Partner2Connect: Where we are in connecting all of humanity
ITU News
Around the world, an estimated 2.6 billion people have never used the Internet and remain excluded from the benefits and opportunities offered by numerous digital platforms and technologies.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has focused on building high-impact partnerships to bring all those people online. The Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition, in particular, has become central in ITU’s work to extend meaningful connectivity to everyone, everywhere.
Launched two years ago, P2C has mobilized more than 830 pledges from over 400 companies and organizations so far, amounting to commitments worth over USD 36 billion for connectivity projects around the world. Lately, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin has set her sights on mobilizing USD 100 billion worth of P2C pledges by 2026.
The P2C Digital Coalition will hold its second Annual Meeting on Tuesday, 12 December (14:00-16:30 CET) at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Along with updates on pledge mobilization, the meeting will offer insights on actual implementation by partners on the ground in various countries.
P2C Annual Meeting participants will:
- Discuss current challenges and opportunities in connecting the unconnected.
- Receive updates on how some high-profile P2C pledges are being implemented;
- Learn about the latest pledges submitted through the P2C platform;
- Share experiences to further advance sustainable digital transformation and meaningful connectivity worldwide.
This year’s programme also features spotlight sessions on sustainable digital transformation and refugee connectivity.
Green action beyond COP28
Participants in the first spotlight session will explore how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can help fight the global climate crisis, particularly as outcomes emerge the United Nations climate conference, COP28. Ahead of the climate conference, partners from across the industry have joined ITU’s call to cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve industry-wide data gathering and reporting, and start building circular digital economies. At the P2C meeting, key partners will report on this Green Digital Action track.
Connecting refugees
Forcibly displaced people are only half as likely as other people to have an Internet-enabled phone. In today’s fast-evolving digital world, many of them are left behind.
To address this gap, UN digital agency ITU has joined forces with UN refugee agency UNHCR, mobile telecom industry association GSMA and the Government of Luxembourg to mobilize investments and policy commitments to ensure digital inclusion for 20 million of the world’s forcibly displaced people and their local host communities.
The Connectivity for Refugees initiative, in line with a pledge at the recent Global Refugee Forum 2023, is calling for expertise, resources, and investment to ensure affordable connectivity in all major refugee hosting areas by 2030. Refugee connectivity also needs to be considered in national digital access plans.
The P2C Annual Meeting at ITU on 12 December will spotlight the Connectivity for Refugees initiative and tee-up discussions that will continue on 14 December as part of the Global Refugee Forum.
Advancing gender equality
The P2C meeting is set to close with the 10th EQUALS in Tech Awards Ceremony, celebrating initiatives, projects, organizations, and institutions that have displayed extraordinary commitment to bridging the gender divide in the realm of digital technologies.
Register for the P2C Annual Meeting.
Submit a pledge via the P2C Digital Coalition and help us reach our goal of meaningfully connecting humanity by 2030.
Image credit: AdobeStock
