Highlights July 2023
24- 28 July
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
As part of the Girls in ICT Day Thailand's digital skills training programme:
- The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Huawei Thailand co-organized the “Girls in ICT Closing Seminar and Training” which recapped the previous Huawei training activities, emphasizing the significance of ICT education in shaping the future. Additionally, the event facilitated an interactive Q&A session between students and industry experts. The discussions provided participants with valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges in the ICT industry.
- Huawei Thailand and the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific co-organized the “Huawei Digital Showcase Visit” in Bangkok, Thailand. During the site visit, students participated in a workshop to understand how the ICT sector supports sustainable development through digitalization. After the workshop, the students had a tour of the Huawei FTTR (Fiber to the Room) demo house and were introduced to cutting-edge networking technologies. The immersive experience sparked their interest among participants and motivated them to pursue careers in the evolving ICT industry.
Digital inclusion: Global
As part of the 2nd round of the UN initiative on mainstreaming knowledge on ageing, ITU-D joined experts, policymakers, and stakeholders for a roundtable on ‘Access to justice for older persons: effective and participative systems’.
ITU-D shared their work and expertise of ageing in a digital world, emphasizing the impact of ICT/digital accessibility to unlock socio-economic opportunities for older persons in the digital age. The challenges and solutions, as well as appropriate guidelines and good practices that support independent healthy and happy ageing of present and future generation were also discussed.
Emergency Telecommunications: Asia and the Pacific
During the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Disaster Resilience Week:
- The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific led a session on ‘Early Warnings for All Pillar 3, warning dissemination and communication’, as part of a Regional Learning Platform, organized alongside the 8th Session of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction of UNESCAP. The session highlighted the importance of the global framework, technology advancement, policy and regulations, and the complementary roles that stakeholders such as the broadcasting community play in early warnings.
- ITU also participated in the "Role of Women in Early Warning Systems" side event highlighting the need for greater support for women in disaster preparedness. Collaborating with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), UN Women, the Thai Red Cross Society, and the Australian Government, the event emphasized involving women in Early Warning Systems’ discussions, fostering stronger women's networks, and improving information dissemination. ITU's dedication to championing gender equality in technology and promoting inclusive and equitable early warning systems for disaster resilience was emphasized, as well as the role of women leadership in digital transformation through initiatives such as Girls in ICT, Network of Women, Women in Cyber, EQUALS in Tech and many others.
10- 21 July
Digital Services and Applications: Arab States
The ITU-FAO Digital Agriculture Solutions Forum was held in Amman, Jordan. Discussions highlighted the need to utilize Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to bridge the gap between agricultural researchers, extensionists and farmers, thereby enhancing agricultural production and revenue.
In addition, emphasis was given to the transformative potential of remote-sensing technology and sensor equipment in revolutionizing water management practices and fostering sustainable agriculture in the region. Similarly, importance was given to digital financial services, marketing and agriculture insurance as having the capacity to enhance the financial inclusion, profitability, and safety nets of smallholder farmers.
The Forum hosted an exhibition showcasing innovative practices, from the public and private sector, successfully designed, implemented, and promoted to respond to some of the main challenges in the region.
Digital Services and Applications: Europe
The ITU Regional Office for Europe in collaboration with GovStack organized two sessions at the Digital Government Society's Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research (DGO2023) in Gdansk, Poland. The conference facilitated open consultation and furthered GovStack's research agenda, promoting collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the development of strategies for scalable digital government services.
Emergency Telecommunications: Europe
ITU initiated technical support to develop a National Emergency Telecommunication Plan (NETP) for Georgia, directly addressing a request made at the Regional Development Forum 2023.
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Cisco Thailand co-organized the “Cisco Office Tour” as part of the Girls in ICT Day Thailand's digital skills training programme. The students gained valuable insights into advanced technologies and were inspired to explore potential career paths in the ICT industry.
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
Digital skills training programme of the Girls in ICT Day Thailand 2023:
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Thammasat University, and UNESCO co-organized the “Digital Skills Seminar on Emerging Technology and Digital Skills”. The seminar discussed emerging technologies including quantum computing, blockchain/Web3, and machine learning, as well as ICT for Development (ICT4D) and the ITU Academy’s training courses.
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Supernap co-organized a “Supernap Data Centre Tour” in Chonburi, Thailand. The students gained in-depth knowledge about the data centre’s infrastructure, security measures, and the advanced technologies used to ensure efficient data management.
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Huawei Thailand co-organized the training on “Cloud Computing and Cybersecurity”. The training kicked off with the basics of cloud computing, including various deployment models, service models, and essential characteristics of the technology. Additionally, participants were introduced to the fundamental principles of cybersecurity and were equipped with essential skills to prevent cyber-attacks.
Environment: Africa
The “Transform through Circular Economy and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)” event, organized by ITU, EU Africa RISE Facility and the Government of Botswana, took place in Gaborone, Botswana. The SADC Business Council's “Circular Economy and EPR Platform” was launched at the event. It also enabled information and knowledge sharing on national approaches to tackling e-waste management, and convened policy representatives and businesses from Southern African countries to explore opportunities to regionally harmonize e-waste management.
Connect2Recover: Africa
Hawassa University in Ethiopia conducted a consultative workshop on the “Determinants of digital inclusion in higher education: Exploring the Ethiopian context”. There was a vibrant discussion on access to ICT and digital content, motivation and usage, and digital literacy and inclusive design. The outcomes provided invaluable input to the Ministry of Education’s new education policy to enhance access to quality education and generated further areas of research.
Hawassa University is one of fifteen research teams that were awarded grants through the Connect2Recover research competition in 2021 to develop research to accelerate digital inclusion post-COVID-19 pandemic.
3- 7 July
Digital inclusion: Global
Generation Connect hosted the ‘Youth and AI: An Intergenerational Dialogue’ session at the AI for Good Global Summit held in Geneva, Switzerland. The session gave young people the chance to exchange with decision-makers about the opportunities and challenges associated with artificial intelligence and facilitated meaningful youth engagement in the wider global conversation on the topic.
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and UN Women Regional Office for Asia-Pacific co-organized the “GenderNet Bootcamp” as part of the Girls in ICT Day Thailand’s digital skills training programme. The bootcamp brought together youth from across the region, technology innovators, feminists, and gender equality activists to discuss the pressing issue of Online Gender-Based Violence (OGBV) and its impact on gender equality in the digital age. During the session, students were empowered with valuable insights into identifying and reporting Online Gender-Based Violence (OGBV) incidents as well as creating a safer online environment with preventative measures.
Policy and regulation: Global
A new webpage has been created to display the complete list of the research and training that has been developed to date as part of the ITU-FCDO project. This includes the specific country reports, research and training that has been developed to share lessons with other countries.
The new page can be accessed here
Partner2Connect: Global
The newly established Partner2Connect (P2C) Global Advisory Board is the key building block of the new governance structure of P2C and aims to help maximize impact for the Coalition, broaden support for its activities and strengthen coordination with other similar platforms and all relevant stakeholders.