The United Nations Population Fund held a roundtable on ''Innovation to Accelerate Progress for Women and Girls''.
BDT Director Ms Doreen Bogdan-Martin participated in a panel on ''Leveraging the power of partnership: Removing barriers between women and girls and their rights and choices through game-changing innovation'', along with Mr Daren Tang, Director-General, WIPO; Mr Jan-Willem Scheijgrond, Vice President, Global Head of Government & Public Affairs, Royal Philips; and Mr Matthias Berninger, Senior Vice-President, Bayer. The panel was moderated by Ms Monica Ferro, Director of UNFPA's Geneva Office.
Noting how ''A smartphone, tablet or laptop puts the whole world in a girl's or a woman's pocket,'' Ms Bogdan-Martin stated, ''I believe promoting access to digital technologies for women and girls is the single most powerful intervention we can make in breaking down barriers, and giving women and girls more agency over the shape of their lives.''
For this reason, ITU created the EQUALS partnership with leaders from UN Women, the ITC, UN University and the GSMA, in 2016. Emphasizing the central role of partnerships in promoting digital solutions to open up new opportunities for women and girls, Ms Bogdan-Martin encouraged UNFPA and its Equalizer partners to get further involved in such partnerships aimed at bridging the gender digital divide.
