Highlights: 22 – 26 November 2021
22 – 26 November 2021
Cybersecurity: Africa
ITU organized, with ECOWAS and OCWAR-C (Organized Crime - West African Response on Cybersecurity and Fight against Cybercrime), a regional Cyberdrill for the ECOWAS region. Participants performed simulated scenarios on credit card fraud, web defacement and ransomware.
Cybersecurity: Global
ITU and more than twenty partners from the public and private sectors published the 2nd edition of the Guide to Developing a National Cybersecurity Strategy (available at www.ncsguide.org). This second edition is designed to capture the fast-changing nature of cyberspace, the increased dependency on ICTs, and the proliferation of digital risks, which all call for continuous improvements to national cybersecurity strategies.
Cybersecurity: Global
Two meetings of the GCI Correspondence Group were held to discuss feedback received from Member States on the upcoming 5th edition of the Global Cybersecurity Index draft Questionnaire. With about 84 willing experts, the group was formed based on the recommendation of Study Group 2 to help BDT improve the GCIv5 Questionnaire so that it continues to reflect key issues related to the cybersecurity commitments of countries. The GCIv5 Correspondence Group is made up of experts from country focal points for the previous edition of the Global Cybersecurity Index, Study Group 2 members, ITU-D sector members, Academia, Private Sector and other International Organizations. The last two meetings will be held on 30 November and 1 December 2021.
Digital inclusion: CIS
The IT Learning Centre for Hearing Impaired Children was officially opened in Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan. The Centre was created jointly by the IT Park of Uzbekistan and ITU. It offers high-quality and affordable education to children with disabilities. The Centre provides all the necessary equipment to meet the needs of each child. 24 children, aged 13-19, have already started learning graphic design using Photoshop and Corel Draw, computer literacy and Web technologies.
Digital Inclusion: Global
ITU contributed to the 14th meeting of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Standing Working Group on Ageing and to the 4th Policy Seminar on Ageing in the Digital Era. Both events aimed to support global policy and decision-makers' efforts related to the megatrends of ageing population. Composed of 56 countries (all European countries, from east and west, and North America) UNECE's current work on population promotes policy dialogue among the UNECE Member States on various facets of demographic change in the region, with a particular focus on ageing and on the intergenerational digital and social gap. ITU’s work on the topic of Ageing in the Digital World, aiming to provide Memer States and stakeholders with policy and strategy advice, is very much in line with UNECE Members' requirements and needs. ITU also presented its 2021 resources, such as the video tutorial, the Guideline Report: Ageing in the Digital World: from Vulnerable to Valuable, as well as the online self-paced training ''ICT for better ageing and livelihood in the digital landscape''. They are available in multiple languages and in digital accessible formats. UNECE showed great interest in strengthening its collaboration with ITU.
Digital inclusion: Asia and Pacific
ITU participated in the ADB Gender Forum panel discussion entitled “Quality infrastructure for gender equality” and shared ITU’s work to promote girls and women in the ICT/STEM sector through Girls in ICT, EQUALS, the Network of Women for WTDC and the Child Online Protection guidelines. The discussion centered on the need to invest in gender-sensitive infrastructure planning, gender-based analysis of spaces, and inclusive design through systematic data generation & gender-responsive decision-making as these are the crucial processes to include women and girls as active participants in city planning and design. ITU also explored the possibility of strengthening collaboration with ADB and other stakeholders.
Digital services and applications: Asia and Pacific
The Regional Office for Asia-Pacific organized a webinar for Pacific Island Countries on ''Consumer protection in the digital age, Data Privacy and Protection''. Participants from eight Pacific member countries attended the event which covered topics related to consumer protection, data protection and data privacy.
Network and digital infrastructure: Asia and Pacific
ITU participated in the Digital Outlook Series 2021 (DOS 2021) event organized by The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in collaboration with the Malaysian Technical Standards Forum Bhd (MTSFB). Consistent with the event theme “Driving Digital Connectivity towards Achieving Shared Prosperity Vision 2030”, ITU''s presentation (titled ''smart infrastructure planning'') covered the ITU Broadband maps, the Last Mile Connectivity toolkit and its applications in Giga.
Giga: Global
Giga was featured at a panel discussion on Inclusive Access for Blended Education in Bangladesh, organized by Aspire to Innovate (a2i) and co-sponsored by the Cabinet Division of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the ICT Division and UNDP.
Giga: Global
ITU and BCG (the Boston Consulting Group) were interviewed by the UN Brief, an online newsletter covering different aspects of the UN. The interview, which was a follow up to a previous interview with UNICEF, focused on the financing aspect of Giga and revolved around 3 main topics: conditions for investment within the “Connect” pillar of Giga; the development of sustainable connectivity models to ensure that schools as well as communities are connected in a sustainable manner; and on the $5 billion Connectivity Bond.
Other: Americas
ITU participated in the celebration of the 25th anniversary of SIT (Regulator) in Guatemala.
Digital inclusion: Arab States
The ITU Regional Office for Arab States and UNESCO are hosting the 5th annual ITU-UNESCO Regional Digital Inclusion Week for the Arab States during the period 28 November to 2 December, under the theme “Ensuring equity and inclusivity in all that we do: Data, platforms and policies”. The Week will address the pressing issues of equity and inclusivity, which are of great concern as the world seeks to recover from the pandemic. The Digital Inclusion Week aims to share and discuss the work and initiatives carried out in promoting and supporting the implementation of policies, strategies and resources to ensure inclusiveness of ALL people including women, children, marginalized communities and persons with disabilities.
Emergency telecommunications: Arab States
The ITU Regional Office for Arab States in collaboration with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)/United Nations University (UNU) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will be organizing a regional event to launch the E-waste Monitor for Arab States and share the findings of the 2050 E-Waste Outlook in West Asia, which will be held on 1 December, from 10:00 to 11:00 (CET). This online event will be conducted in Arabic, English and French with the purpose of harmonizing e-waste data and promoting actions on electrical and electronic waste in the Arab region. These publications aim to provide an overview of the current e-waste situation in the Arab region and enable public and private stakeholders to use the data collected in making informed decisions for e-waste management, which can help reduce e-waste generation, prevent illegal dumping, promote recycling, and create jobs in the sector.
Click here to read highlights from 15 - 19 November 2021.