Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening wherever you happen to be.
I would like to thank the organisers (China Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and The Global Coalition on Aging) for inviting me to speak at the 2020 China Silver Economy Forum.
During lockdown, information and communication technologies (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. But as we know elderly people are most at risk for COVID-19 and also older people are especially vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation during lockdown. This can have a serious effect on their health.
With an estimated billion people worldwide with some form of disability including those who suffer from age related disabilities such as loss of vision or hard of hearing, for ITU to achieve its number one objective – to connect the world – we must provide for all these people to be able to benefit from being connected to the online world – an even greater concern at this time.
ITU recognizes that principles of universal design, affordability and equal opportunities to access ICTs and assistive technologies are key to building inclusive societies and I am proud that ITU was one of the first international standards bodies to address accessibility issues. As early as 1994 it adopted the first international text telephone standard: Recommendation ITU-T V.18. It was the first step towards universal design for accessible telecommunication products.
Recognising that standards have an enormously important role to play in making ICTs more accessible, ITU requires an ‘Accessibility Checklist’ to ensure that all new ITU standards incorporate the needs of persons with disabilities, this includes standards for multimedia, network interoperability, teleconferencing, and most importantly it created the concept of Total Conversation with real time text.
ITU is also working with WHO to look at how technology innovations such as AI can be designed to take account of the needs of the elderly.
However, for people to take full advantage of ICTs they must be equipped with the appropriate digital skills and have access to the right tools. ITU’s Digital Inclusion Programme promotes accessibility as a means to empower all people – regardless of their gender, age, ability, or location.
ITU is committed to working with other organisations to leverage ICTs to ensure that older persons are well placed to take full advantage of the technology and benefit from all the services available online and we look forward to future collaboration with China Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and The Global Coalition on Aging.
Thank you.
Question:
During the WSIS Forum 2020, together - we launched the ICTs and Older persons track- we think that it was very successful as it helped create awareness and forged many partnerships - what are your impressions and future plans on expanding this track?
The WSIS Forum has evolved into the key worldwide event on ICTs and development, an efficient mechanism for multi-stakeholder implementation of WSIS action lines and the SDGs. It focusses on gender equality, accessibility, youth and older persons, knowledge creation and the sharing of good practices, including coping with the Covid-19 challenges.
Due to the pandemic the Forum this year was fully virtual. It created a lot of interest and excitement worldwide and attracted a cumulative attendance of over 10,000 participants from more than 150 countries. Over a period of 11 weeks we conducted over 120 sessions and also hosted very successful regional workshops in regional languages and at a time convenient for the region.
This year was the first year we held a dedicated special track on older persons and ICTs thanks to our collaboration with the Global Coalition on Aging and other relevant stakeholders. Many thanks to you Michael for your support. The new track addressed the role of ICT in combating age-based discrimination in the workplace, achieving healthier ageing, building smarter cities, ensuring the financial inclusion of older persons and supporting millions of careworkers across the world to enable the UN/WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing.
The pandemic made this special track on Older Persons and ICTs even more significant and we hope it will be an important contribution towards the Decade of Healthy Ageing. I am pleased that the importance of this special track has been acknowledged in the UN Secretary-General’s Report on the Follow-up to the International Year of Older Persons: Second World Assembly on Ageing.
Only when we all work together, bringing our own specific competencies to the table and avoiding duplication of effort and pooling our resources for the common good will we succeed. The WSIS Forum is a great example of such collaboration with active participation of a wide range of stakeholders including UN Agencies, governments, civil society, private sector and international and regional organizations.
So yes we are very pleased with the success of the special track and we intend building on this at next year’s Forum by continuing the ICTs and Older Persons track and further strengthening our partnership with Global Coalition on Aging to organise an exciting Hackathon on the topic of Older Persons and ICTs and looking at the possibility of offering a special WSIS prize on the topic.
I look forward to welcoming you all to the WSIS Forum 2021!
Thank you.