Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and thank you for joining this ICTs and Older persons special track session looking at how digital technologies is already helping improve healthcare, and how we can take this forward so that everyone everywhere can benefit.
Let me start by thanking our outstanding panellists for taking the time to join us, some very early in the morning, and many thanks to Michael Hodin for acting as our moderator.
The special tract on ICTs and Older Persons began at last year’s WSIS Forum. It was a great success which we will build on this year. The last 12 months has been a horrific experience for all of us. Many people have lost their lives, livelihoods and contact with friends and relatives. Although we have the promise of the various vaccines rolling out the pandemic will be with us for some time yet and as we know it is older persons that are at higher risk.
There are currently more than 1 billion people aged 60 years or older, with most living in low- and middle-income countries and this number is projected to more than double by the middle of this century.
More than ever, older persons are reliant on their ability to use digital technologies effectively to access online healthcare, find and secure a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, or keep in touch with friends and relatives.
ICTs therefore have a key role to play in achieving healthier ageing, combating age-based discrimination in the workplace, and ensuring digital financial inclusion.
All these issues and many others are at the heart of this special track. With the support of the WSIS community and in collaboration with many stakeholders, I am confident that we can contribute to the response to the challenges and obstacles facing older persons in the virtual world.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all our partners, including the Global Coalition on Ageing, for their commitment and for making this special track even more special than last year.
For example this year we have an exciting online hackathon on the topic of Older Persons and ICTs. It has brought together more than 1,000 participants from different age groups and backgrounds, and we will announce the four winners during the final week of the WSIS Forum 2021 to take place on 17-21 May. We have also introduced a WSIS Healthy Ageing Innovation Award, which recognises WSIS stakeholders for their excellence in supporting innovative and sustainable solutions for the growing global population of older persons.
Let’s not forget that at least half of the world’s population still lacks access to essential health services ̶ and that almost half of the world’s population is still unconnected.
So we must redouble our efforts to ensure digital inclusion across the generations to empower all people, regardless of their age, gender, ability, financial means, or location.
So let me thank you all for joining us. I am sure this is going to be a particularly enlightening and informative session so I will now hand back to our moderator Michael to pose questions to our excellent panellists.
Thank you.