BDT Director's Corner: Activities

BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin delivered remarks at the opening of the UNIDO Learning and Knowledge Development Facility (LKDF) Forum 2021. Held on the margins of the 76^th UN General Assembly, the forum focused on ''Digital Skills for an Inclusive Future''.

She outlined the significance of digital capacity building in a digitized economy and said “Universal connectivity and the need for associated digital capacities have never been more urgent, nor the time more ripe. Let's work together and empower everyone, everywhere with skills to participate in the digital future."

Developing the skills to use digital technologies has become essential for individuals' fully-fledged participation in society. Citing the effects of a widening usage gap, she explained how people with an access to an affordable internet connection often lack the digital skills to use the internet meaningfully.

Reflecting on strategies that can be adopted to build an inclusive future and to close the usage gap, Ms. Bogdan Martin emphasized the importance of taking a multi-stakeholder approach to deliver vital digital literacy and expand digital capacity development.