Let me start by wishing everyone a happy International Day for Older Persons tomorrow. Many thanks to WHO and the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) for partnering with ITU for today’s event. And a big thank you to the Ambassadors of Israel and South Africa for joining us today, much appreciated, and thanks to all other participants from around the world for being with us.
The past 18 months have taught us a lot about who we are as societies and individuals: how we treat the most vulnerable amongst us, including older persons, is I believe a test of our moral strength and what kind of a world we want to rebuild in the aftermath of the pandemic. There are many lessons.
During the pandemic, our world is split down the middle, with only half of humanity being online and able to benefit from continuing their work, studies and keeping in touch with loved ones. At ITU, we are committed to bridging this digital divide, now more important than ever before. Our vision of the world is a place where everyone can benefit from digital technologies and services regardless of age, gender, income or any other factor. As the UN specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), ITU is playing a leading role within international organizations and the UN system to make this a reality.
Take accessibility for example, an issue that directly affects the ability of older people to use ICTs effectively. This is something I have championed during my time in ITU, as an international standards-making body we have made accessibility a requirements right from the design stage.
And recognizing that we need to combat age-based discrimination in the workplace, ITU is working with the International Labour Organization, to identify best practices in the design and development of accessible and inclusive online job application and recruitment systems to allow all persons to benefit.
I have seen first-hand how much of a difference we can make when we adopt the principles of universal design, affordability and equal opportunities to access ICTs. The WSIS Forum has embodied these values since its creation over 10 years ago.
The new Special Track on ICTs and Older Persons launched at last year’s Forum shows how critical it is for governments, industry, academia, civil society and others to collaborate to help break cycles of exclusion. In addition, this year we introduced a WSIS Healthy Ageing Innovation Prize and held a very successful hackathon which brought together more than 1,000 participants on issues as diverse and challenging as Alzheimer’s Disease, mobility and financial tools for longevity.
We are still a few months away, but I wanted to let you know that next year’s celebrations of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day will focus on “Digital technologies for Older Persons and Healthy Ageing”.
There are more than 1 billion people aged 60 years or older in the world, with most living in low- and middle-income countries, and that number is growing fast. How many of these older people have access to ICTs? How many know how to use these technologies? And how many can afford them?
What we do on this special day and throughout the Decade of Healthy Ageing will condition our ability to bridge the digital divide and ensure that older people can live a fuller life with dignity and equality – and in a healthy environment.
So I call on all WSIS stakeholders everywhere to actively contribute towards the WSIS Special Track on ICTs and Older Persons. We are also proposing new tracks, from combating ageism to fostering age-friendly cities and communities. The unifying and collaborative force of the WSIS Forum is needed now more than ever. We are fortunate to have all the major categories of stakeholders active in WSIS Forum: governments; private sector; academia; other regional and international organizations; and civil society. And this is reflected in ITU’s membership where for example we have several hundred private sector companies as members, and it is experts from these companies that make a significant contribution to our output, especially our technical standards.
I am very grateful to the panelists who have joined us on this day, many thanks to you and l look forward to hearing your insights and views on the challenges and opportunities of ageing in a digital world.
Thank you.