Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and welcome to this High-level Dialogue: Ageing in a Digital World. Thank you for joining us especially our distinguished panelists.
And Happy World Telecommunication and Information Society Day! I hope you were able to join our celebration earlier.
I am very pleased to take part in this high-level dialogue on ageing in a digital world, and to discuss with you today the opportunities and great potential this offers at a time when populations around the world are ageing at a faster rate than ever.
This demographic transition will have an impact on almost all aspects of society. There are already more than one billion people aged over 60, most living in low- and middle-income countries, and many do not have access to even the basic resources necessary for a meaning life with dignity. It is in this context that the UN General Assembly declared the Decade of Healthy Ageing last December, marking out 2021-2030 as a decade of concerned action on ageing. This coincides with the Decade of Action, designed to usher in a decade of ambitious global engagement to deliver the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
ITU is fully committed to supporting both these initiatives, using ICTs as powerful enablers to ensure that older people can live a fuller life with dignity and equality – and in a healthy environment. Older persons have been increasingly reliant on their ability to use digital technologies effectively amidst the COVID-19 pandemic – be it to access vital healthcare information, keep in touch with friends and relatives and cope with the mental and emotional challenges that the pandemic has posed over the past year. Their effective use of ICTs is very important, perhaps now more than ever before. My colleague Stephen will be sharing some our new initiatives and publications in this area.
Digital technologies are vital tools to protect and promote the rights of older persons around the world, helping ensure that their needs are met, their health is protected, and their voices are heard. These technologies can also help harness older persons’ skills and experience to make sure they keep making valuable contributions to society, in line with the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - to leave no one behind.
As the UN specialized agency for ICTs, ITU is committed to bringing the benefits of these technologies to everyone – regardless of age, gender, location, financial means, or ability. Our special track at the WSIS Forum on ICTs and Older Persons is a great example of how we are working in collaboration with all stakeholders to achieve this commitment. We introduced this track at last year’s Forum and have increased our capacity this year to address a series of challenges, including how to use digital technologies to improve healthcare. Crucially, the Track is also helping to share ideas, knowledge and best practices, and forging many beneficial partnerships.
Later, we will be hearing from the four winners of the Ageing Better with ICTs hackathon, which showed some great innovations from across the world, including projects such as health monitoring platforms, gamification for early detection and assessment of dementia, and devices that address Alzheimer’s Disease, mobility, and financial tools for longevity.
Today, we will announce the first-ever WSIS Forum 2021 Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize winner. Together with the Global Coalition on Aging and other stakeholders, the WSIS Forum has created this prize to recognize ICT practitioners for their excellence in supporting innovative and sustainable solutions for older persons. With more than 80 submissions received from the WSIS community, 12 finalists have been shortlisted and presented to our panel of experts on ICTs and healthy ageing.
I would like to thank our WSIS stakeholders for contributing to this important new initiative. Let me also thank our colleagues from WHO, UNDESA, as well as the experts from GCOA, MIT AgeLab, Home Instead and the Pinetree Care Group who have worked closely with us to make this initiative a success.
Let us now move to our panelists. We are very grateful to them for taking the time to join this session, and we look forward to hearing their insights on the opportunities of ageing in a digital world, and the creation of age-friendly digital environments for all.
Thank you.