The purpose of the special initiatives is to promote access to, as well as use
and knowledge of, telecommunications and ICTs for women and girls, children and
youth, indigenous people, persons with disabilities and people living in rural,
isolated and poorly served communities. The Special Initiatives are
designed to ensure that people with special needs are targeted by efforts
to bridge the digital divide. Our work includes sharing
informationon best practices and
practical experiences, including through this website and toolkits, such as theToolkit
on e-Accessibility & Service Needs for Persons with Disabilities; raising
awareness on the importance of connecting the special initiatives targeted
populations to ICTs; supporting education, capacity building and training
opportunities, such as theYouth
Education Scheme (YES); connecting schools to ICT; organizingYouth Forums
together with ITU TELECOM events; developing ICT applications and services,
for example ICT portals forindigenous people,
and implementing ICT connectivity projects and providing technical
assistance such as the multi-purpose community telecentres (MCTs) project
for the special initiatives targeted populations. The special initiatives are
actively seeking partnerships to expand the scope of its work. Potential
sponsors are kindly requested to contact the Special Initiatives Division of the
BDT atsis@itu.int.
“Equality for
women and girls is not only a basic human right
it is a social and economic imperative. Where
women are educated and empowered, economies are
more productive and strong. Where women are
fully represented, societies are more peaceful
and stable."
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Women play a key role in reducing
poverty and promoting social and economic development, for themselves, their
families and their countries. ICT is an essential tool for the social and
economic development of women and girls. Information and communication
technologies (ICTs) can provide women and girls an education and job training,
promote literacy, improve access to health care, enable the exercise of legal
rights and participation in government. Investing in women has a multiplier
effect. Women reinvest in their families and communities. Accelerating broadband
and ICT provision to women and girls will promote gender equality, empowerment
and social and economic development of both men and women. ITU supports the
social and economic development of women and girls by promoting:
The ITUConnect
a School, Connect a Communityinitiative
is designed to promote broadband Internet connectivity for schools around the
world so that schools can serve as community ICT centers for rural, marginal
urban and isolated areas with a particular focus on disadvantaged and vulnerable
groups such as women and girls, indigenous people, persons with disabilities and
youth and children. Its goal is to promote understanding and awareness among
Communications Ministers and National Regulatory authorities as well as
Education Ministers and other relevant governmental agencies with responsibility
for disadvantaged and vulnerable populations on the need for coordinated
policies, regulations and practices to promote school connectivity in order to
achieve the WSIS targets of connecting all primary, secondary and tertiary
schools to ICT by 2015.
Connect a School, Connect a Community Toolkit of Best Practices and Policy
Advice for Connecting Schools:
In
accordance with the decision of WTDC-02, endorsed by WTDC-06Resolution
46within
the framework of the Special Initiative “Assistance to Indigenous People” the
BDT develops actions and projects dedicated to indigenous communities targeting
to use the ICTs as a tool to achieve the integration into the Information
Society of these communities.
BDT included the relevant provisions in the activities of
itsOperational
Planwith
a view to support Member States in addressing special needs of indigenous people
for creating dedicated actions and projects as regards to equitable access, use
and knowledge of information communication technology (ICT’s), based on the
preservation of their heritage and cultural legacy.
BDT develops activities targeting to achieve the goal of
digital inclusion, enabling universal, sustainable and affordable access to
ICT’s for All, including disadvantaged, marginalized and vulnerable groups, as
well as indigenous people
The young people represent the best promoters of
ICTs and are the key contributors to building an
inclusive Information Society. Therefore, this
should be taken into account in all actions and
projects targeting the use and access of ICTs, not
only as a way to widen ICTs opportunities for
children and young people but also as a way to
accelerate bridging the Digital Divide and to
contribute to the development of the
telecommunication sector as a whole.
The
ITU-D Children and Youth Special Initiative, supports children
and young people from developing countries and those in
transition to improve their access, use and knowledge of
information and communication technologies to bridge the Digital
Divide and integrate the Information Society.
Aligned with WSIS Geneva and Tunis Action Plans, this Special
Initiative also aims at ensuring the follow-up of theITU
TELECOMYouth
Forums, through actions and projects that respond to the
needs related to the promotion of the ICTs among the youth in a
specific region or worldwide. Through the implementation of
these activities, our target is to facilitate the participation
of young people in the Information Society.
Adisabilityis
a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the
usual standard of an individual of their group. The term is often used to refer
to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment,
cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types
of chronic disease. This usage has been described by some disabled people as
being associated with a medical model of disability.
TU-D and G3ict agreed, on 21 April 2008, to develop an
on-line toolkit that will serve as a global electronic repository of policies
and strategies and as a platform for sharing experiences on best practices on
ICT accessibility.
In
accordance with the decision of WTDC-02, endorsed by WTDC-06
The
ITU-D Children and Youth Special Initiative, supports children
and young people from developing countries and those in
transition to improve their access, use and knowledge of
information and communication technologies to bridge the Digital
Divide and integrate the Information Society.
A