Speech by Malcolm Johnson, ITU Deputy Secretary-GeneralOpening remarks - Open Consultation of ITU Council Working Group on Internet-related Public Policy Issues (CWG-INTERNET)
3 February 2017, ITU Headquarters, Geneva
Distinguished colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning
On behalf of the Secretary-General it is my pleasure to welcome you all to this physical open consultation meeting of the Council Working Group on international Internet related public policy issues on the topic of the "Developmental Aspects of the Internet".
This is the fourth physical consultation so we will follow previous procedure by beginning the day with a panel discussion and I am pleased that we have an expert and balanced panel that have accepted the Chairman's invitation to open the discussion.
The topic of this Open Consultation is particularly relevant given the well-recognized importance of ICTs for the achievement of the SDGs.
In our previous consultation we had a fruitful discussion on the aspects of building an enabling environment for access to the Internet. We identified connectivity as our first and utmost priority, if we want ICTs to be the driver of a growing economy.
This consultation goes further into exploring how developing countries can actually avail themselves of the ICTs and what the benefits would be for their economies.
This has also been the focus of the annual WSIS Forum for over 10 years and stakeholders from all around the world come every year to showcase their experiences in ICT-based development. The WSIS-SDG mapping exercise drew direct linkages between the WSIS Action Lines and the Sustainable development goals and targets, with the aim to raise awareness of the impact of ICTs for sustainable development.
I would like to thank the 46 entities who contributed to the online consultation which is a testimony to the importance of the subject. I am sure this will aid the discussions in the Council Working Group on International Internet Public Policy Issues, which will meet next Monday and Tuesday.
So, thank you all for your participation and especially the panel members and the moderator Mr Alex Wong.
I wish you a very productive discussion, and I pass over to Mr. Wong.
