 The World Intellectual Property Organization welcomes the holding of WISIS Forum 2017 on the exceptionally important theme of knowledge and information societies for the sustainable development goals. Knowledge and information underlie capacity, facilitate capacity in all fields of human endeavour. WIPO contributes to that capacity by offering systems that encourage the generation and production of new and useful knowledge and systems that encourage the market and other exchange of new and useful knowledge in the form of technology and creative works.