From conversation to inclusive leadership: How ICTs – and ITU – are advancing UN75 survey priorities

ITU congratulates the United Nations on its 75th anniversary and welcomes its publication this week of the findings from the world’s biggest conversation, held with more than one million respondents from around the world for UN75. As the UN specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), and together with our membership of 193 governments as well as over 900 private sector companies, universities, and international and regional organizations, ITU is delighted to join in the celebration and reflection. ITU harmonizes the use of the radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops global standards on telecommunication/ICTs and services, and assists developing countries with infrastructure and policy development. ITU was pleased to help raise awareness of UN75 and to have encouraged a response to the UN75 survey through our own communications channels, as well as to hold our own UN75 Townhall meeting with staff.

The top priorities identified by respondents in the world’s biggest conversation – including access to basic services and climate change – will require ICTs to meet them.

ICTs are an instrument of social and economic development – and peace. More inclusive of the diversity of actors in the 21st century While over 87 per cent of UN75 survey respondents believe global cooperation is vital to deal with today’s challenges and 74 per cent see the UN as “essential” in tackling the challenges we collectively face, respondents also want the UN to change and to innovate: to be more inclusive of the diversity of actors in the 21st century.

Inclusiveness is one of the four I’s that have marked my leadership at ITU, along with infrastructure, investment and innovation.

ITU has always endeavoured to include a diversity of actors, including businesses, civil society, youth and women.

Public and private authorities everywhere are converting their activities to digital. As a result, ITU’s membership is growing and becoming ever more diverse, with large and small companies active in different sectors of the economy. This keeps our organization on the cutting edge of innovation and helps strengthen the public-private partnerships critical to delivering on the promise of the digital revolution. This month, we celebrated 15 years from the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). WSIS was pioneering, bringing together many different players, including civil society, in shaping an Internet beneficial to individuals and society. In the same vein as the UN, we have been scaling up our engagement with youth through our ITU Youth Strategy, which is focused around three areas of action:

1. Empower: supporting youth empowerment by creating a community of young leaders;
2. Engage: bringing young people together to engage with ITU and its Members;
3. Participate: fostering youth dialogue and participation in ITU activities and decision-making processes.

Globally, the proportion of women using the Internet is 48 per cent compared to 58 per cent of men. Women’s Internet use in developing countries is falling behind. ITU is working towards closing the gender digital divide through several initiatives, such as the International Girls in ICT Day, the EQUALS in Tech Awards, and the implementation of the Gender Declaration made at the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019. Personally, I am proud to be an International Gender Champion, as part of a leadership network that brings together female and male decision-makers determined to break down gender barriers and make gender equality a working reality in their spheres of influence. Internally, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2018 gave us a new leadership team.

For the first time in our Union’s history, a woman sits on the ITU Management team. I’m very proud to lead this team.

Over one million people live with disabilities. Accessibility is a goal in ITU’s Connect 2030 Agenda which sets out the vision, goals and targets that ITU and its Member States have committed to achieve. We have developed resources to support ITU Member States in making information and communication technologies more accessible to people with disabilities, and thus, help build inclusive digital societies in their countries and regions. The least developed countries (mostly those in Africa and South Asia) remain the least connected with only 19 per cent of the population connected. Digital skills are now a vital prerequisite for many jobs. That’s why ITU and the International Labour Organization are leading the Digital Skills for Jobs campaign, as part of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth. Starting with Africa, our objective is to equip millions of young women and men with job-ready, transferable digital skills by 2030 in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Stronger leadership Respondents in the UN global conversation called for the UN to innovate in other ways, too, with stronger leadership and more consistency in exercising its moral authority to uphold the UN Charter. Transparency and accountability are also goals in ITU’s Connect 2030 Agenda.

I consider transparency and fairness to be the key elements for success in consensus building, which is ingrained in ITU’s DNA.

I join the UN Secretary-General’s call he made earlier this year at the launch of his Roadmap for Digital Cooperation to connect all people by 2030 with affordable services. ITU is strengthening global digital cooperation to help deliver the future we want and the UN we need.