Highlights April 2023
24 - 28 April
ITU at Transform Africa Summit
- ITU's Secretary-General and BDT Director took part in Transform Africa between 26 and 28 April in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
- The Secretary-General and the BDT Director spoke at various Ministerial-level events over the three-day Transform Africa Summit.
- The Secretary-General and the BDT Director opened the inter-generational dialogue – the main international celebration on Girls in ICT Day.
- The BDT Director was a panellist at an event on public partnerships for rural connectivity, followed by a spotlight session on Giga – the UNICEF-ITU initiative to connect every school to the Internet and every young person to information, opportunity and choice.
Digital inclusion: Global
Generation Connect participated in the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2023 held in New York, USA. Generation Connect Visionaries Board Members Diogo Ide and Luísa Franco Machado championed youth leadership in digital development in the SDG9 Thematic Session, co-organised by ITU with UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Generation Connect Africa Youth Envoy Emmanuel Ganse spoke at the first Ministerial Roundtable on the issue of hate speech and misinformation. Generation Connect also hosted a virtual side event called ‘Generation Connect: Youth Leading Digital Transformation in LDCs’ where young leaders shared their vision for a shared digital future.
Digital inclusion: Girls in ICT Day
On 27 April, ITU celebrated International Girls in ICT Day. Events included:
- Africa: ITU together with the Ministry of Digital Economy and ESMT co-organized the Girls in ICT Day celebration at ESMT - a former Centre of Excellence in Dakar, Senegal. A roundtable was organized to present career perspectives in the ICT sector, which was attended by over 100 female students from ESMT.
- Africa: The ITU Regional Office for Africa in collaboration with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) organized the national Girls in ICT Day celebrations at the UN Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the celebrations, the need to strengthen digital literacy was emphasized to leverage technology as a tool for digital transformation.
- Africa: The BDT Director visited the Ndlovu Secondary School where an e-learning project was launched. The launch was followed by an official ceremony with Government officials, UN representatives, teachers, students and parents. The BDT Director spoke at the event.
- Asia and the Pacific: ITU, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) Thailand co-organised the opening ceremony of the Girls in ICT Day Thailand 2023 in Bangkok, which marked the beginning of the three-month celebration. The ceremony featured interactive panel discussions between ICT women leaders and young representatives who shared encouraging messages about utilizing ICT meaningfully and strengthening the community of Girls in ICT Day in Asia and the Pacific. The event also launched a series of digital skills training programmes in cybersecurity, leadership, emerging technologies and other ICT related skills starting from 28 April to 31 July 2023.
- Asia and the Pacific: ITU, the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC), and the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) organized the Opening Ceremony of Girls in ICT Day Pacific 2023 celebration. Participants interacted with inspiring female ICT experts in the Pacific through panel discussions and Q&A sessions.
- Generation Connect: Three Generation Connect Gender Champions, Alfiah Rizqi Ramdhini, Khanimnisa Ismayilova and Milagro Suira, representing the Asia Pacific, Commonwealth of Independent States and Americas regions respectively, attended the Transform Africa Summit in Zimbabwe to mark Girls in ICT Day. Generation Connect Africa Youth Envoy Sipiwe Nachula participated in the launch of an ICT Hub in Itezhi Tezhi, Zambia, which provides girls with a safe space to learn essential digital skills. Generation Connect Youth Envoys also played an important role in regional events as part of the celebrations.
Emergency telecommunications: Global
- ITU participated in the European Emergency Number Association's (EENA) 2023 Conference to present the ITU's role in the UN Early Warnings for All initiative and to highlight the role of digital technologies for better early warning systems. The event provided an opportunity to engage key public and private stakeholders in the EW4All initiative to support developing countries in building stronger early warning systems.
- ITU joined GSMA, UNICEF and the WFP's Emergency Telecommunication Cluster (ETC) on the panel ‘From readiness to response: How building Telecommunications Capacity leads to rapid and cost-efficient response’ during the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week, to highlight the importance of disaster preparedness and present its work on emergency telecommunications. BDT presented its work on National Emergency Telecommunication Plans (NETPs), the Disaster Connectivity Maps, and its role in the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative. The event demonstrated the power of partnerships and cooperation, focusing on joint preparedness efforts and products.
17 - 21 April
Emergency telecommunications: Global
ITU presented the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and the mobile early warning systems at the EENA Conference & Exhibition, organized by the European Emergency Number Association (EENA). The event brought together professionals across the public safety field including governments, emergency services, researchers, solution providers, and mobile network operators.
Environment
ITU moderated an online event hosted by GeSI and the Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP) titled ‘From Theory to Practice Circular Business Models for Corporates’. The panel discussion featured participants from the WEEE Forum, Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) and Sims Lifecycle Services.
Network and digital infrastructure: Africa
ITU and UNICEF Giga colleagues presented their comprehensive infrastructure analysis at an online meeting with the Minister of Digital Economy and Communication of the Republic of Benin. The presentation included an assessment of data quality, a review of the current state of telecommunication infrastructure, tower visibility analysis, a fibre network model, and various connectivity scenarios. Additionally, a cost analysis for each of the proposed scenarios was provided. During the presentation, participants engaged in a productive discussion about the next steps, including the collection of missing data to enhance estimation accuracy and potential opportunities for further support. This collaborative effort seeks to improve the overall understanding of Benin's infrastructure landscape and inform future decision-making processes related to school connectivity.
1 - 14 April
Digital inclusion: Global
On 13 April, with the support of partners, the Child Online Protection (COP) team launched the second of three online self-paced trainings for children aged 9-12 and 13-18. The web-based interactive training modules for children and young people aim to give an insight on the various issues related to their rights online, including child online protection, safety, and access to resources for dealing with critical situations while online. The trainings provide knowledge across three priority areas: privacy, mis/disinformation, harassment.
Digital inclusion: Americas
On 6 March, the ITU Regional Office for the Americas met with Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL – OAS) representatives to discuss joint efforts in gender equality and youth participation strategies. Several initiatives were shared among the two organizations, including side events of the upcoming Permanent Consultative Committee (PCC) meetings. Following the meeting, further areas of collaboration between ITU and CITEL in the fields of gender and youth digital inclusion were identified.
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
On 3 April, the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific participated in a webinar “International Voices” organized by the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture (ICCIA) with the theme “Enabling Economic Growth: Unfolding opportunities within the tourism and digital economy.” ITU highlighted the importance of the digital economy in developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and discussed how it could contribute to economic growth and addressing technology inequality.
Network and digital infrastructure: Global
On 5 April, ITU launched the Sustainable and Innovative Power Solutions for Broadband Connectivity publication, which helps Member States in upgrading their networks and integrating the relevant use of modern and more energy-efficient networks, including wireless electricity and Power Line Communications (PLC). The publication helps countries to gear up towards developing greener ICTs by ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy in rural areas. The main objective is to overcome the energy challenge and to boost broadband Internet connectivity in rural areas. It provides innovative and sustainable energy technical solutions for cost-effective power solutions in rural areas.
Policy and regulation: Americas
The ITU Regional Office for the Americas met with Comisión Tecnica Regional de Telecomunicacione (COMTELCA) leadership on 22 March. Keeping a strong relationship with regional telecom organizations will reveal synergies while implementing diverse activities and projects during 2023 and beyond. During the meeting, diverse action points were discussed, such as the upcoming ITU Regional Radiocommunication Seminar 2023 for the Americas in Cuba and Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), among others.
Policy and regulation: Americas
The ITU Caribbean Area Office attended the Caribbean ICT Indicators Workshop: "Measuring The Digital Society For Digital Inclusion" from 27 to 29 March. Key outcomes from the event included an agreement from the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) to continue the ongoing work on Caribbean ICT Indicators, which will be aligned to ITU’s work on the new methodology for the ICT Development Index. Priority areas for the region were identified and agreed upon during the workshop which will guide the prioritization of Caribbean ICT Indicators. Focal points will be nominated in each Member State to coordinate national data collection activities.
Policy and regulation: Americas
On 29 March, ITU and the Ministry of Communications of Cuba signed the goods receipt for the spectrum monitoring project, one of the last activities of the project.
New Members: Arab States
ITU-D welcomed Zain Jordan, part of Zain Group, as a Sector Member. Zain Jordan is a leading mobile telecom innovator across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and revolutionized telecommunications in Jordan by providing a portfolio of integrated solutions and tailored services.
New Members: Americas
ITU-D welcomed AST SpaceMobile as a new Sector Member. Their mission is to develop the foundation for an increasingly interconnected society. AST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on extensive Internet protocol and patent portfolio.