The Advisory Board of the Smart Sustainable Development Initiative adopted and announced its first report at its exta ordinary session held in Doha, Qatar on 6 December 2014.
This report documents the achievements of the three working groups of the Smart Sustainable Development Model (SSDM). In response to both the challenges and the opportunities from information and communication technology (ICT) contributions to political, social, economic and environmental development, the reports of the working groups support the work of ITU by recommending ways forward within the framework of the SSDM.
In line with this study, the initiative targets on one hand ICT4D and deployment of the crucial telecommunications infrastructure that will bridge the gaps and challenges hindering the ability of countries to leverage science, technology, innovation and culture for sustainable development. On the other hand, it targets at ICT4DM since ICTs play a critical role in the immediate aftermath of disasters. They ensure the timely flow of vital information that is much needed by government agencies and other humanitarian actors involved in rescue operations and assisting people in need. Moreover, integrating ICTs in disaster prediction, detection and alerting would ensure the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction as well as adaptation to climate change.Despite the efforts being made in this field, more remains to be done and achievements could have a greater impact if a de-fragmented approach is adopted by combining and crowdsourcing experiences.
This initiative, therefore, seeks solutions to common problems in a collective manner in order to share information and facilitate collective action to foster accessible, cost efficient and user friendly ICTs for all living in rural and underserved areas prone to disasters.
