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  • 11 October 2015
    Harnessing ICTs for sustainable development and disaster management discussed at ITU Development Initiatives Advisory Board Meetings

    ​The Third Advisory Board Meetings of the Smart Sustainable Development Model (SSDM) and m-Powering Development Initiatives were held on 11 October 2015 in Budapest, Hungary on the eve of the ITU Telecom World 2015.

    The Advisory Boards reviewed the reports prepared by the SSDM Task Forces and the m-Powering Working groups during the past year. The reports focused on crucial areas such as advocacy, global dialogue, innovation and resource mobilization.

    The Advisory Boards also discussed future activities, with two main objectives: strengthening the relation between ICT for development (ICT4D) and ICT for disaster management (ICT4DM) - for the SSDM Initiative, and promoting the benefits of mobile technology for sustainable development for the m-Powering Development Initiative.

    “The SSDM and m-Powering Initiatives are about harnessing ICTs to make a difference and create a better tomorrow for this and future generations,” said Mr Brahima Sanou, Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT).

    “With more than 7 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, this technology has become a transformative force promoting socio-economic development round the world. Mobile technology has the potential to enable the 4.2 billion people worldwide who are not online opportunity to join the digital economy.”

    He added, “ICTs can not only help us achieve socio-economic development, but they can help us respond to and recover from the hardship and damage caused by disasters. ICTs for development can be used for disaster management.”

    Mr Sanou said the reports produced by the SSDM Task Forces and the m-Powering Working groups will be integrated into the work of BDT related to both development and emergency telecommunications.

    Mr José Manuel Toscano, on behalf of the SSDM Advisory Board Chairman John Nasasira said, “our deliberations today proved how important this initiative is for ICT for Development and ICT for Disaster Management. I am confident that the steps we have agreed on in this session would bring us closer to the objectives that we intended to achieve.”

    Mr Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the m-Powering Advisory Board thanked the Working groups for their contributions adding, “these new reports are an important achievement for our Board. I strongly believe that they will be an important reference to guide all interested stakeholders. We have laid a very worth foundation.”

    The Advisory Board meetings also marked the end of the first cycle of the Boards. The composition of the new Boards will be announced soon.

    Two interactive sessions on the Initiatives were held on Tuesday 13 October. During the sessions Advisory Board Members of each Initiative met and discussed with stakeholders in the ICT sector on the progress the Initiatives had made.

    The theme of the Smart Sustainable Development Model Initiative interactive session was ‘Development and Disaster Management for Sustainable Development’. 

    Mr Sanou noted that the SSDM Initiative seeks to bring a human face to ICT by recognising their key role in sustainable development, as well as saving lives in times of natural disasters.

    He called for strong partnerships between ITU, governments and the private sector to fully integrate ICTs in disaster management. “The same telecommunications/ICT systems designed for leading countries to greater socio-economic development should also be used for public safety especially during disasters,” he said.

    The theme for the m-Powering Initiative interactive session was ‘The Power of Mobile Technologies for Sustainable Development’.

    Mr Sanou observed that the m-Powering Initiative is designed to serve as an international, multi-stakeholder platform, “to leverage the ubiquity of mobile technology beyond basic communications.”

    He urged partners and stakeholders everywhere to come together and work to create new services for the benefit of everyone, particularly the most disadvantaged. “Mobile is now an unstoppable force. The individuals and organizations supporting the m-Powering Development Initiative are ensuring that it will be positive and transformative for people everywhere,” he added.

    The Smart Sustainable Development Model Initiative (SSDM) seeks to ensure that information and communication technologies are used for both development and for disaster management with the aim of improving the lives of millions of people across the globe.

    The m-Powering Development Initiative is designed to create a resource and an action plan to deploy ICT services, from m-Health, m-Learning, m-Governance to m-Commerce and m-Sport.