Digital Solidarity Fund Inaugural Ceremony International Telecommunication Union Geneva, Switzerland - Intercontinental 14 March 2005

Your Excellency Mr Obasanjo, President of Nigeria, Chairman of the Africa Union,
Your Excellency, Mr. Wade, President of Senegal, Founding Father of the Digital Solidarity Fund,
Your Excellency, Ms Calmy-Rey, Federal Counselor for External Affairs of the Swiss Confederation,
Your Excellency, Mr. Barnier, Minister for Foreign Affairs of France,
Your Excellency, Mr. Benaissa, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco,
Your Excellency, Ms Cedeno de Fernandez, First Lady of the Dominican Republic,
Mr. Segond, Chairman of the Digital Solidarity Fund,
Distinguished representatives of the Ville de Genève,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to be here today for this very special occasion, the inaugural ceremony of the Digital Solidarity Fund.

I would like to offer my most heartfelt congratulations to all those who have been involved with this very worthy initiative, which is likely to be one of the long-term legacies of the WSIS process.

In particular I would like to congratulate his Excellency, President Wade of Senegal for his laudable work on the fund since he first proposed it, during the Geneva phase of WSIS in 2003.

Most grateful thanks are also due to his Excellency, President Obasanjo of Nigeria, who initiated the NEPAD and who has provided continuous support to ICT development.

I must admit, when the concept of a digital solidarity fund was first introduced to me by Mr Segond, who was the WSIS ambassador at the time, I did not expect that the idea would come to fruition.

In the past I had heard of many similar ideas put forward in the meetings of ITU and they had never come to pass.

But, over the last two years, I have been most pleased with the progress made. And in the process, I have learnt lots of lessons.

Many ideas never even leave the planning stages, let alone get tried out. But this was not the case with the Digital Solidarity Fund.

‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’.

I saw many parties become involved in lengthy discussions over the idea of a new fund for ICT development. They even created a task force to investigate the existing funds. But, in the meantime, the organizers of the DSF had already taken concrete steps.

Truly, actions did speak louder than words.

Even at the PrepCom-2 last month, talks about a possible new ICT fund were still taking place.

While some kept talking, the prime movers of the Digital Solidarity Fund were already preparing to inaugurate the fund.

An example is better than precept.

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The lessons these proverbs teach us have been especially significant in starting the fund. But following these lessons alone is not enough.

Without the strong political will of the African Heads of State involved in the process, it would not have been possible.

The fund is really the fruit of your commitment.

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Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is often said that every oak must be an acorn.

Today, the Digital Solidarity fund is still a very small acorn.

To help it flourish into a mature, sustainable and environmentally useful oak tree, there will be many things it needs. But I think that there are two very key factors that will help to really boost its growth.

• Transparency: The procedure for allocating funds must be a transparent one, and funds should be channeled into appropriate projects, benefiting those who need them the most.
• Efficiency: The fund must be efficiently managed, able to respond rapidly to different requirements. It must not allow itself to become bogged down with bureaucracy

I do not doubt that in time the fund will produce its own acorns, stimulating their own growth projects to help extend the benefits of ICTs across the world.

I am proud that, through all its work with the WSIS process, ITU has been able to provide the fertile soil for this acorn to grow and mature in.

This fund will certainly help to build an equitable and just information society. This was a goal on which we all agreed at the Geneva WSIS phase in 2003.

May I congratulate you again on the inauguration of the fund and wish it a truly healthy and flourishing future!

Thank you.