Opening remarks by Malcolm Johnson, ITU Deputy Secretary-GeneralWSIS Special Track by CMAI Association of India - International Education Summit for Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation & Innovations in Cybersecurity, ICT based on 5G, IoT, Blockchain, AI, VR, Big Data & other new technologies and Linking Education with ICTs Capacity Building & Employability
10 July 2020 - Virtual Session
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening wherever you are joining us.
Namaste!
I am delighted to join this WSIS Forum Special Track organized by the CMAI Association of India, a long supporter and influential voice of the Forum. ITU has had a long association with CMAI and in particular my good friend Professor Goyal. I was pleased to be in New Delhi last year for the CMAI summit and awards and although it is a shame we cannot be together again physically, either in Delhi or Geneva, I am very pleased to be with you virtually.
The topic today will take us on a journey into 5G, the Internet of Things, blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, and many other emerging technologies that have come to the fore in the last few months.
Never has there been so much reliance, appreciation and emphasis placed on the important role and capacity of ICTs during this 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. It has allowed ITU to continue our business through working from home and virtual events such as this. Although we miss meeting each other in person, at least these virtual meetings allow for wider participation and our WSIS Forum sessions such as this have proved very popular. There will be lots of lessons to learn from this experience and I am sure some good will come of it. For example, I hear that the air in Delhi is much cleaner now!
ITU is playing a central role in the development of these emerging technologies. For example, the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference convened last year allocated additional harmonized spectrum for 5G – eight times more spectrum than was available before, a decision that will facilitate the deployment of these networks worldwide, ensure interoperability and reduce costs through economies of scale.
Emerging technologies offer much promise, in particular in tackling the Covid-19 crisis, but also in the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
However, these technologies also create fear, real or imaginary, raising concerns about transparency, privacy, and trust. ITU as the UN specialized agency for ICTs, has building confidence and security in the use of ICTs as one of its key priorities, be it through the WSIS Action Line C5 or the Global Cybersecurity Agenda Framework.
The discussion on innovations in cybersecurity is timely, as the shift to digital during this crisis has been accompanied by a massive spike in cybercrime.
Trust and security are essential for bridging the digital divide, and so is education. Which is why I am pleased that today’s Special Track covers both topics.
ITU research shows that the lack of digital skills remains a major barrier for the uptake and effective use of the Internet, especially among marginalized groups and populations in poorer countries, and of course we still have 3.6 billion people around the world not connected to the Internet.
As a contribution to developing digital skills, ITU just released a Digital Skills Assessment Guidebook to help countries, in particular developing countries, undertake national digital skills assessments. The Guidebook is available on the ITU website and serves as a contribution to the ITU-ILO Digital Skills for Jobs initiative, a campaign to equip millions of young men and women with job-ready, transferable digital skills by 2030 in support of the SDGs.
There are only 10 years left to achieve these goals and, as stated by the UN Secretary-General on the launch of his Roadmap for Digital Cooperation last month, “Only by working together can we connect all people by 2030”.
Cross-industry and public-private sector collaboration has driven the work of ITU from its beginning 155 years ago and this multi-stakeholder approach to collaboration is at the heart of the WSIS Forum.
All WSIS partners: government, industry, academia, civil society, and regional and international organizations need to join together to leverage ICTs to help defeat COVID-19 and make the world safer, stronger, and more sustainable – a world where no one is left behind and where opportunities have no boundaries. I am sure this session will make its own contribution to this objective.
Finally, let me congratulate all the awardees of CMAI’s Excellence in ICT Education Awards in recognition of their excellence in education and innovation in the development of digital skills especially in India.
Thank you and I wish you an enjoyable and fruitful session.