Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 30th Meeting of the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG), which is also the first in-person, post-Covid TDAG meeting.
This is a special TDAG in another sense: it is the first TDAG after the adoption of the Kigali Action Plan at the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2022.
The Kigali Action Plan gave a vision—and also a commitment—for the future.
It's a commitment to seeing digital transformation mediated by universal and meaningful connectivity finally manifest. It's a commitment to see that digital transformation become truly transformative.
Our work is now rolling at speed, gathering momentum, and attracting involvement from all quarters.
Allow me to share a short summary of our journey so far: what we have been doing; what we are doing; and what we intend to do in the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector.
Development work is important for everyone. We are building BDT4Impact, a BDT that delivers results and impacts lives through digital development. Integral in this, I want to unmask digital technology and give it a human face because I believe, at the centre of everything we do, there is digital.
There are numerous global challenges. One is that progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, is hampered. The UN Secretary-General has highlighted inequalities and gaps[1] and also emphasized that we should use digital to rescue the SDGs. The ITU Secretary-General has echoed that “through game-changing digital technologies, we can mobilize greater action on the SDGs where it matters most."
We must fill these gaps and see meaningful connectivity offered to the 2.7 billion people who remain unconnected. Even the digital world sees many divides in terms of connectivity; geography; gender; skills level; affordability; and ultimately opportunity, particularly in the Least Developed Countries, Least Developed Landlocked Countries and Small Island Developing States.
We want digital capability to benefit people. We want them to use ecommerce, get digital skills training and take employment opportunities. We want to see e-government services help them.
We want digital transformation to take hold—for better and brighter futures.
What is our approach?
In the Development Sector, we are mandated by the Kigali Action Plan which has five priorities: affordable connectivity, digital transformation, meaningful enabling environment and regulation, international cooperation and resource mobilization, and finally inclusive and secure telecommunications/ICTs for sustainable development.
My vision for ITU's Development Sector, is anchored on three pillars: bridging the digital divide, bridging the skills divide, and accelerating digital transformation. These pillars are congruent with the Kigali Action Plan and the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference/ITU Strategic Plan outcomes in terms of sustainable digital transformation and universal meaningful connectivity, the WSIS Action Lines, and the SDGs. Convergence exists throughout all our thinking.
Our focus on outcomes is depicted in our commitment to the results-based management in our planning and implementation of work, as well as in the supporting products and services we create and attendant activities.
BDT4Impact also focuses on our organizational attributes of being agile, efficient, effective, innovative, adaptable, and responsive. Our individual and team principles promote being transparent, accountable, committed, and nimble, with shared vision and common strategy.
In my plan for the first 90 days in office, I purposed to listen and consult with colleagues, Member States and other stakeholders, to build an effective strategy.
Part of this included holding a retreat for senior managers in BDT, both from headquarters and field operations, to develop an operational plan together going forward. This proved highly participatory with many ideas on how we should reach our ultimate goal of BDT4Impact.
In January, in line with Resolution 73 of WTDC-22, we remodelled the Centres of Excellence programme and have since re-branded this as the ITU Academy Training Centres programme. So far 14 Centres have been selected across the globe to focus and refine our digital skills implementation.
Internal and external engagement.
Consultation with staff is a normal part of operations in BDT owing to the high value we place on communication. The bi-monthly BDT Staff Engagement meetings initiated in January keep all BDT staff updated, while also promoting the principle of work-life balance, offering support and outreach in this.
Engagement with the stakeholders, including Member States, on a bilateral basis, is likewise critical. Our membership offers us support, guidance, and wise counsel. By the beginning of June 2023, we had engaged with some 123 countries and delegations, and many senior policymakers across the world.
We value greatly our UN partners and UN Country Teams and UN Resident Coordinators. We coordinate activities and pool resources. There is mutual learning, particularly in how digital can unlock value in our objectives.
To ensure continued engagement on a face-to-face basis, we have already held a number of physical events including the first Regional Development Forum , the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-23) and celebrated the Girls in ICT Day event.
The first in the series of our Regional Development Forums was held in Europe, hosted by Romania, with 109 membership contributions, and 200 participants from 40 countries. This RDF—and the others that follow it—are significant because, as the Secretary General indicated, some USD 30-billion worth of pledges have been made under the Partner2Connect initiative. We now want to operationalize the pledges with matchmaking between recipients and donors in Partner2Connect Roundtables which we will hold back-to-back with all the RDFs.
With 757 participants and 52 VIPs physically present, the attendance the Global Symposium for Regulators was remarkable. Ministers, regulators, chiefs of industry shared discussion and a great experience. We thank the Government of Egypt for hosting and supporting us.
The Girls in ICT Day initiative remains important. Under the 2023 theme, 'Skills for life' it was celebrated in every ITU region, with 100,000 participants globally in the 160 events on the day. The main live event in Victoria Falls, saw close to 1,000 girls attend and celebrate this special event.
Other undertakings include visits to Burundi and Ethiopia to inspect our digital skills training for young women and girls under the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) partnership; engagement in relevant forums including the Mobile World Congress, LDC-5, WSIS Forum 2023 among others.
The Area Office for South Asia in India and the first ITU Global Innovation Centre was opened in March 2023. I thank the Indian administration for hosting the office and support.
Resource mobilization
In terms of resource mobilization for first half 2023, we raised CHF 8 million. Our new and ongoing partner agreements include the European Commission, Australia, Germany, Japan, UK, and many others. There were 7 projects signed in this period covering digital inclusion, spectrum management, ICT indicators, digital networks, cybersecurity, capacity building, and e-waste.
Measuring the information society is critical to help keep track of connectivity progress. BDT has already facilitated successful dialogues in the joint meeting of Expert Group on Telecommunication Indicators and the Expert Group on ICT Household Indicators. These have moved us forward. This reinforces the recently signed an agreement, one of the 7 projects, with the European Commission worth three million Euros for us to start measuring universal and meaningful connectivity.
We are very thankful to Member States and partners. Our development work could not succeed without your commitment, dedication, and support.
We are building our new flagship initiatives.
Our flagship initiatives include the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development to foster connections between entrepreneurs, key digital ecosystems, and potential partnerships.
At the GSR-23, we launched the Digital Regulation Network, a collaborative network of networks, to accelerate sustainable digital transformation through common approaches to collaborative digital policy, regulation and governance across economic sectors and across borders. I thank the Government of Saudi Arabia for their extensive support of this first regulatory network initiative.
Knowledge-sharing, in a coherent context, is indeed critical for our work. Our Study Groups 1 and 2 are discussing innovative approaches to promote cross-fertilization and cross-mobilization between the programs and Study Groups.
Our publishing programme continues with new titles and technical reports.
Since January 2023, 6 new Sector Members and Associates have joined the ITU-D Sector membership bringing the total to 498. With your support, we will continue to offer a home for the digital development community and our partners, including industry partners, globally.
In the final analysis, it is all about making an impact, and making a difference in the lives of people through digital development. This is BDT4impact.
Testimonials from beneficiaries show impact on the ground. This is what makes BDT's work special - touching lives. I see our role at BDT is in teaming people and perspectives—through partnerships—with possibilities and, yes, prosperity.
It is the product of teamwork.
I am deeply gratified to my fellow elected officials—present at this opening —who remain resolutely committed to our collaborative work together to realize this vision.
Additionally, your involvement, as Membership, is inspirational to me, and your discussions here set the tone of the digital future for millions.
Meaningful digital development today means transformed lives tomorrow.
Thank you for attending TDAG-23.
