Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and welcome to the special track on ICTs and Older Persons at WSIS Forum 2022.
I am pleased to open this year’s track and shine a spotlight on the more than 1 billion people across the world who are aged 60 years or older. That includes me but I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Most people do not have access to even the most basic resources, let alone the digital technologies that would help them so much.
We launched this special track in June 2020, just a few months into the Covid pandemic, at a time when older persons found themselves on the frontline of this pandemic. At that time I called then on WSIS stakeholders to make a shared commitment to ensure digital inclusion across the generations. The response has been inspiring, and I want to take this opportunity to thank all our partners for supporting this track and its many initiatives. For example, the WSIS Forum Healthy Ageing Prize, which is in its second year. The winner, who will be announced on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on 17 May, will have been chosen amongst more than 100 entries from around the world. These include projects ranging from analyzing cognitive impairment to providing digital skill-building.
Also of note is the important work done by the Multistakeholder Alliance on ICTs and Older Persons—and in particular the interviews conducted with older persons worldwide about the impact of technology on their lives.
I am pleased that this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on 17 May will focus on “Digital Technologies for Older Persons and Healthy Ageing”. However, this is an all-year-round effort to promote digital inclusion for all ages, and I encourage all WSIS stakeholders to get engaged at the national, regional and international level. The WSIS Forum is all about collaborating so this is the chance to make an important contribution towards the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing.
Close to 3 billion people have still never used the Internet. If we are to close the gap and bring everyone online, technology must be user-friendly, accessible, affordable and relevant for users of all ages. Digital accessibility and universal design are therefore major drivers to uptake and use of ICTs—and something that I have championed during my time in ITU.
As an international standards-making body, ITU helps advance accessibility by making accessibility a requirement right from the design stage. ITU also supports the advancement of the global disability-inclusive agenda and the development of inclusive digital communities by helping our members track progress towards accessibility implementation; and by providing training, policy and strategy advice.
Before I close, I want to remind you to take advantage of all the WSIS Forum has to offer. For example, the Intergenerational Knowledge Café during the final week of the WSIS Forum will bring older and young communities together to share solutions, knowledge and ideas on living healthier, fuller lives and ensuring digital inclusion for all. We look forward to welcoming many of you to Geneva from 30 May to 3 June to join this in person.
There is a very nice quote by author and Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez that “It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.”
Let’s bring the dream of empower all people with digital technology a reality, regardless of their age, gender, financial means or where they live, so they can live a happier, healthier and more purposeful life.
Thank you.