BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin joined other ITU elected officials to address staff on priorities for 2021, and the ongoing ITU Culture Diagnosis and Skills Analysis aimed at strengthening ITU's ability to deliver on its mandate in service of Member States.
Ms Bogdan-Martin said ''The ongoing cultural diagnosis and skills gap analysis is an important step in helping us to assess ourselves internally in ITU and transform for the better.''
She noted that in the face of the pandemic, ITU was quick to adapt processes (such as virtual meetings, missions and bilaterals), and urged staff to keep learning from both successes and mistakes, in order to keep adapting to demands of the new normal.
She also mentioned the such adaptation is showing a strong return on investment, especially where staff proved a strong capacity to be creative, proactive and to rethink and reinvent service delivery in response to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 emergency.
While sharing BDT priorities for 2021, she said the plan is to build on these foundations and continue scaling up impact, in order to mobilize ITU contribution to connect the 3.7 billion people— or other half of the planet— who are still unconnected. Ms Bogdan-Martin reiterated BDT's aspiration for Impact, Connectivity, Scale, and being Fit for Purpose. She highlighted six priorities for the year ahead: The World Telecommunication Development Conference 2021 (WTDC-21), Partnerships, Youth, Innovation, Results and Staff empowerment/talent management.
She reminded staff that ''The success of our mission requires everyone to be onboard and take an active role in our journey. You are all a vital part of this process, and I know that, by leveraging the trust and respect we have for one another, as well as each other's energy and unique talents, we can create a culture that we can all thrive in, and which will ensure our organizations thrives, too.''
