The ITU Regional Engagement Roundtable (RER-EUR) was organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and virtually hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. The event was held remotely on 13 September 2021 back-to-back with the CEPT Committee for ITU Policies (Com-ITU) meeting, also planned to be held remotely from 13 to 15 September 2021.
This event provided an opportunity for dialogue between the ITU Office for Europe, decision-makers of ITU Member States and Sector Members and other relevant stakeholders. The event provides a platform for assessing stakeholders' challenges related to digital development and strategic orientations that may be taken into consideration in the planning process for the work plan of the ITU Office for Europe.
The roundtable discussed the implementation of the activities of the Buenos Aires Action Plan, approved by the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-17), with particular emphasis on the five Regional Initiatives for Europe. The roundtable afforded stakeholders an opportunity to outline challenges, priorities, and commitments, as well as exchange experiences and good practices.
Due to the postponement of WTDC-21 to June 2022, the implementation period for the Buenos Aires Action Plan Regional Initiatives will continue for an additional year. To better inform the work planning process of ITU, the collection of additional operational feedback and consideration of the priorities of ITU Member States and Sector Members at the regional level is needed.
In this context, the ITU Office for Europe launched a Regional Consultation that offered the possibility for ITU Member States, Sector Members and other stakeholders to highlight the concrete challenges related to digital development at the regional and/or national levels, to better reflect the strategic needs of the region for the implementation period January – December 2022. Interested stakeholders can browse contributions that will be used as the basis for further coordination and planning at the BDT level.
The Regional Engagement Roundtable was open to all stakeholders interested in strengthened cooperation and partnership among telecommunication/ICT policy-makers, regulators, industry, academia, regional and international development agencies and organizations on specific regional telecommunication/ICT and digital development matters.
