Opening of the TDAG Working Group on WTDC Preparations
20 October 2020
Draft talking Points for Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director,
Telecommunication Development Bureau
Thank you Chairman,
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening colleagues
It's wonderful to see that you all remain very energetic in this process of preparation for WTDC.
This is not only inspiring but a measure of genuine commitment to produce a truly impactful WTDC.
It has been more than half a year of virtual meetings (hard to believe), and it is likely that this will continue to be the case for a while.
However, it is heartening to see the unrelenting efforts of members to complete the work ahead of the upcoming TDAG session.
COVID-19 has changed many things, the way we work, coordinate, engage with our stakeholders and deliver assistance. It has also made us reflect on our work, and the urgency to advance safe affordable meaningful connectivity for the 3.6 billion unconnected.
I am pleased to share with you that we are working hand in hand with the host country, Ethiopia, to ensure the aspirations of members are reflected in the various aspects of the preparations.
We already have the preparatory team in place, and very soon, we shall be unveiling a number of exciting activities to raise the visibility of what we want to be known as 'a landmark ICT development conference'.
On 9th November, just one year ahead of the WTDC-21, we will kick off the 'Road to Addis' series of events hosted by ITU, to build momentum and create a platform that can demonstrate the value proposition of WTDC to prospective partners.
The strategy to engage youth in ITU activities is also gaining traction as we now have better clarity on how we can reach out to the youth.
We are working with young people, as we are with members and other stakeholders, to see how best …we can collectively produce an equally impactful youth summit alongside WTDC-21.
Today presents yet another opportunity to have more discussion around the questions that will help shape the conference preparations.
We are looking forward to the outputs from this meeting and will of course continue to support you Mr Chairman and the working group in the best way possible.
As I have always said in the past, I urge to be bold, because that is what will generate the creativity and innovation that we need to have an impactful WTDC-21.
With those remarks, Chairman, I hand back to you.
