WSIS Forum 2020 - Opening of the ICTs and Older Persons track

WSIS Forum 2020 - Opening of the ICTs and Older Persons track by GCOA and ITU: Digital Inclusion Across the Generations to Enable the Decade of Healthy Ageing

22 June 2020 - Virtual Session

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening wherever you happen to be. Thank you for joining us for this opening session of the new special track on the ICTs and Older Persons. I would like to thank the Global Coalition on Ageing as our Supporting Partner for organizing this session and taking an active part in this special track, and also thanks to our panelists today. This track will run at this time each day this week and again during the week of 10 August.

As we know the global COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked social and economic havoc worldwide. The damage, however, could have been much worse without the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs). During lockdown, ICTs have given billions of people around the world the ability to continue their work, studies, care of others and remain connected to loved ones.

Telehealth and telemedicine around the world are ensuring that healthcare systems can continue to serve patients amidst the COVID-19 crisis. During the WSIS TalkX on Protecting Older, Vulnerable Populations during COVID-19 on 19 May organized by GCOA, it was highlighted that innovative technology has a wide-reaching role in keeping vulnerable older populations safe at home, including remote patient monitoring and artificial intelligence.

Since older persons have been at higher risk to COVID-19, their isolation has meant they require more help to cope with the mental and emotional challenges which makes their effective use of ICTs very important. And it makes this year’s new dedicated special track on ICTs and Older Persons even more significant. We hope it will be an important contribution towards the UN/WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing.

Older persons make an increasingly significant contribution to society and the economy. With the support from the WSIS community and in collaboration with multi-stakeholders, the ICTs and Older Persons track will address the role and use of information and communication technologies in several areas, including healthy ageing through remote care and artificial intelligence, age-friendly environments, digital skills for older adults, digital financing and protection of older persons online.

In all our actions, ITU is committed to bring the benefits of ICTs to everyone including older persons. In that it is important to note the key challenges that need to be addressed, in particular the accessibility of these technologies and the development of digital skills amongst older persons who tend to be less connected than younger persons. We all need to make a shared commitment to ensure digital inclusion across the generations.

Thank you all for your presence and I look forward to the fruitful discussions and new initiatives that will arise from this special track!