Opening Remarks by Malcolm Johnson, ITU Deputy Secretary-GeneralWSIS Prizes 2020 Champion Success Stories of WSIS Action Lines Implementation and SDGs Advancement
26 August 2020 - Virtual Meeting
Let me add my welcome to this fifth and last session looking at some of the excellent WSIS 2020 Champions projects which are contenders for this year’s prizes.
Our panellists today are WSIS Champions from Africa, the Arab States, and Asia and the Pacific. They represent governments, civil society, and the private sector. And like the 40 panellists before them, they are the faces of the WSIS Prizes Champion projects and the ambassadors of ICT in the face of Covid-19.
My congratulations to them and all our other Champions.
Their stories show the social, economic, and environmental impact that ICTs are having on the ground around the world, which has been one of the big lessons of this crisis.
800 projects were submitted this year, bringing the total number of projects submitted for the WSIS Prizes since 2012 to more than 3,000. I want to congratulate this year’s 90 WSIS Prizes 2020 Champions and thank them for being champions of development.
From the beginning, our goal has remained the same: to help communities everywhere replicate examples of good and sustainable use of ICTs ─ and to encourage everyone to make good and timely use of the WSIS Stocktaking database, introduced in 2004, which has now more than 13,000 entries.
For the past five months, the WSIS Stocktaking started collecting projects and activities on how ICTs are assisting stakeholders in their everyday life and work amidst the pandemic.
As we look to recovery, I invite you to explore the Special Report featuring more than 300 projects submitted to the WSIS Stocktaking case repository on Covid-19 that will be launched during the Final Week of the WSIS Forum 2020.
Unfortunately the virus is still with us and will be for some time, so please continue submitting good ICT practices – to help cope with and ultimately defeat Covid-19, and to drive development for all as we are entering the last decade to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
We must not forget that if the coronavirus crisis has illustrated the power and promise of ICTs like never before, it reminds us that almost half of the world’s population is still offline and unable to benefit.
With that, I want to remind you that a special virtual ceremony to announce the WSIS Prizes 2020 Winners will be held on 7th September. I also hope to see you on 10th September, the last day of this year’s WSIS Forum, for a session dedicated to the launch of the WSIS Stocktaking publications, when we plan to share the outcomes of this series dedicated to promotion of the WSIS Prizes 2020 Champions.
This year’s virtual format has allowed us to scale WSIS Forum to an even wider community, giving our WSIS Prizes Champions and Winners an opportunity to tell their story to more people than ever before.
Together, let us build on that momentum to make the world safer, more sustainable, and more connected – a world where no one is left behind and where opportunities have no boundaries.
I thank you and wish you a great session.
