The first ever Global Refugee Forum was held in Geneva from 17-18 Dec. ITU, UNHCR and the GSMA co-sponsored a session that explored challenges around delivering connectivity for refugees and displaced persons.
Bringing truly meaningful connectivity to refugees, displaced persons, and the communities in which they live is an urgent and important issue.
Digital technologies including mobile phones and the internet can provide access to loved ones, to support networks, and to vital information. They can serve as a portal to mobile money services. They can bring education to displaced children, so that they do not fall irretrievably behind through lack of schooling. And they can help displaced adults acquire new skills that can help them find employment in their new home.
Refugees and the communities that host them should have the right, and the choice, to be included in a connected society, and to be able to leverage the benefits and opportunities of digital technologies, to build better futures for themselves and their families.
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