Discurso de apertura
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Directora, Oficina de Desarrollo de las Telecomunicaciones de la UIT
9.30-10.00 horas, Asunción, Paraguay
Excelentisimo. Sr. Alejandro Peralta Vierci, Ministro de Tecnología de la Información y la Comunicación
Juan Carlos Duarte Dure, Presidente de CONATEL
Sr. Oscar León, Secretario Ejecutivo de la CITEL
Distinguidos delegados,
Damas y caballeros,
Es un privilegio para mí estar con ustedes esta mañana en este importante foro regional para examinar cómo hemos avanzado en la ejecución del plan de trabajo que nos fue encomendado por la Conferencia Mundial de Desarrollo de las Telecomunicaciones en Buenos Aires hace casi 24 meses.
Permítanme aprovechar esta oportunidad para agradecer a CONATEL por su amable invitación a que organicemos este Foro en la hermosa ciudad de Asunción.
Desde que llegué, he comprendido rápidamente por qué Paraguay es conocido como "el Corazón de Sudamérica".... No tanto por su ubicación en el centro de este vasto continente, sino por el afecto del pueblo paraguayo. (Gracias por esta cariñosa bienvenida.)
Me gustaría comenzar esta reunión recordando para qué estamos aquí. A finales del año pasado, la UIT anunció al mundo que, por primera vez, más de la mitad de la población mundial está conectada a Internet.
Sin duda, un gran logro.
Pero no es un logro que se deba celebrar todavía.
¿Por qué no?
Sencillamente, porque si es verdad que la mitad está ya en línea, eso también significa que la otra mitad aún no lo está.
La mitad del planeta todavía no recibe los enormes beneficios que el mundo en línea puede ofrecer.
Y en este mundo cada vez más digital de hoy en día, la mitad de la humanidad está excluida de la cibereducación, de la salud digital, de la inclusión financiera, de oportunidades de empleo...
El plan de trabajo aprobado por la CMDT consiste en cambiar esa realidad y en cambiarla lo más rápidamente posible.
En el proceso para el cumplimiento de los 17 (Objectivos de desarrollo sostenibles) ODS de las Naciones Unidas, las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación representan la herramienta de transformación más importante que tenemos para terminar con los viejos paradigmas de desarrollo.
Acabo de venir de la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas y quedó claro que, si seguimos avanzando al paso al que venimos, no vamos a alcanzar los Objetivos en el 2030.
El Informe de la UIT sobre la medición de la sociedad de la información (measuring the information society) indica un crecimiento mundial constante en el acceso a las TIC y su utilización. La demanda de banda ancha sigue creciendo, y especialmente, la banda ancha móvil.
Este es el caso de América Latina, donde los índices de penetración de la telefonía móvil ya son iguales, si no superiores, a los de las naciones más ricas del mundo.
El 96 por ciento de la población mundial vive actualmente bajo de la cobertura de una red móvil celular básica y casi tres cuartas partes de la población mundial puede acceder a Internet a través de servicios 3G o superiores.
Sin embargo, sabemos que existe una brecha muy significativa entre el porcentaje de la población de los países en desarrollo que podría acceder a Internet y el porcentaje que de hecho tiene los medios para hacerlo.
Right now, more than 3.2 billion people live in areas covered by 3G+ networks, yet remain unconnected. The reasons are familiar to most of us:
- the cost of handsets, especially 3G- and 4G-capable smartphones; -
- the cost of per-minute access;
- poor digital literacy skills;
- linguistic and literacy barriers;
- fears around cybersecurity;
- and lack of perceived usefulness (no relevant content in local languages).
These are all areas that BDT is actively tackling, through our programmes, through our projects, and through our Regional Initiatives. We've done good work, but so much more needs to be done.
But all of us in the ICT4D community are going to have to be ready to try some innovative new approaches if we're to make headway in connecting the half of humanity that most needs our help.
Stephane Richard, CEO of the mobile operator Orange, president of the GSMA, and one of the newest members of the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, made it very clear last week that they only way to get it done is through multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Governments, financial institutions and international agencies must work hand in hand with the operators that already provide local presence and large operational capacities. Stephane urged mobile operators to recognize, align with, and leverage existing international initiatives focused on digital inclusion.
This is our new way forward.
This is how we are going to achieve the scale and reach we need to make a difference. This is how, together, we are going to go 'beyond business', and connect the unconnected.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Speaking to you in here Paraguay affords me an opportunity to draw your attention to the situation of the world's 44 landlocked countries, some of which are the world's poorest nations.
On Wednesday 25 September, I joined the meeting of Annual Ministerial Meeting of Foreign Ministers of LLDCs –chaired by the Foreign Minister of Paraguay, to review the Vienna Program of Actions. As you know, land locked countries face unique challenges. Progress is slow, costs are high (countries depend on their neighbours for access to submarine cables and international Internet bandwidth) but technology combined with the right regulatory and policy environments can spur growth.
We in the BDT will continue to work with the neighbouring coastal countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru so that Paraguay and Bolivia can be assured of equitable and affordable Internet access.
Of course, ITU's development commitments are very broad, and in the Americas in particular, they encompass a number of objectives listed in the Regional Initiatives approved in 2017.
I am pleased to report that our Regional Office has already defined projects and actions, and that we are now focused on prospecting for partners interested in working with us to implement these activities.
Cooperation between the public and private sectors is the starting point to achieving our objectives, and we pledge to bring solid business sense and regulatory creativity to the search for solutions that bring connectivity to those still disconnected that includes youth, indigenous persons, vulnerable groups, girls and women, and persons living with disabilities, for whom ICTs can provide a lifeline, not just to the outside world, but to essential medical care, financial services, and more.
The sixth edition of ITU's annual Accessible Americas event will be held in Quito, Ecuador, from 20-22 November, and I hope you will join us there to explore new technologies and look at how we can leverage advances in ICT systems to promote digital inclusion and create more opportunities for all.
Distinguished delegates,
This is the first time that I have had the privilege of addressing this Forum as BDT Director, but I am not new to ICT development.
Those of you who have worked alongside me for many years know that this is where I started. So I return to my roots with a very solid understanding of the challenges, of the frameworks and mechanisms that define BDT's actions, and of the community with which we work.
What I bring that is a commitment to creating a more streamlined, focused, fit-for-purpose Development Sector, whose agility can keep pace with the fast-changing industry it serves. We must adapt. We must listen
We need a new level of dynamism aligned to the speed of the technological advances we see all around us. As we review our structures and processes to better adapt them to your needs, I invite all our members, from government, from the private sector, and from the international development community, to reach out to ITU representatives in the region, and at our Geneva headquarters, and let us know your views. Ongoing, constructive dialogue is a key element of the enhanced cooperation that will underpin all of our future activities.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me conclude by thanking CONATEL once more and, by extension, the government of the beautiful country of Paraguay for offering to host this important Forum, and for all the support you have so generously provided us all.
Thank you.
