Dear friends and supporters of the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition,

Welcome to the second edition of our Newsletter. April was another busy month with plenty of activities across many fronts. In this edition, you will read about the key outcomes of the Web Dialogue on Focus Area 3 including the pledges announced at the event, as well as updates on the ongoing preparations for WTDC. We wish you happy reading… and look forward to your comments and feedback.

Web Dialogue on Focus Area 3 – VALUE CREATION: Building digital ecosystems

Through its four Focus Areas, Partner2Connect seeks to drive universal meaningful connectivity and digital transformation globally. Having ACCESS to the Internet (Focus Area 1), and the right skills to be able to use it (ADOPTION) (Focus Area 2), is important. But equally so is what people do with that connectivity once they have it (VALUE CREATION (Focus Area 3).

Thriving digital ecosystems are key to empowering the 2.9 billion people who are still offline and to make connectivity even more meaningful to those already connected. On 20 April, hundreds of participants from around the globe joined us on the Third Web Dialogue of the P2C Digital Development Series.

The first segment of the Dialogue was dedicated to the presentation of the white paper: Achieving universal and meaningful digital connectivity, co-produced by ITU and the UN Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology.

The set of aspirational targets established in the three key target areas – universality, technology, affordability – reflect the spirit and ambitions of the SDGs, the UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, and the ITU’s Connect2030 Agenda, setting out specific values to achieve each action area measured. They are also meant as a contribution towards the forthcoming Global Digital Compact, as proposed in the UN Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda report.
Press release

The second segment included an exciting “dive in” into the key pillars and issues driving change for Focus Area 3, as well as the announcement of 8 pledges towards this Focus Area.
Did you miss the discussion? Click here to watch the recording of the Web Dialogue, and here to access the Trello board with more materials and quotes from our speakers.

P2C Pledges announced at the Web Dialogue Focus Area 3 – VALUE CREATION: Building digital ecosystems

At this session, 8 inspiring pledges were announced:

Airtel, one of the world’s largest operators and Leader for Focus Area 3, committed to serve over 300 million customers in India who are unbanked or under banked through the power of a totally digital bank that has over 500,000 points of presence where customers can deposit, withdraw cash and earn interest on their savings.

The Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), announced P2C’s first ever joint pledge. This pledge was submitted in conjunction with other two Leaders for Focus Area 3: the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the United Nations Development Program, UNDP, as well as with the Digital Public Goods Alliance Secretariat, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. These organizations commit to increase advocacy and to mobilize financing for digital public goods (DPG) through the development of a Charter for DPGs.

Evercomm Singapore announced two pledges thereby committing to encourage various stakeholders to participate in ESG-related disclosure and programmatic pledges, collectively contributing towards an open ESG data registry where various stakeholders can hold each other accountable for SDG progress and build up data sources to support a larger digital ecosystem for better facilitation of green activities.

Under the aim of connecting the unconnected to advance progress towards universal access to ICTs and contribute to sustainable development, INDOTEL (the Dominican Institute for Telecommunications) announced four initiatives of high national priority, related to the 2030 agenda and
the route established by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU): The Digital Social Basket; the Regulatory Sandbox; the roadmap for 5G implementation, and the expansion of fixed broadband connectivity for digital transformation.

A total of 13 pledges have been announced already at the Web Dialogue Series. The full text of the pledges will be updated soon in our website. Since the launch of the pledges platform on March 16, a total of 53 pledges benefiting 1.92 billion people have been submitted and validated. Stay tuned for more news on pledges and announcements coming at the next Web Dialogue (11 May) and the P2C Roundtable in Kigali (7-9 June).

“Our inspirational P2C pledge makers are paving the way to accelerated digital transformation, particularly in hard-to-reach communities. Every pledge is a step forward towards positive change. I encourage every government, every organization and every entity that believes in the power of connectivity to change the world to make their own pledge to help turbo-charge digital transformation.“

Doreen Bogdan-Martin,
Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU

Make your pledge!

For more details contact the P2C pledging team at: p2c-pledge@itu.int

P2C at the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC)

The World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) will take place from 6 to 16 June 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda. The work of the P2C Digital Coalition will be featured on 7-9 June at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable. The Roundtable will comprise high-level panels on topics related to digital development and in line with the Focus Areas of the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition. It will be an open global event where member states, private sector, academia, civil society, international organizations, and other entities can meet to announce their pledges related to the Coalition and advance together digital transformation for all. For more details about the P2C program at WTDC, please check our website. We will upload the program in the coming days. For information about WTDC please check the conference and the host country websites.

P2C upcoming events

Web Dialogue on Focus Area 4 ACCELERATE: Incentivizing investments. 11 May 2022 15:00 – 16:00 CEST. Register here.
Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Development Roundtable at WTDC. 7-9 June 2022. Register here.

We invite you to register and check our website periodically for more updates on speakers and agenda.

Visit the P2C website

Why P2C?

2.9 Billion people on the planet are still offline, and of the 4.9 Billion people we count as “connected”, many millions are not what we would call meaningfully connected. They certainly do not enjoy the kind of connectivity many of us take for granted. The UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, and the ”Common Agenda” released last year, recognizes connectivity as a basic foundational element for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Now more than ever, in an increasingly digitized world, we must join hands to make connectivity for ALL a reality.

Are you ready to help us advance digital transformation globally?

Join P2C!

Pledge for universal meaningful connectivity!

Be part of this global effort!

LET’S PARTNER2CONNECT!

Do you want to know more?
Stay tuned for the May edition of the Newsletter!
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Contact the P2C team at partner2connect@itu.int or visit www.itu.int/partner2connect

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