Decision-makers need to make sure that the digital divide, which remains a key concern for developing countries, does not also become a knowledge divide. There is a need to provide assistance in human and institutional capacity building that improves skills to support the development and use of ICTs. Thirty-two Centres of excellence were selected and each signed a cooperation agreement with ITU. Steering committees with representatives of the selected institutions were established for each region, to manage the implementation of the CoE strategy.
ITU continued to strengthen capacities in Member States, by developing standardized training material, which were made available through the Centres of Excellence, as well as other cooperating partners from academia.
In May 2016, ITU improved the quality of service and upgraded the ITU academy platform, which has enhanced user experience.
ITU enhanced the dialogue between key stakeholders by organizing the global ICT Capacity Building Symposium (CBS) in Kenya from 6-8 September 2016. The Symposium was preceded by two pre-events, on "Capacity building in Internet Governance" and "Regulators as Enablers and Consumers of Capacity Building" and attracted more than 400 participants.
With the growing recognition of ICTs as a driver for social development and economic growth, and as more and more people join the global information society and high-speed communication networks become an indispensable infrastructure, the tracking and measurement of developments in telecommunications/ICTs remain as relevant as ever.
The main outcomes achieved under this output are: (i) enhanced information and knowledge of policy-makers and other stakeholders on current telecommunication/ICT trends and developments based on high-quality, internationally comparable telecommunication/ICT statistics and data analysis; and (ii) enhanced dialogue between telecommunication/ICT data producers and users and increased capacity and skills of producers of telecommunication/ICT statistics to carry out data collections at the national level based on international standards and methodologies.
BDT hosts the world's most comprehensive collection of ICT data and statistics in various thematic areas, including ICT infrastructure, access and usage, policy and regulation, and cost and tariff policy issues.
A number of statistical products were released to enhance the information and knowledge of policy-makers and other stakeholders on current telecommunication/ICT trends and developments based on high-quality, internationally comparable statistics: the ICT Facts and Figures 2016; the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database 2016; and the Yearbook of Statistics 2016.
ITU's flagship publication, Measuring the Information Society Report, has enhanced the knowledge of policy-makers, investors and business people about current ICT market trends allowing them to take evidence-based decisions and by providing an accurate analysis of telecommunication/ICT development worldwide. The 2016 edition of the Report was released in November 2016 (during WTIS 2016).
By organizing the annual World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS), which is the main global forum to discuss ICT statistics, ITU has enhanced the dialogue between ICT data producers and users and the awareness and capacity of countries to produce telecommunication/ICT statistics.
ITU's activities under this output contributed towards increased cooperation, and improved methodologies and international standards on ICT statistics through the work of the Expert Group on Telecommunication/ICT Indicators (EGTI) and the Expert Group on ICT Household Indicators (EGH).
Activities under this output also contributed towards the monitoring of international development goals by providing input to the annual Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicators report and the MDG gap report concerning ICT developments, as well as the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development proposal for ICT indicators for the SDG indicators framework.
Increased capacity and skills of producers of ICT statistics to carry out data collections, and produce and analyse international comparable ICT indicators, was achieved through a number of capacity-building activities: a multi-country training workshop for national focal points on ICT Indicators was held from 15-18 March 2016 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, attended by 35 delegates from Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. Country assistance/training on developing a national ICT indicators and statistical framework was provided to Albania, Angola, Comoros, Gabon, Myanmar, and Pakistan.
D.4-3 Digital inclusion of people with specific needs [97]
Digital Inclusion means ensuring ICT accessibility and the use of ICTs for the social and economic development of people with specific needs. Despite the expanding deployment of ICT/telecommunication networks, many women and girls, persons with disabilities, youth, children, and Indigenous Peoples people remain excluded from the Information Society. The capacity of Member States to develop and implement digital inclusion policies, strategies, and guidelines to ensure telecommunication/ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities was strengthened through the following:
- 161 participants were trained on the Model ICT Accessibility Policy Report at the Rapporteurs Group meeting in 2016.
- Recognizing the importance of public procurement in ensuring that accessible ICTs are widely available to persons with disabilities, BDT developed an extensive set of online training materials on "Public procurement of accessible ICT products and services", which were delivered in an online training course through the ITU Academy and also during the Accessible Americas III: Information and Communication for ALL carried out in Mexico City, Mexico.
- The Model ICT Accessibility Policy Report is now available in all six official ITU languages to facilitate its use by countries around the globe.
- Guidance was provided in 2016 to the Organismo Supervisor de Inversión Privada en Telecomunicaciones (OSIPTEL).
International Girls in ICT celebrations in Bangkok (28 April), Manila (26 April), and Yogjakarta (28 April) were successful in raising awareness as well as to promote technology-related courses and studies to girls and young women.
In 2016, there were Girls in ICT celebrations in 138 countries, with 66,000 girls participating in 1,900 events. Many organizers provided hands-on workshops to teach coding, mobile app development, and other digital skills. Tanzania used its Universal Access Fund to support mobile app development, pitching contests, and empowering 240,000 girls from 2011 to 2016. More than 66,000 girls participated in 1,900 events in 138 countries in 2016 (with a total of 160 countries since 2011). There were 493,371 Girls in ICT Portal page views in 2016; 117,586 sessions of which 78.5% (92,296) were from new visitors & 39% (45,968) were on mobile devices. The #GirlsinICT hashtag reached 54,3M Twitter accounts in 2016 versus 25.8M in 2015. The average reach of Girls in ICT Facebook page: 864/post in 2016 with a total of 3,539 likes (1,554 new likes in 2016).
The Model ICT Accessibility Policy Report (MIAPR) was made available in the six official languages and an accessible e-book format.
The report "Coding bootcamps, a Strategy for Youth Employment" was released at WSIS and provided to the UN Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth. Training materials were developed and delivered to nearly 50 participants from more than 20 state universities and colleges in the Philippines to support them in the launch of their own bootcamps and promotional films.
Awareness was raised and best practices shared among ITU members through the weekly publication of innovative digital inclusion practices and strategies on the ITU-D Digital Inclusion news log at
http://digitalinclusionnewslog.itu.int/.
Internet Access Centers were created in Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic), Chisinau (Republic of Moldova), Minsk (Republic of Belarus), and Yakutsk (Russian Federation).
Direct assistance has been provided to African countries in the organization of Girls in ICT Day celebrations in addition to the organization of an African regional competition and conference.
D.4-4 Concentrated assistance to least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing states (SIDS) and landlocked developing countries (LLDCs)
Despite the progress that has been made over the last decades, the number of countries with special needs remains very high. Least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing states (SIDS), and landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) in particular, remain vulnerable and face a number of development challenges that require special attention.
ITU is committed to fulfilling its mandate and striving to reach its commitments under the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) in regard to ICTs for LDCs, the Barbados Plan of Action (BPoA) for SIDS, and the Almaty Plan of Action (APoA) for LLDCs. Each of these plans of action are mainstreamed into the Dubai Action Plan.
ITU has increased the awareness of the importance of ICTs for sustainable development, provided concentrated assistance as well as enhanced capacity to LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS, in all ICT-related activities, initiatives, programmes, and projects. These activities include market regulatory reforms, emergency telecommunications and disaster response, gender equality, ICT infrastructure and spectrum management, and climate change adaptation. This has resulted in increased awareness and better capacity to deal with topics of mentioned above.
[98]Since WTDC-14, ITU has provided emergency disaster response, strengthened capacity, and improved communications for disaster relief in a total of 15 countries (including developing countries, LDCs, SIDS, and LLDC). It supported countries that were affected by disasters, to re-establish their communication networks in its aftermath, by delivering direct assistance through the provision of equipment and infrastructure damage assessments, and in reconstructing and rehabilitating telecommunication infrastructure.
ITU increased the awareness of the importance of ICTs for development and by integrating ICTs within the larger development debate. ITU contributed references to ICTs in the toolkit developed to mainstream the implementation of the IPoA.
[95] PP Dec. 5, 13; PP Res. 25, 71, 72, 137, 139, 140, 172, 176, 188, 189, 197, 199, 202; WSIS ALC4 of the Geneva Plan of Action and §§ 8, 22, 23a, 26g, 49, 51, 65, 72h, 86, 87, 90c, d, f, 95, 114b of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society; SDG Targets: 1 (1.b), 2 (2.3), 3 (3.7. 3.b. 3.d) , 4 (4.4, 4.7), 5 (5.5, 5.b), 6 (6.a), 8 (8.2), 9 (9.1, 9.b, 9.c), 12 (12.7, 12.8, 12.a, 12.b), 13 (13.2, 13.3, 13.b), 14 (14.a), 16 (16.a), 17 (17.9, 17.18), 18[96] Telecommunication/ICT statistics are relevant to the monitoring of the implementation of all WSIS AL of the Geneva Plan of Action and are referred to in paragraphs 112-119 of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, as well as paragraphs 70 of the Outcome Document of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Overall Review of the Implementation of WSIS Outcomes. Telecommunication/ICT statistics are relevant to the monitoring of the implementation of all SDGs and are referred to in paragraphs 48, 57, 74-76, 83 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
[97] PP Dec. 5, 13; PP Res. 25, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 64, 70, 71, 131, 139, 140, 175, 184, 198, 202; WSIS AL C2, C4 and C7 and C8 of the Geneva Plan of Action and § 90 of Tunis Agenda for the Information Society; SDG Targets: 1 (1.2, 1.4, 1.a, 1.b), 4 (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.a, 4.b), 5 (5.1, 5.5, 5.b, 5.c), 8 (8.2, 8.3, 8.5, 8.6, 8.10, 8.b), 9 (9.c), 10 (10.2, 10.3), 11 (11.2, 11.7, 11.c), 16 (16.b), 17 (17.6, 17.7, 17.8, 17.17)
[98] PP Dec. 5, 13; PP Res. 25, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 70, 71, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 135, 159, 160, 161, 172, 193, 202; WSIS AL C4 and C7 of the Geneva Plan of Action and §§ 9, 23, 26, 49, 59, 87 and 95 of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society; SDG Targets: 1 (1.4), 3, 4 (4.3, 4.5, 4.6, 4.a, 4.b), 5 (5.b), 6, 8 (8.5), 9 ( (9.1, 9.2, 9.5, 9.a, 9.c), 10 (10.2, 10.b), 11 (11.1, 11.2, 11.7), 12 (12.b), 13 (13.b), 14, 15, 16, 17 (17.7, 17.8, 17.9, 17.18)
