at the Main Forum and Distinguished Contributors Gala of the 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Asia-Pacific Summit in Hong Kong on April 13.

Three internet pioneers from different countries and regions took the stage to reflect on the early days of bringing their nations online and linking once-isolated networks to the wider world. 

At the dawn of the artificial intelligence era, they looked back on decades of transformation while sharing their vision for the future.

Opening the session with a review of China’s internet journey was Wu Jianping, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and member of the Standing Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

Wu said he began research into computer networks in 1979. During an academic visit to Canada in 1987, he sent his first email to China — an experience that convinced him of the internet’s power to break geographical and technical barriers.

“The essence of the internet is connectivity,” Wu said. “It connects devices, resources, people and the world.”

In 1994, China achieved full functional access to the global internet. Wu, who is also director of Zhongguancun Laboratory and chair professor at Tsinghua University, recalled that Tsinghua University and nine other higher education institutions led the construction of the China Education and Research Network (CERNET), the country’s first internet backbone network.

Its original goal, he said, was clear and simple, that is, to follow the principles of openness and compatibility, learn from mature international internet architecture, and adapt it to China’s needs, so that universities and research institutions could take the lead in integrating into the global internet ecosystem.

More than three decades later, China’s internet user base has expanded from tens of thousands in the mid-1990s to 1.1 billion today. The country now ranks among the world leaders in IPv6 address resources. What began as a research and education tool has become a pillar of economic and social development.

Wu noted that the internet underpins AI development, while AI is expanding the internet’s capabilities. He called for deeper integration of technological and industrial innovation, efforts to narrow the digital divide, and stronger global governance to ensure security and shared benefits of AI.

Next to speak was Nii Narku Quaynor, chairman of Ghana Dot Com who is widely known as the “Father of the Internet in Africa”. He received the WIC Distinguished Contribution Award in 2024.

Quaynor recalled that Ghana connected to the internet in 1993, when the country of more than 16 million people had fewer than 40,000 telephone lines. Less than one percent of the population had access to telephones and communications resources were extremely limited.

Against that backdrop, he said, the openness and shared standards of the internet created new possibilities for Ghana and Africa at large.

Beginning with email services, Ghana gradually developed local systems and management capabilities, facilitating connectivity between businesses and individuals. Cooperation across Africa also expanded, with countries sharing knowledge, supporting one another and strengthening regional technological capacity.

Quaynor said internet access has undoubtedly improved people’s ability to reach global resources, widened digital inclusion and enabled more direct communication with the outside world.

At the same time, he noted that Africa still holds a relatively small share of global digital competition, with major platforms and critical infrastructure in need of further development.

As AI advances, Quaynor warned that unequal access to resources and technology could repeat, or even intensify, imbalances seen during the internet era. He called for greater openness, inclusiveness and responsible governance so more regions could benefit from technological progress.

The third speaker, Chon Kilnam, professor emeritus of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, offered a broader historical perspective on the parallel evolution of the internet and AI. Chon is known as the “Father of the Internet in the Republic of Korea”, and won the WIC Distinguished Contribution Award in 2024.

Chon said both technologies traced their origins to the 1960s. Artificial intelligence had already seen early progress before ARPANET, the world’s first internet network, was launched in the United States in 1969.

He noted that the internet later evolved from an experimental network into a global system of interconnection, especially after the mid-1980s, when wider access accelerated international connectivity.

According to Chon, the internet and AI have always developed in tandem.

“Without the internet, AI could not function at scale. Without AI, the future development of the internet would also be limited,” he said.

He added that the next phase of progress would depend on deeper integration between the two.

Chon also praised China’s rapid advances in AI, saying that the country has cultivated a large number of leading business enterprises, major projects and engineering talent, making major contributions to global innovation.

From China to Africa, and from Asia to the wider world, the three pioneers shared different national experiences but one common message: Connectivity remains the core value of the internet, while inclusion remains the true purpose of technological progress.

As the internet enters the intelligent era, new questions stand before humanity — how to ensure the benefits of technology reach more countries and people, how to enable openness and cooperation to transcend divisions and barriers, and how to guide digital civilization toward security, equity and a shared prosperity.

Honoring those who connected the world is not only a tribute to the past. It is also a call to keep building bridges for the future and to write a new chapter in building a community with a shared future in cyberspace.