Work to advance ITU's exciting new GIGA partnership with UNICEF and others provided a chance to visit the beautiful city of Almaty at the foot of Kazakhstan's Trans-Ili Alatau mountains.
BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin joined regional Prime Ministers at the Digital Almaty event, where she delivered a keynote address on
Education in the Digital Age: Breakthrough Technologies to Bridge the Digital Divide .
"When we harness the energy and natural creativity of young people to the huge potential of digital, there will be no stopping them," said Ms Bogdan-Martin. "I believe that ensuring children everywhere have the chance to access the power of digital technologies, and to leverage this power to effect real transformation - for their families, for their communities, and for their countries - is the greatest gift we can give to the future."
The Digital Almaty event also provided an opportune occasion to announce Kazakhstan as one of the first round of Lead Countries for the GIGA initiative, which seeks to create business, financial, and partnership models with governments, the private sector and civil society to support a 'common bid' approach that will help connect every school in the world.
The official letter of intent to make Kazakhstan the GIGA Lead Country for Central Asia was signed by the BDT Director, by UNICEF's Senior Advisor on Innovation, Chris Fabian, and by H.E. Mr. Askar Zhumagaliyev, Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry, in the presence of Mr Kuanyshbek Yessekeev, Chairman of the Board, Kazakhtelecom; and Mr Yerlan Durmagambetov, Chairman of the Board, Zerde National Infocommunication Holding.
The visit also provided opportunities for high-level meetings with a number of regional dignitaries including Mr Maksat Dzhylyshbaev, Vice Chairman, State Committee of Information Technologies and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic; H.E. Mr. Shukhrat Sadykov, Minister for Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan; H.E. Ms Karine Minasyan, Member of the Board - Minister in charge of Domestic Markets, Informatization, Information and Communication Technologies, Eurasian Economic Commission; and Mr Sergei Nesterovich, First Deputy Minister of Communications and Informatization of the Republic of Belarus.
The itinerary was rounded off with a VIP dinner hosted by Mr Bakytzhan Sagintayev, Mayor of Almaty City, at a mountain venue offering spectacular views of the city below.
