The countries in Asia the Pacific are undergoing digital transformation driven by technological advances and expanding broadband connectivity, accelerated by the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amongst the community that are negatively impacted, socially and economically are the youth community, which represents 1.8 billion of the world's population, the largest number in history.
The pandemic has further magnified the digital divide, depriving vulnerable communities, including youth from the economic and educational opportunities due to lockdowns and restriction of movement. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are now seen as the means to enhance education, reduce youth unemployment and promote social and economic development. However, for the youth to benefit from this transformative power of ICTs, they must be equipped with a range of digital skills and have affordable access to connectivity.
This impact is even more pronounced for vulnerable groups, such as female, disabled, rural and migrant youth. Of the 258 million international migrants, around 11 per cent of them were below 24 years old in 2017. Often, vulnerable groups are unable to get equal access to basic services such as education, health as well as economic opportunities.
Despite these challenges, young people remain determined to step up and partner safely and effectively to ensure that the youth has the right to achieve full economic, social and digital inclusion. ICTs are tools through which both young women and men can substantively contribute to their empowerment and wider socio-economic development. The ITU Youth Strategy introduced in November 2020, aims to support its members and the youth community to identify innovative ways to include youth in the development and decision-making process at national, regional and global levels. In recognising the importance of collective voices of the youth in such decision-making processes, the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ASP) support the establishment and launching of the Generation Connect Asia and the Pacific, which will serve as a network of various youth groups to share experience, aspirations and good practices in the region.
In this context, the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific plans to organise a side-event on "Generation Connect Asia and the Pacific: youth empowerment for a digital future", a side event is organised with the aim to foster greater awareness on the issues impacting the youth and pave the roadmap on how ITU activities can better support the youth empowerment and engagement to "build back better" from the COVID pandemic.
The dialogue consists of two Panels:
- Panel 1: Panel 1: The Role of the Youth in Advocating for Digital Transformation
- Panel 2: Mainstreaming the Youth Agenda in Digital Policies and Programmes in ASP
The side event will invite various youth groups from the region as well as the member country representatives and ITU members.
