Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and welcome to the ICTs and Youth Special Track at WSIS Forum 2022.
I am pleased that we start this year’s Forum with this exciting track which looks at why youth is so important to all that the WSIS Process attempts to achieve in bringing the benefits of the information society to everyone, everywhere.
One of last year’s Forum’s key messages was that young people can play an important role in leveraging ICTs to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
So we want to encourage youth around the world to play an active role and offer their insights and understanding of the information society, its challenges, and opportunities, and raise questions but also propose solutions to harvesting the power of ICTs towards equally distributed social benefits.
The WSIS Forum aims to include youth perspectives and engage young people in discussions about how technology can provide opportunities to address some of the world’s most pressing issues.
This year’s Forum, which started yesterday, will feature this special track on youth engagement stronger than ever and will include hundreds of young participants. The Forum’s thematic workshops will shine a light on youth engagement efforts, with themes including empowering youth through ICTs, digital skills and future work, the ICT ecosystem and climate change.
Amplifying youth voices is critical for ensuring an inclusive, collaborative environment with equitable access to ICTs and their benefits. Technologies impact youth in different ways (gender, region, country) and therefore potential benefits cannot be generalized. So, it is crucial to have your voices well represented.
We can all do more to support youth. Governments, social partners, the private sector, academia, civil society, and other key stakeholders need to ensure that young people are equipped with the digital skills to benefit their careers and help build an inclusive digital economy and society.
The private sector can offer workplace learning opportunities to enhance the long-term employment prospects. Small and medium technology enterprises and start-ups have a significant impact on economic growth, employment, and investment opportunities. As a result, ITU and many governments are now supporting the creation and development of this economic sector that has so much potential to create jobs for young people with advanced digital skills.
The WSIS Process and its annual Forum, is a key enabler to help youth shape international agendas for development, provide their specific insights into the power of ICTs and its diversified use, and become an important player in the international community.
Our WSIS Youth Campaigners have been promoting the WSIS Forum, and its special track on Youth, among their communities and networks since last year’s launch of the WSIS Youth Campaigns. They have organized a series of interesting sessions and networking opportunities which will take place throughout the WSIS Forum this year, starting with the one today on Climate Change.
I would like to thank them for their efforts, and invite you to join their sessions, talk to them, hear about their valuable experiences, and support their campaigns in enhancing the Youth track at the WSIS Forum in the future.
Thank you all for being with us and I wish you a very successful session.