​​Speech by Malcolm Johnson, ITU Deputy Secretary-General

ITU Council Working Group on Internet-Related Public Policy Issues - 3rd physical open consultation meeting - Welcome remarks

11 October 2016, ITU Headquarters, Geneva

Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning

I welcome you all to this third physical open consultation meeting of the Council Working Group on International Internet related public policy issues.

I would also like to inform you that CWG-Internet Chairman Mr. Majed Al-Mazyed informed me last Sunday that unfortunately he will not be able to join us today, due to some urgent professional commitments. Mr. Al-Mazyed asked me to convey to you his sincerest apologies and asked me if I could facilitate the open consultation discussions today in his place, if you agree. So I seek your agreement.
Thank you.

As at the last two physical consultations we will begin the day with a panel discussion and I am pleased that we have an expert and balanced panel that have accepted the Chairman’s invitation to open the discussion.

The topic of this Open Consultation “Building an enabling environment for access to the Internet" is particularly relevant given the well recognized importance of ICTs to the achievement of the SDGs.

And this is a challenge. According to the latest ICT figures almost one out of two people (that is 47%) in the world are using the Internet and this percentage keeps growing. However in the case of LDCs only one out of seven uses the Internet. So there is still a lot of work to do.

Connectivity is not the only challenge. Affordability of ICTs is placing more than ever an important barrier in emerging economies. At the same time, Cybersecurity has risen to be a major global challenge affecting all countries.

During PP-14 Member States unanimously endorsed the Connect 2020 Agenda and committed to work together towards the fulfillment of its Goals and Targets that aim to tackle, among others all the aforementioned issues, by 2020. As we are now getting closer to this important milestone, it will be necessary to intensify our efforts to meet these goals.

So this open consultation is indeed timely, and I want to thank the 49 entities who submitted their views through the open consultation. Their contribution and active engagement is a testimony to the importance of the subject and will I am sure aid the discussions in the Council Working Group which will meet on Thursday afternoon and the full day on Friday.

So thank you all for participating – especially our distinguished panelists.

Now turning to the draft agenda, can you adopt the agenda for the meeting?
Thank you

So I invite my colleague Kemal Huseinovic to moderate the panel session.

I wish you a very interesting and productive discussion.