BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin gave opening remarks to the plenary of ITU-D's Study Group 2.
She noted that since the last Study Group meeting in February 2020, digital technologies have played a vital role in helping to quickly adapt to the constraints of the COVID pandemic, and have enabled continuation of good progress in efficiently addressing the mandates of Study Questions.
Digital collaboration has been useful, and is just one of many example of the growing importance of ICTs in helping the world adapt to new realities. Ms Bogdan-Martin highlighted, ''Our ITU-D Study Groups are at the frontline in addressing the many new challenges the world is now facing.''
She thanked Study Group participants for their enthusiasm and dedication, which have led to many excellent initiatives and outputs such as an insightful series of webinars organized by the Study Groups in relation to COVID-19, fruitful collaboration with the WSIS process, and many high-quality draft output reports and annual deliverables.
Ms Bogdan-Martin underscored that between this moment and the WTDC in Addis Ababa in November 2021, there is opportunity to think carefully about what we have achieved, what still remains to be done, and how Study Group Questions can best address the world's most pressing development needs and challenges – some of which may only have emerged in the wake of the global health emergency.
She pointed to the reliability of the Study Group's expertise and collaboration, so that, ''together, we can ensure our activities lay the foundation on which to build a better, stronger and more equal world through the power of ICTs.''
