BDT Director's Articles (2019-2022) : Doreen Bogdan-Martin Articles

11/10/2022​​​​​

Every day, ITU works together with a large community of partners from around the world with one common goal: to connect the unconnected and make sure that everyone, regardless of gender, has the chance to enjoy the benefits of being online.

10/6/2022​​​

Five billion. That’s the number of people online today. Thirty years. That’s how long it has taken us to get from zero to five billion. That’s remarkable. And yet the newly launched Global Connectivity Report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) tells us we cannot be satisfied. It tells us that the potential of digital connectivity is still largely untapped.

06/6/2022 ​

Forty years have passed since the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) set up the Independent Commission for World-Wide Telecommunications Development, led by the late Sir Donald Maitland, a former UK diplomat and Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

4/5/2022

In September 2013, young leaders from around the world gathered at the BYND 2015 Global Youth Summit in Costa Rica to voice their views on the digital future they wanted. I was impressed at how quickly and readily young people assumed responsibility in their roles as innovators, creators, and solution-shapers for the digital future. Given the chance, they were eager and willing not only to express their ideas, but to wrestle with tough issues, collaborate across cultures and language divides, and work towards meaningful, consensus-based outputs.

28/3/2022

On the eve of Part 1 of the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (UN LDC5), I took enormous pleasure in joining public and private partners for the launch of the next key building blocks in our ground-breaking Partner2Connect Digital Coalition. Partner2Connect is a global, leadership-level multi-stakeholder effort, constructed in close cooperation with the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, and in line with the UN Secretary General's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.

25/3/2022

With the ICT boom has come a huge increase in discarded electrical and electronic equipment, or 'e-waste'. A record 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt) of e-waste was generated around the world in 2019, and this number is on the rise. African nations are showing the way on dealing with e-waste. According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2020, 13 countries in Africa had an e-waste policy, legislation or regulation in place. Their efforts can be a lesson to other nations around the world looking to improve their e-waste management systems.

8/3/2022

COVID-19 has rightly put the burning issue of health inequity firmly on many political and business agendas. Many social determinants drive health inequity, and this International Women’s Day is an opportune time to reflect on gender. The Broadband Commission Working Group on Virtual Health and Care, which is co-chaired by the World Health Organization and the Novartis Foundation, is currently conducting a landscape analysis that will inform our upcoming report and policy recommendations for how governments can ensure virtual health and care drive access and equity.

8/3/2022

Megan Anduru knows first-hand how important it is for girls to be able to connect to the Internet, so they can learn the skills they need to succeed in a connected world. A young Kenyan teenager herself, she is deeply engaged in online safety and access. She is an information and communication technology (ICT) prefect at her school, a position that allows her to encourage other students to become part of the digital revolution.

11/10/2021

With ICT and digital markets rapidly evolving and nearing universal reach, policy and regulation is increasingly focused on building vibrant, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable digital economies. Mexico’s Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) has demonstrated its digitally-focused mindset and its ability to collaborate, including with government authorities, the private sector and academia.

This article is available only in Spanish

20/9/2021

Aiming to pick up the pace on digital sustainability, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have joined forces to co-design a far-reaching digital inclusion project. Together, the two institutions aim to help bridge the persistent global digital divide.

2/9/2021

Today’s digital economies are reaching across borders, far and wide. Digital regulation is pivotal to facilitate the flow of investment and services between industries and countries and to the build-out of high-capacity, resilient, open infrastructure for all. To leverage synergies and pool funds, regulators are expected to engage in whole-of-government approaches, which must include collaboration and coordination at the national and local levels.

08/7/2021

As I prepared to attend the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) late last month, I realised I’d practically forgotten how to pack. This major industry event, taking place in Barcelona, Spain, would be my first official trip in nearly a year and a half. I was a regular traveller and a master of packing a small carry-on for a week. But I had clearly lost my knack. What did I need to bring?
Does anyone still use business cards? I hadn’t for at least 15 months. Plug adapters – check; band-aids – check; walking shoes – check. Not to mention hand sanitizer, protective masks, and a PCR test.

28​/5/2021

Every year, on the fourth Thursday in April, International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated around the world. The associated activities encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and especially information and communication technologies (ICTs).​​​It's one of my favourite days of the year. And though we celebrated it virtually this time, the 10th anniversary of Girls in ICT Day was more exciting and inspiring than ever.​

26/4/2021

What are the results of a full year of working and learning from home? For some of my friends, it’s been improved cooking skills thanks to online tutorials, gaining new proficiency with digital technologies or simply spending more time with immediate family. For me, it’s been a little bit of the above together with a desktop full of online webinar backgrounds from the many great programmes and initiatives hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and partners throughout the year.

15/4/2021

Young people around the world are powerful drivers of innovation, highly motivated to improve their own lives and the lives of their families and communities. The Generation Connect initiative gives them a voice, with the opportunity to be empowered, to be engaged, and to help advance the global digital development agenda for present and future generations.

2/4/2021

Rising rates of NCDs threaten fragile healthcare systems in low- and middle-income countries. Fortunately, new digital technology provides tools to more effectively address the growing dual burden of disease. Two-thirds of the world’s population subscribed to mobile services by the end of 2018, while the falling price of connectivity and the 5G networks rollout promise to accelerate the use of digital technology

8/3/2021

Thinking back over my long career at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), I remember arriving at my first-ever ITU Women’s Breakfast at the 1993 Regional Telecommunication Development Conference for Asia and the Pacific in Singapore.

6/2/2021

Least developed countries (LDCs) are characterized as low-income countries with severe structural impediments, vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks. Graduating from LDC status requires a mix of careful deliberation, concerted efforts, and strategic leadership – no small feat for any country, never mind a Pacific island nation prone to frequent cyclones and other extreme weather.

17/2/2021

For the privileged few, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have become commonplace, increasingly used in everything from entertainment and online commerce to healthcare. Many communities, however, still do not experience the real impact of these transformational technologies because of an innovation gap that compounds our digital divides.

18​/12/2020

As we prepare to close the year of 2020, a year that has been full of global challenges matched with global solutions, the need for universal connectivity has never been more apparent. From opening the online classroom to providing virtual healthcare services, broadband has proven to be “the hidden hero” of the COVID-19 pandemic. Closing the digital divide is of the utmost importance to build back a sustainable and inclusive world.

11/12/2020

The newly-launched Measuring Digital Development: Facts and figures 2020 report estimates that 51 per cent of the world population, or 4 billion people, were online in 2019. This means that 3.7 billion people were not connected to the Internet and were therefore not able to take advantage of the transformative power of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

13/10/2020

More than ever, COVID-19 has thrown the need for digital skills and capacities into stark relief around the world. The newly published Digital Skills Insights 2020 report is a carefully curated collection of the best strategies to strengthen the capacities and skills needed to help everyone benefit fully from digital transformation, no matter where they live and no matter what their level of digital skill development. Below is my foreword to this timely new edition of the report.

05/10/2020

As the UN specialized agency for information and communication technologies, ITU's work is all about bringing the transformational power of digital innovation to people everywhere. Our focus on inclusive connectivity naturally means we also focus increasingly on tech and gender issues, because – as we’re all very much aware – right now the power and transformational potential of connectivity is not equally distributed.

17/09/2020

COVID-19 has laid bare the realities that underpin our globalized economies, with a key lesson that not being connected to the Internet increasingly means missing out on employment opportunities, education, health care, public services, as well as the power of information and digital transformation. It means, in short, being shut out of full economic and social participation in the modern digital world.

12/08/2020

As the United Nations turns 75, and with only 10 years left to make the 2030 Agenda a reality for all, a global call for action for and with youth is needed now more than ever. One of many reasons is the unprecedented global health crisis unleashed by COVID-19. While attention is currently focused on those most immediately affected by the virus, there are many indications that the pandemic will have long-lasting social, cultural, economic, political and multidimensional impacts on young people.

06/08/2020

As the world continues to wrestle with the COVID-19 pandemic, women continue to bear the brunt in more ways than one. This is partly because women represent an estimated 70% of front-line healthcare workers and undertake the majority of home-care, but also because their over-representation in the informal economy and lower pay rates mean they are significantly harder hit by the ensuing economic downturn.

25/06/2020

The global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of communication infrastructure in our lives. Our work, education, entertainment – our physical, social and mental health – have all had to rely increasingly on communication networks while we aimed to slow down the spread of the virus and better understand the characteristics of COVID-19.

11/06/2020

According to the new Roadmap for Digital Cooperation launched by the United Nations Secretary-General today, 93 per cent of the world’s population live within physical reach of mobile broadband or Internet services. Yet is estimated that only 53.6 per cent use the internet, leaving an estimated 3.6 billion people around the world without internet access. Least developed countries (mostly those in Africa and South Asia) remain the least connected with only 19% of the population connected.

11/06/2020

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies have emerged as the critical enabler, facilitating continuity in our regular lives and connecting people more than ever before. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have allowed us to stay in touch with loved ones and have kept our daily lives going by supporting working and learning from home. They have also played an absolutely vital role in maintaining supply chains and distribution networks for essential goods like food, medicines, and health equipment.

02/06/2020

Today we opened our doors – virtually – on the first-ever fully remote meeting of the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group. This group plays a key consultation role in defining the actions of my Bureau in accelerating digital development. But since our last meeting in 2019, the world has changed beyond all recognition.

01/06/2020

Twenty years ago, I helped set up the first Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), held in Geneva. When we opened our doors to 200+ experts from 85 countries, there were just 96 telecoms regulatory agencies worldwide. Now, there’s almost no economy that does not have its own information and communication technology (ICT) regulator, managing vital issues like spectrum allocation, operator licensing, and national network development.

28/05/2020

Ensuring that everyone has the necessary digital skills to improve their lives has been put into focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. As we continue to work, educate and entertain from home, only those with the necessary skills are able to fully benefit from the transformative power of technology during these strange and difficult times.

25/05/2020

We are living in unprecedented times. Amid a global crisis, when we are doing everything possible to keep our citizens safe and healthy, we also need to look forward and plan and prepare for the future. Every year, Africa Day provides an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved in countries in the region to date and what pressing issues we need to work together on to ensure progress, prosperity and well-being of our increasingly interlinked societies.

17/05/2020

*Today, ITU marks World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD). This year’s theme, “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” focuses on the five strategic goals of the Connect 2030 Agenda: growth, inclusiveness, sustainability, innovation and partnership.

07/05/2020

Digital platforms have been the hidden hero of the COVID-19 crisis. Global networks are being taxed to the limit. Operators and platforms are reporting huge surges in traffic, as the world transitioned almost overnight to online working, schooling, shopping and socializing.

08/01/2020

This article is adapted from remarks I made today at the opening of the Futurecasters Global Young Visionaries Summit. This morning, as I delivered a few remarks to 700 young students coming from 23 countries across the world, I was filled with excitement and hope. I was filled with excitement, because I know that young people “get it.” They understand technology and what it can do better than any of us older adults.

15/11/2019

*The following is a Foreword published in the new ITU toolkit, “ICT infrastructure business planning toolkit.” Our increasingly digital society, built around high-speed always-on access to services, applications and content, depends on ubiquitous, affordable, modern, and resilient ICT infrastructure. Extending broadband Internet access to unserved and underserved populations to fast-forward progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals is one of the core pillars of telecommunication and ICT public policy and regulation around the globe.

5/11/2019

Every year, my Bureau releases a concise global snapshot of the state of digital connectivity around the world. I am proud that the quality and impartiality of our data, collected across a broad base of sources including official government statistics from household surveys and figures from telecommunications operators – combined with the skill of our in-house analysts – make ITU connectivity statistics the trusted global reference for United Nations agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), national governments, academia, and private sector companies.

25/10/2019

Visiting the Bahamas in the weeks after Hurricane Dorian tore through the island nation, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. I had closely followed events on the news, but seeing the destruction ‘up close and personal’ was profoundly horrifying. Debris of all shapes and sizes littered the once beautiful and pristine beaches of Abaco and Grand Bahama.

24/9/2019

*This article is an adapted version of the foreword of our new report “Economic impact of broadband in LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS: An empirical study.” Least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS)’ constitute 91 of the world’s most vulnerable nations. Some of them lag significantly behind in terms of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

11/9/2019

*The text below is adapted from remarks I delivered today at a signing ceremony for ITU joining the Crisis Connectivity Charter. Disasters kill at least one million people each decade and leave millions more homeless. Between 2016 and 2017, more than 300 million people around the world were directly affected by natural catastrophes. When disasters strike, they have an immediate and devastating effect on the lives of people.

3/9/2019

By 2030 there will be an estimated two billion young people seeking opportunities for a bright future. If we give these young people the right skills, they will each have the chance to reach their full potential – and their personal success can begin to translate into sustained economic success for their local economies. Education is the tool that empowers us all. Building digital skills and leveraging young people’s natural affinity with technology is a powerful way to help nations around the world grow and strengthen their economic base and become more competitive in today’s globalized markets.

1/8/2019

Artificial intelligence is one of the hottest tickets in the ICT space right now – and the rapid proliferation of machine-learning platforms is bringing with it a raft of new types of jobs aimed at feeding data-devouring AI systems. One such role is data labelling, a lesser-known but vital part of the AI supply chain that creates algorithms to help AI systems interpret a whole range of different inputs – from video footage, to web search results, to photos and much more.

7/6/2019

Last week, I found myself surveying Planet Earth through a tiny porthole on the international space station, contemplating the shared destiny of humanity and the need for all of us to embrace global development challenges as our own. I wasn’t star-gazing from 400 kilometres up; I was simply seeing the world through the eyes of an extraordinary woman: Anousheh Ansari, astronaut, engineer, entrepreneur, and global humanitarian.

4/6/2019

In the nearly 20 years since I helped set up the very first Global Symposium for Regulators, held in Geneva in the year 2000, the GSR has gone from strength to strength to become the pre-eminent global meeting of the ICT regulatory community. At the time, our vision was to create a unique, specialist meeting place where regulators and policy makers could get together to thrash out the many challenging issues arising through the rapid growth of the technology sector and the convergence of once-disparate ICT services.

10/4/2019

*The below text is the Foreword of the newly launched SDG Digital Investment Framework paper. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set to be achieved by 2030, are not currently on track. Progress can be accelerated, however, through the transformational potential of digital technologies, and this was clearly recognized by UN Secretary-General António Guterres last year when he established the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation.

28/2/2019

This article was adapted from a speech delivered by Ms Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) on 28 February 2019 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The subject of women in technology has been very close to my heart for many years. Equality of opportunity in the tech sector is a goal I’ve prioritized during more than 20 years’ working at the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations specialized agency for ICTs.

5/2/2019

As a mother, I want my children to benefit from today’s digital revolution. But I also want to protect them from risks they face online. As the Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), I have the privilege and responsibility to contribute to build a better internet for all children. Safer Internet Day 2019, observed on 5 February, is the day when governments, companies, civil society and international organizations come together to show their actions in promoting a safer and more responsible use of digital technologies especially amongst children and young people across the world.

10/12/2018

I am a woman in tech. I’m also a telecommunication expert, a ham radio operator, career leader in government and civil society, policy-maker, and chair of a multi-stakeholder global partnership. I’m a mother, a daughter and a wife. Of all the ways people identify me, the one that keeps coming back is woman in tech. Here’s why: Despite decades of research, significant international effort, changes to school curricula, financial incentives and movement building, the digital gender divide persists in 2018 and even continues to grow.

12/11/2018

The mission of the International Telecommunication Union has never been more important, says Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the United States, Director-elect of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), and the very first woman in the history of the organization to be elected to serve on ITU’s top leadership team. At the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018, Doreen Bogdan-Martin spoke about her vision for the Union and how to bring more women to the ICT sector.