SDG Digital: Closing Remarks
ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin
ECOSOC Chamber, UN Headquarters, New York
17 September 2023
There are days that stay with us — and I think it's fair to say that today is definitely one of those days, at least for me.
We came here to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, kicking off (this morning at 10am) with impassioned pleas by President Paul Kagame, by the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, and by Dennis Francis, President of the 78th session of the General Assembly.
We raised the voice of the private sector, innovators, and youth, and they engaged with officials at the highest levels of government and the UN system. Looking at them challenge, listen to, and learn from each other, I couldn't help but see the world that Amina Mohammed described — as a world of hope… and a promise for all that leaves no one behind.
Today we showed what data and digital technologies can do when they're harnessed safely and when they're harnessed responsibly. This journey took us many places. It took us from the rainforest to space to classrooms in our world's most remote areas. It has opened a window into solutions that are changing the lives of farmers, of teachers, of judges, of doctors, entrepreneurs, and so many others.
We turned to the future, with the launch of the SDG Digital Acceleration Agenda, which is a call to action. It's a call to action that contains a roadmap for navigating challenges as diverse and critical as digital skills, governance, regulation, financing, infrastructure, and security. Women and girls and other vulnerable groups were at the top of our priorities.
We also launched the UN High Impact Initiative on Digital Public Infrastructure, DPI, together with UNDP, ITU. And Administrator Achim Steiner described DPI as the new 'roads and bridges' of the future where countries can 'transport' digital benefits to communities. I'm so grateful to Achim and the UNDP team for their collaboration — and for believing in SDG Digital. ITU and UNDP have embarked on many important projects together, and I'm inspired by the strength of this partnership.
These are some of the things that we did today, and of course none of this would be possible without all of you – so ladies and gentlemen let me thank you for being here with us all day. Thank you to our speakers, to our brilliant moderator Femi [Oke], and there are too many really to thank and mention here, but our SDG Digital Advisory Board and our other partners, really thank you. I just want you to know that what you've given us will ripple far beyond these walls.
Thank you also to all those who made further pledges on Partner2Connect – it brings us one step closer to our goal of meaningful connectivity and digital transformation for all. Thank you again Femi, thank you Sinead. And really a big thank you to all of you for being here throughout the day.
As we set out on this decisive high-level week in front of us with the UN General Assembly, I want to urge each and every one of you to bring the insights, the solutions and the connections that you made today. Bring them with you and take them into the discussions that you will enter into this week.
Remember the urgency, the urgency, of our mission and our collective – collective – responsibility to rescue the SDGs.
This is our moment. Be the champions of digital solutions. Be the architects of a more inclusive, of a safer, and a more sustainable world — both on and offline.
Thank you very much.
