BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin gave opening remarks to the inaugural meeting of the Generation Connect Visionaries board. Generation Connect is the overarching initiative of the ITU Youth Strategy on the journey to World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) and the WTDC Generation Connect Global Youth Summit. The Generation Connect Visionaries Board specifically aims to gather the views of young people and seek their guidance to effectively implement the ITU Youth strategy.
Ms Bogdan-Martin reaffirmed that for any hope of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, young people need to be part of the equation – they need to be given opportunities to be empowered, to engage and to participate.
''The participation of young leaders alongside high-profile appointees to this board is emblematic of what Generation Connect is all about. The diverse ideas that I hope will come out of our discussions will directly influence how ITU engages young people, and will further champion the voices of youth in advancing inclusive digital development,'' said Ms. Bogdan-Martin.
She noted that the work of the Generation Connect visionaries board goes beyond board meetings; given ITU's broad array of partners and youth members, she encouraged all to further engage further with Generation Connect initiatives and share their valuable expertise relating to youth, technology and ICTs with one another in other fora.
In the lead up to the WTDC, Ms Bogdan-Martin told young leaders, '' Your contributions are vital in our efforts to work collaboratively and create sustainable digital realities for present and future generations.''
