The Annual Regional Development Forum for Europe provided an opportunity for an exchange of views between ITU and decision-makers of ITU Member States and Sector Members, as well as other stakeholders in the Europe region. It served as a platform for assessing strategic orientations that may have an impact on ITU’s regional work plan.
RDF-EUR reported on the outcomes and implementation of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-22), held in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2022. Emphasis was given to the five Regional Initiatives for Europe approved by the WTDC-22. All the stakeholders had an opportunity to discuss implementation plans, announce financial and in-kind commitments towards ongoing and future work, and exchange experiences and good practices.
In this context, the ITU Office for Europe launched a Regional Consultation that presented an opportunity for ITU Member States, Sector Members, and other stakeholders to contribute to ITU’s activities at the regional level while reflecting the strategic needs of the region during the implementation period, 2023-2024.
Stakeholders contributing to the implementation of the Kigali Action Plan at regional level, in particular to ITU Regional Initiatives for Europe, were invited to provide their written input by 17 May 2022 to eurregion@itu.int, using the RDF-EUR Contributions Template.
The responses to the consultation were aggregated and consolidated into a revised Draft Implementation Plan for 2023-2024, shared with the Membership and presented for discussion at RDF-EUR on 22 May 2023. All submitted proposals will be used as the basis for further coordination at the ITU level.
RDF-EUR addressed, from a regional perspective, the results-based management approach applied for all actions carried out in the region as well as activities related to ITU Study Groups, Membership, Partnerships, and special initiatives such as Partner2Connect, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development, Connect2Recover, Generation Connect, and ITU Academy Training Centers, as well as regional contributions to the implementation of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Action Lines and the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
A special segment of the event was dedicated to the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition match-making that provided an opportunity for stakeholders’ to express their commitments, which could be based on the pledges that they have already made or new pledges aimed at addressing country needs in Europe with the aim of advancing digital development in the region and implementation of the Regional Initiatives.
RDF-EUR 2023 also offered an opportunity to discuss the ITU's role in the UN system and its contribution at the regional and country levels to foster digital development. Finally, RDF-EUR took into consideration the regional activities planned by the Standardisation and Radiocommunication Bureaus as well as the General Secretariat at the regional level.
RDF-EUR 2023 was open to all stakeholders willing to strengthen cooperation and partnership among telecommunication/ICT policymakers, regulators, industry, academia, regional and international development agencies, and organizations on specific regional telecommunication and ICT matters.
RDF-EUR 2023 was conducted in a paperless manner. Documents related to this event, including the agenda, presentations, and practical information with guidance on how to connect to the online platform, were made available through this web page.
The forum was conducted in English only.
