Highlights June 2024
24-28 June
Digital inclusion: Asia and Pacific
As part of the Girls in ICT Day Thailand 2024 programme, ITU and THNIC Co. Ltd, supported a workshop on "Enabling Multilingualism Online for Digital Inclusion" organized by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN's inaugural contribution to this programme included a detailed session on the significance of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) for users in non-English speaking countries, particularly in Asia and the Pacific. The workshop, attended by students from universities and schools in Thailand, offered a hands-on demo session emphasizing the role of IDNs and Universal Acceptance (UA) in fostering a more inclusive and meaningful digital experience.
Digital inclusion: Asia and Pacific
Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation (ZTE) Thailand organized the ZTE Open Day: “Young Talent” in collaboration with ITU as part of the Girls in ICT celebrations in Thailand. ZTE professionals provided an overview of ZTE, the Thailand Telecom Industry, and offered advice on Career Planning and Project Management.
Digital services and applications: Asia and Pacific
The Government of Bangladesh in partnership with the ITU Area Office for South Asia and Innovation Centre in New Delhi and Aspire to Innovate (a2i), co-organized the National Stakeholder Workshop on "Whole of Government Digital Transformation Leveraging GovStack" in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Government officials, policymakers, ICT experts, private sector, and other stakeholders discussed the next steps in Bangladesh's digital government journey. The workshop provided global and regional insights and good practices on the Whole of Government Digital Transformation and identified priorities and future action plans for the next phase of the GovStack partnership aligned with Bangladesh’s national digital transformation goals.
Digital services and applications: Asia and Pacific
Under the EU-funded STREIT Program in Papua New Guinea, ITU conducted a three-day training session on e-commerce and digital agriculture skills in collaboration with FAO. Focused on mentoring women and youth in agribusiness groups as part of the STREIT PNG Program, the ITU-FAO joint mentorship training programme empowered more than 40 women and youth with skills and knowledge in e-commerce, online marketing, digital agriculture, and essential aspects of good group business management
Emergency telecommunications: Global
ITU organised a hands-on AI workshop facilitated by Google, with approximately 65 ITU staff members in attendance. Delivered by 7 Google staff, the workshop began with an overview of Google’s social impact partnerships, particularly in Climate and Crisis Response, highlighting ITU's collaboration under the EW4All Initiative. Participants were introduced to fundamental concepts of AI, machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and generative AI. The hands-on segment guided attendees through practical applications using three AI tools: Teachable Machine for building an image recognition model; AI Studio which leverages Google's Gemini API to create a chatbot script and tailor it to answer questions; and NotebookLM which is a virtual research assistant which was used to summarise websites and uploaded materials.
Environment:Africa
Under the project ‘Developing and implementing e-Waste Policy and Regulation for a Circular Economy’, the largest market share electronics importers and the primary electronics industry associations from Zambia participated in a training, engagement, and capacity building session hosted at the Zambia ICT Authority headquarters, to learn more about the changes to Zambian regulations on e-waste. ITU delivered a session to provide advanced information and guidance to electronics producers about the upcoming changes to the law and their foreseen role in implementing it.
Study Groups:Americas
The ITU Regional Workshop on Increasing Consumer Awareness: Mechanisms to promote informed Consumer Decision Making took place in Brasilia, Brazil. Hosted by the National Telecommunications Agency of Brazil (ANATEL), the event successfully shared international best practices on consumer protection, empowerment frameworks, and mechanisms to increase consumer awareness on cybersecurity and online safety aspects. The outcome of the workshop is the main content of a publication under preparation by the ITU-D Question 6/1 management team and new potential collaborators for Question 6/1 were identified at the workshop
17-21 June
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
As part of the ITU Girls in ICT Day programme in Thailand, Code.org organized the first virtual workshop "Creating Your Own Application with Code.org.” This workshop was attended by school and university students from across the country. The session aimed to empower participating girls and boys by teaching them the basics of computer science and enabling them to create their own applications using the Code.org tool. As part of the Girls in ICT Day programme in India, the second virtual session of the Coding Challenge was organized by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the India Mobile Congress (IMC), and the Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT), with support from ITU. It introduced participants to the basics of coding in Java. More than 120 schools from across the country participated in the session.
Network and digital infrastructure: Africa
A Joint Declaration on Collaboration on ICT Infrastructure Mapping has been signed between ITU and the West African Telecommunications Regulator Assembly (WATRA) recognizing that ICT infrastructure data and maps, along with the valuable insights they provide into the status of connectivity in a country, region and worldwide. Such maps can help shape infrastructure strategies to connect unserved and underserved communities. Moreover, Geospatial Information Systems can support the planning of investment to close connectivity gap.
10-14 June
Cyber Security: Asia and Pacific
At a Webinar on Cybersecurity and Data Protection in Cross-border Paperless Trade, jointly hosted by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC), the World Customs Organization (WCO), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), ITU highlighted the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 results for Asia-Pacific, including findings regarding data protection and cybersecurity regulation from the data.
Digital Inclusion: Asia and Pacific
The first virtual session of the Coding Challenge, part of the Girls in ICT Day India 2024 programme, was organized by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the India Mobile Congress (IMC), and the Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT), with support from ITU. Over the course of two hours, participants received a brief presentation about the Coding Challenge and an introduction to the basics of coding in Python, its importance, and its practical applications in everyday life.
Digital Inclusion: Asia and Pacific
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific participated in the conference “Making Sense of AI in Asia: A Public-Private Dialog on AI Policy and International Development” held in Bangkok. One of the sessions titled “Transforming Agriculture” discussed ITU’s work on AI and Digital Agriculture. The event brought together representatives from USAID, the US State Department, International Organizations, business chambers, technology companies, and civil society organizations across Asia to explore the impact of AI for international development, public policy, and private sector businesses.
Digital Services and Applications: Asia and Pacific
The EU-STREIT PNG Programme held a multi-stakeholder roundtable in Vanimo, West Sepik, to bridge the digital divide in the Sepik region in Papua New Guinea. Organized together with the UN Capital Development Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the event promoted collaboration among the private sector, telecom operators, and financial institutions to improve data management, access to agricultural knowledge and services, and mobile banking. Key outputs included the need for policies that drive digital transformation, stronger connections between telecom operators and banks, and partnerships among government bodies, telecom operators, and central banks for network expansion. The EU-STREIT PNG Programme reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate with all partners to enhance network coverage in the Sepik region, benefiting the agricultural sector and local communities.
[This activity is the result of a BDT project. You can find more details of the project here]
Digital Service and Applications: Global
During WSIS 2024, the Digital Service Design Special Prize was awarded to the digital service “UGPass” from Uganda. This is an authentication and eSignature Building Block that enables access to services in a secure and easy manner. This year, the prize received 50 applications from which 10 finalists were selected. The panel also featured DPI implementation experiences from Estonia, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Senegal, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, UNDP, and the Co-Develop Fund.
In addition, Egypt, Columbia, and Kazakhstan shared their experiences and lessons learned from digitizing government services through the GovStack Building Block approach.
WSIS 2024 also featured three best projects from the Women in GovTech Challenge 2023-24. During the 8-week long Challenge, 14 prototypes of service design were developed using the GovStack ToolBox.
3-7 June
Digital inclusion: Americas
The ITU Regional Office for the Americas organized a Subregional Seminar on “Priorities for Youth in the Digital World: Jobs and Education”, targeting beneficiary countries Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, in collaboration with the ILO Subregional Office for the South Cone of Latin America and with support from UNDP Chile, UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Santiago, the World Bank and Fundación Descúbreme. The Seminar had direct contributions from youth from across the Americas region thanks to a youth-led virtual consultation session organized in preparation for the event. A regional celebration for the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2024 was held with the participation of regional telecommunication authorities.
Digital services and applications: Asia and Pacific
Under the EU-STREIT (Support to Rural Entrepreneurship, Investment and Trade) Programme in Papua New Guinea, ITU and FAO established the sixth resource centre in Nuku in the West Sepik Province to empower the local community. The initiative aims to boost rural development and agri-enterprise in Papua New Guinea. In addition to Nuku, ITU has set up five other centres in Wewak, Wosera, Angoram (East Sepik), and Vanimo, Aitape (West Sepik), to address ICT service challenges. ITU and FAO have conducted 24 digital skills and e-commerce training sessions for 864 farmers across all centres
New Members: Africa
The Agence Nationale de Sécurité Informatique et de Certification Electronique (ANSICE), Chad, joined ITU-D as a new Sector Member. ANSICE regulates cybersecurity in Chad, responsible for ensuring the security of critical state infrastructures, coordinating national efforts against cybercrime, and protecting personal data and freedoms in cyberspace. Additionally, it focuses on securing electronic transactions while adhering to national laws and standards.