World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2023
Opening Remarks
Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin
17 May 2023
Welcome to ITU, and Happy World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, everyone!
I'm pleased to be joined by my fellow elected officials.
Let me say how honored we are by the presence online and physically of so many ministers, regulators, ambassadors, industry members, colleagues, and friends, who have come together to celebrate ITU's birthday.
It's not every day you get to turn 158!
Today, we remember how it all started, with just 20 countries and a historic International Telegraph Convention signed in 1865.
Since then, ITU has helped shape the development of technologies – like the radio, the television, satellites, the Internet, and mobile communications – that have become part of the fabric of our lives.
With emerging technologies such as generative AI, the pace of tech innovation is accelerating again.
We as the UN agency for digital technologies – and as society – need to ensure that these technologies are safe and developed responsibly.
We also need to bring the benefits of these technologies to everyone, everywhere, looking to the digital future with confidence in who we are and what we can do together, to bend the arc of tech history towards inclusion.
That's why I'm pleased that we're all gathered here today – on this special day for ITU – to discuss how we can ensure that least developed countries are not left behind in the digital era.
Here's one indisputable fact: digital is a critical catalyst to move LDCs from potential to prosperity.
It was the theme and one of the key messages coming out of the UN LDC5.
It's also the strong signal sent by all those who have pledged to help LDCs through Partner2Connect.
More than one-third of the entire value of the 30 billion US dollars in connectivity pledges mobilized by P2C so far target LDCs directly.
Today, we will hear from some of those who made these pledges what they're doing on the ground to implement them. It'll give us a chance to better understand what we can do to address some of the most unjust digital inequalities facing LDCs – from a lack of affordability to a gender digital gap that shows no sign of narrowing.
Later today, I'll make some announcements about Partner2Connect and ITU's upcoming SDG Digital Day.
This is a pivotal moment for the Sustainable Development Goals.
I am convinced that our success rests on our collective commitment to the hardest-to-connect communities in LDCs and elsewhere in the little time we have left to rescue the SDGs.
We can no longer define LDCs by what they're not, but by what they could be.
What we do now – this opportunity to create lasting digital justice, prosperity, and sustainability for all – will matter for generations to come, in LDCs and beyond.
I look forward to our discussions.
Thank you.
