Excellencies, distinguished delegates,
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to those joining from around the world.
Digital development through digital transformation, has become ever more important since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and various UN agencies and other stakeholders have assisted countries in their respective capacities, relying substantially on the digital component. Progress in the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines at the regional and international level is essential for socio-economic, sustainable development, and ITU is keen to collaborate with everyone, to make sure we achieve this.
The COVID lockdowns have illustrated clearly that the availability of digital products and services empowers citizens, workers, and students in their daily engagements and needs, and is now a major priority for all countries. The ability to leverage the progress made in the digital sphere has been an important factor in the resilience achieved during the pandemic—and it will be critical as we recover from this crisis.
However, as we can see in Ukraine, there are worse crises than Covid. A Digital Development Country Profile for Ukraine was under the process of finalization by the UN Country Team in Ukraine, just a few months ago. It offered a broad analysis of the status of digitalization, supplemented by information on the activities and projects being implemented at the national level, and in the wider region, to guide the engagement of the UN system in the country to equip decision-makers on the digital development of the country.
According to the latest ITU data, 75% of people in Ukraine used the Internet in 2020, and even though this is below the average for the European region of nearly 85%, the share of Internet users was steadily growing over the past decade. But, what is it now?
I am very pleased that the ITU Council recently adopted a resolution on “Assistance and support to Ukraine for rebuilding their telecommunication sector”. It reaffirms the importance of telecommunication and ICTs for peace and development, and we look forward to implementing it in collaboration with our UN partners once the war is stopped.
Almost 20 years ago, the World Summit on the Information Society laid out a vision for a world where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge. Since then, many people have had access to more promising technologies. As the recent UN progress report on the implementation of the WSIS outcomes notes, many expectations relating to technology and services have been exceeded—and successive waves of innovation in digital technology have had significant development potential.
ITU advocates a digital ecosystem that can turn this potential, into a reality. At our World Telecommunication and Policy Forum held last December, top international representatives from the public and private sectors adopted a set of guidelines that align emerging digital technologies with global priorities for sustainable development. At stake is the ability of public and private actors to come together to accelerate progress in health, education, climate action, innovation and infrastructure, and all the other areas related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The importance of this multi-stakeholder cooperation lies at the heart of the WSIS Process, and is exemplified in the UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.
During my tenure as Deputy Secretary-General, I have been pleased to see the WSIS community grow, in diversity and strength. It now includes innovative thinkers, policy makers, mayors, civil society and business leaders—from developed, developing and least developed countries alike. They each bring new perspectives to ICTs for development.
With its interactive, inclusive and far-reaching agenda, the WSIS Forum has brought to life the many benefits of ICTs in areas as critical and diverse as education, health, financial inclusion, climate change, accessibility, cybersecurity, smart cities, and many more. And this has been a driving force in extending global connectivity.
The WSIS Forum, and the UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS), are excellent examples of existing interagency mechanisms for digital collaboration for social good. Initiatives such as the WSIS Stocktaking Repository of Women in Technology, the WSIS Multi-stakeholder Alliance on ICTs and Older Persons, and the WSIS Youth Campaigners, embody the spirt of the WSIS Forum. They seek to ensure that ICTs are distributed as widely and equitably as possible. The WSIS Forum is exemplary in bringing people together from around the world with the simple but powerful objective of sharing good ideas on practical ways to bring the benefits of the Information Society to people everywhere. It makes a difference to people’s lives, as I have had the pleasure of witnessing, even in some of the most remote regions of the world.
I am proud of the important role ITU plays in the facilitating and implementing the WSIS outcomes and the SDGs. But this is a collective effort, and I thank all our partners and UN agencies, in the WSIS family, that work closely with us, in implementing the WSIS Process.
As we look to the future, and the preparations for WSIS+20 and WSIS beyond 2025, we have already begun identifying the achievements and the challenges in implementing the WSIS Action Lines for global development, in the future.
Earlier this week, the ITU Council appreciated the ITU Secretary-General’s suggested roadmap on the 20-year Review of WSIS beyond 2025. The document has been shared with the CSTD Secretariat, and we look forward to working in close collaboration with CSTD, and all other UN Agencies involved in the WSIS Review process, including UNGIS members.
Discussions on the roadmap will continue at this year’s WSIS Forum, so I encourage you to help shape it by taking an active part in the event. We are now holding virtual sessions of the WSIS Forum every week, and the final week of the Forum will take place physically in Geneva from 30 May to 3 June.
We have also submitted to the CSTD Secretariat a detailed presentation with all the updates regarding the WSIS Process, and I hope you will have a chance to look at it.
Now, more than ever, the keywords are collaboration, coordination and cooperation. Let us strengthen what unites us, not what divides us. Let us work closer together at the national, regional and international level, to continue to align the WSIS process with the SDGs—and fulfil the vision of an Information and Knowledge Society where everyone, everywhere can benefit from the opportunities that ICTs can bring.
Thank you.