In November 9, 2020, the ITU Road to Addis Digital Development Series was launched.  In this meeting, the Generation Connect Initiative was presented. Generation Connect aims to engage global youth and encourage their participation as equal partners alongside the leaders of today’s digital change, empowering young people with the skills and opportunities to advance their vision of a connected future.

The key themes discussed in this session included:

• The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in bringing much needed light to the importance of connectivity, and the areas to focus for the recovery post-pandemic.
• Some of the key challenges (affordability, infrastructure, regulation, skills, awareness), and opportunities (multi-stakeholder collaboration, partnerships, innovative financing models, the engagement of youth) for increasing connectivity, and how the ITU digital development conference (WTDC) can help advance this cause globally.
• The importance of engaging youth and girls around the issues of the digital divide, and how Generation Connect can help increase youth engagement in preparation for the  ITU Youth Summit on 4-5 June 2022, ahead of WTDC. Young people represent a large percentage of the population. In Africa for example, 60% of the entire continent is aged below 25, and youth aged 15-24 represent 20% of its population.
• The role of innovation in spurring more effective partnerships for digital transformation, and the importance of cooperation and working as ONE UN to achieve universal connectivity.
• The technological advancements and regulations that can contribute to make connectivity more universally accessible.
• The role that the mobile industry can play to support children and young people address the barriers that exist to technology adoption, and to help them feel “safe” to actively participate in the online world.

In this session, the Road to Addis Series for Digital Development was also presented as the platform to discuss key themes that will be addressed at WTDC around the “six enablers” of connectivity for Sustainable Development: Partnerships, Inclusion, Financing, Leadership, Innovation and Youth.