On the sidelines of the 66th Commission on the Status of Women, BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin participated in a panel discussion on ''Gender Equality at the Center of ICT Solutions to Environment Disaster Risks and Climate Change''.
Opening remarks were provided by H.E. Mitch Fifield, Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations. Other distinguished panelists included Ms Aarti Holla-Maini, Secretary General, GSOA; Mr John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA; and Ms Seluvaia Kauvaka, President, Tonga Women in ICT. Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, Ms Anita Bhatia, closed the session.
Speakers discussed the importance of gender inclusive access to emergency telecommunications, especially as this grows in importance with the worsening risks of climate change.
Ms Bogdan-Martin described how ITU's Emergency Telecommunications team works proactively to help countries develop National Emergency Telecommunication Plans in which women have a clear role in decision making and community planning.
She emphasized that ''women need to be central to the process – from the very outset when designing policies for preparedness, to responding and recovering from disasters – so that solutions are designed in a way that meet their needs. This includes, for example, the development of multi-hazard early warning systems and the delivery of alerting messages to communities at risk.''
