Partner2Connect Digital Coalition
Introduction
Winning the SDG race: bridging the digital divide by 2030
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) form the backbone of today’s digital economy and have enormous potential to fast forward progress on the SDGs and improve people’s lives in fundamental ways. The Partner2Connect Digital Coalition (also known as P2C) is a multistakeholder alliance launched by ITU in close cooperation with the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology and with the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Islands Developing States (UNOHRLLS). It is aligned with the UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, with the WSIS action lines and the SDGs to foster meaningful connectivity and digital transformation globally, with a focus on but not limited to hardest- to-connect communities in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The Partner2Connect Digital Coalition will serve as a leadership level platform to engage all stakeholders to mobilize and announce new resources, partnerships, and commitments to achieve universal and meaningful connectivity.
Background
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, ITU has redoubled its efforts to help countries rapidly expand connectivity, to reach the millions of communities around the world where connectivity is still too poor to offer meaningful benefits. The international community needs to find new ways to overcome chronic connectivity barriers, to dramatically level-up affordable access to technology and to empower people with the digital skills to use it, so that everyone, everywhere, has access to life-changing, enabling, digital platforms and services.
Building on the outcomes of the Road to Addis Digital Development Series, which started in 2020 to create momentum towards the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), 6-16 June, 2022), and in alignment with the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs, on 20 September 2021, ITU launched the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition (P2C) on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The Coalition is based on the principles of inclusion, partnership and SDG-focused digital development. It recognizes that progress can only be achieved through a multistakeholder based approach that involves the direct leadership of governments, policy makers and the regulatory community. The Partner2Connect Digital Coalition will support the implementation of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and the UN Secretary General’s report: “Our Common Agenda”, in close collaboration with the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology.
Why Now?
Digital connectivity plays a central role in our daily lives. The 2011-2020 Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) recognizes ICT networks as an infrastructure priority; however, meaningful digital connectivity remains a major challenge for all countries and for LDCs, Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in particular. Today, 2.6 billion people remain offline. Digital connectivity can be a key enabler for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and for countries to leap-frog in various areas, including education, health, government services and trade. It can also act as a powerful conduit to deliver innovative services and applications and catalyse new business opportunities.
Achieving meaningful universal connectivity is an ambitious goal, which can only be achieved through multistakeholder collaboration and partnerships. ITU is coordinating and partnering with other relevant international leader level platforms such as the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development and the UNSG Roadmap for Digital Cooperation to turn P2C into a game-changer opportunity to mobilize resources needed to meaningfully connect the world.
