Connecting the world and beyond

BDT Director's Corner: Activities

Riga, Latvia 15 November 2019
Digital Freedom Festival
I attended the annual Digital Freedom Festival held in Riga Latvia, which provides a platform for digital innovators and policy makers to meet and discuss ways to make the world a better place, and to bring the benefits of the digital revolution to every member of society.

The event attracted over 1600 participants. I highlighted the latest ITU data, which reveals that 3.6 billion remain unconnected from the digital world. In the increasingly connected world, being offline will equal to social, civic and economic exclusion.

With examples from the work we are doing in the field, I emphasized that digital technologies can dramatically improve the lives of people, communities and deliver on the promise of the United Nations Agenda 2030 to leave no one behind.

I also had the opportunity to speak on our new GIGA partnership with UNICEF, which aims to bring connectivity to every school in every village around the world and to empower young people with the digital skills they need to proper in the digital economy.