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International community commits to Global ICT
Agenda for 2020
Connect 2020 Agenda sets out vision, goals and specific targets for
future development of ICT sector
Busan, 6 November 2014 – A global agenda to shape the
future of the ICT sector has been unanimously adopted at the ITU
2014 Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14). Resolution
WG-PL/9 ‘Connect
2020 Agenda for Global Telecommunication/ICT Development’ sets
out the shared vision, goals and targets that Member States have committed
to achieve by 2020 in collaboration with all stakeholders across the ICT
ecosystem. ITU will contribute to Connect 2020 Agenda through its 2016-2019
Strategic Plan, which has also been adopted at PP-14.
Through the
Connect 2020 Agenda ITU Member States committed to work
towards "an information society, empowered by the interconnected world,
where telecommunication/ICT enables and accelerates socially, economically
and environmentally sustainable growth and development for everyone.”
The four pillars of the agenda – growth, inclusiveness, sustainability,
and innovation and partnership – represent an invitation to all
stakeholders, including the private sector, civil society and academia, to
work together towards achieving agreed, quantifiable and specific targets.
Building on the UN’s previous commitments to sustainable development as
defined in the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the
World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS), the work of the
UN
Broadband Commission for Digital Development, and the on-going
discussions on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Connect 2020 goals aim
to ensure that telecommunications and ICTs act as key enablers of the
economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré said, “The Connect 2020 Agenda
ensures that we can join forces to harness the power of these technologies
so that everyone around the world can benefit from access.”
171 ITU Member States present at the PP-14 conference universally
endorsed the Connect 2020 Agenda. Opening
Policy Statements from more than one hundred countries
further emphasized national commitments.
A series of roundtables during PP-14 with experts in
the field, discussed the opportunities and challenges to achieving these
goals and targets as well as assessing progress on this agenda.
Goal One, ‘Growth – enable and foster access to and
increased use of telecommunications/ICTs’, commits to bring an additional
1.5 billion users online by 2020 with a particular focus on improved
telecommunication infrastructures and increased access, use and
affordability of ICTs.
ITU and its membership are committed to ensuring that everyone, without
exception, benefits from ICTs.
Goal Two, ‘Inclusiveness – bridge the digital divide
and provide broadband for all’ aims to reduce the gaps in access, use and
affordability while increasing broadband coverage, gender equality online
and (ICT) accessibility.
ITU and its Member States commit to minimizing the potential negative
impact of ICTs, such as cybersecurity threats, including harm to most
vulnerable parts of the society, in particular children, and damaging
effects on the environment, such as e-waste in
Goal Three ‘Sustainability – manage challenges
resulting from telecommunication/ICT development’.
Recognizing the continual need to adapt systems and practice, Goal Four
‘Innovation and Partnership – lead, improve and adapt to the changing
telecommunication/ICT environment’ aims to ensure that advances in new
technologies and strategic partnerships become a key driver for the
post-2015 development agenda.
During the Opening Ceremony of the PP-14 in Busan, the Connect 2020
Agenda was highlighted by President Park Geun-hye in her
opening address to some 3000 assembled delegates when
she said: “I fully support the four goals of the ITU's Connect 2020: growth,
inclusiveness, sustainability, and innovation. It is my firm belief that an
'inclusive ICT for sustainable growth' that allows everyone in the world to
enjoy the benefits of telecommunications and ICT is the future of ICT that
we must envision. Korea will do its utmost to support
Connect 2020”.
Touré concluded: “With the adoption of its 2016-2019 Strategic Plan
and Budget at PP-14, ITU is set to play its part in contributing to the
Connect 2020 Agenda. The roll out of the Connect 2020 Agenda will now gather
pace across the world, laying the groundwork for full mobilization of the
global ICT sector, concentrated on implementation of specific and measurable
targets towards the 2020 horizon.”
Note to Editors – Connect 2020 Goals and Targets at a glance.
Connect 2020: Global Telecommunication/ICT Goals and Targets
Goal 1 Growth – Enable and foster access to and increased use of
telecommunication/ICT
- Target 1.1: Worldwide, 55% of households should have access to the
Internet by 2020
- Target 1.2: Worldwide, 60% of individuals should be using the Internet
by 2020
- Target 1.3: Worldwide, telecommunication/ICT should be 40% more
affordable by 2020
Goal 2 Inclusiveness –Bridge the digital divide and provide
broadband for all
- Target 2.1.A: In the developing world, 50% of households should have
access to the Internet by 2020
- Target 2.1.B: In the least developed countries (LDCs), 15% of
households should have access to the Internet by 2020
- Target 2.2.A: In the developing world, 50% of individuals should be
using the Internet by 2020
- Target 2.2.B: In the least developed countries (LDCs), 20% of
individuals should be using the Internet by 2020
- Target 2.3.A: The affordability gap between developed and developing
countries should be reduced by 40% by 2020
- Target 2.3.B: Broadband services should cost no more than 5% of average
monthly income in developing countries by 2020
- Target 2.4: Worldwide, 90% of the rural population should be covered by
broadband services by 2020
- Target 2.5.A: Gender equality among Internet users should be reached by
2020
- Target 2.5.B: Enabling environments ensuring accessible
telecommunication/ICT for persons with disabilities should be established in
all countries by 2020
Goal 3 Sustainability – Manage challenges resulting from the
telecommunication/ICT development
- Target 3.1: Cybersecurity readiness should be improved by 40% by 2020
- Target 3.2: Volume of redundant e-waste to be reduced by 50% by 2020
- Target 3.3: Greenhouse Gas emissions generated by the
telecommunication/ICT sector to be decreased per device by 30% by 2020
Goal 4 Innovation and partnership – Lead, improve and adapt to
the changing telecommunication/ICT environment
- Target 4.1: Telecommunication/ICT environment conducive to innovation
- Target 4.2: Effective partnerships of stakeholders in
telecommunication/ICT environment
Interview with Tomas Lamanauskas, Head of ITU’s Corporate
Strategy Division talking about the new Connect 2020 Agenda
Connect 2020 related blogs (ITU Blog):
http://itu4u.wordpress.com/category/connect-2020/
Connect 2020 related news (newslog):
http://newslog.itu.int/archives/category/connect-2020
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