Highlights December 2024
9 -13 December
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific held the final event of the Pacific Girls in ICT 2024, titled “Moving Forward”. The event invited representatives from Pacific countries to share key takeaways from the programmes which were held throughout the year. Girls were invited to share their experiences from attending Pacific Girls in ICT activities. The event was organized in collaboration with the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) and the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC).
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific participated in the APEC Workshop on Women in STEM: Study and Exchange on Rewards, Incentives and Policies to Promote Innovation Development in Beijing. During the panel session "Practice Opportunities and Challenges of Outstanding Young Women STEM Workers", the Office highlighted gender mainstreaming efforts, including the Girls in ICT initiative, EQUALS, and the Smart Villages and Smart Islands (SVSI) program.
Digital services and applications: Asia and the Pacific
As part of the Smart Islands programme in Hunga and Tonga, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, together with UNOPS and Tonga Women in ICT, held comprehensive training sessions on basic digital literacy, digital skills development, online safety, and the use of digital services for education, finance, and power supply for community members. The training also included an awareness session focused on empowering women in Tonga and an awareness-raising presentation on ITU's Child Online Protection Guidelines to promote a safer digital environment for parents, educators, and young users on the island. Implemented in collaboration with the Government of Tonga as part of the Joint SDG Fund programme in the Pacific, the initiative successfully contributed to sustainable development and community empowerment through technology.
[This activity is the result of a BDT project. You can find more details of them here]
Digital services and applications: Asia and the Pacific
The second Smart Village in Pakistan was inaugurated in Sambrial. Building on the success of the first Smart Village in Asia-Pacific in Gokina, Pakistan, this second Smart Village features a Smart Village Center that will provide digital skills training for women, youth and community members in this village, while also serving as a digital skills hub for the neighbouring villages. The Smart Village will also offer e-education to young girls at the girls high school through Smart Classroom.
Statistics: Asia and the Pacific
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific delivered a statement at the ESCAP Committee on Statistics, Ninth Session, highlighting BDT's work on data collection, including the Measuring Facts and Figures 2024 report and the ICT Development Index.
2 -6 December
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific organized a webinar titled “The Role of Civil Society in Advancing Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI)”. Speakers highlighted the need for human-rights based approaches to AI governance and use. They also called for an increased effort to include the voices of excluded communities and people, particularly from the Global South, in the AI decision-making process.
Digital inclusion: Asia and the Pacific
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific organized digital skills workshops and engagement sessions in Nauru as part of the Smart Islands initiative under the Joint SDG Fund programme. The workshops trained more than 1100 students from four schools on online safety, crafting CVs, and leveraging digital tools for education and job opportunities. The information sessions introduced government employees and community members to the digital hub that will be installed under the initiative. Participants learned about the potential of digital technologies to access information and gain new skills, advancing the initiative's goal of fostering digital transformation and leaving no one behind.
Digital services and applications: Asia and the Pacific
The fifth online training in e-commerce and digital marketing for cocoa and vanilla value chain farmers, fisherfolk, government officials, and local organizations, especially in remote areas of Sepik Provinces, Papua New Guinea, was conducted under the European Union funded Programme for Support to Rural Entrepreneurship, Investment and Trade (EU-STREIT).
Also under the EU-STREIT Programme, the Phase 1 handover workshop for the Cocoa Board Management Information System (CMIS) was conducted at the Cocoa Board Headquarters in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea. The CMIS serves as an online platform for managing datasets across the cocoa value chain, offering actionable advisories on pest and disease management, post-harvest processing, and hybrid planting materials. By enhancing access to credible information and best practices, the CMIS is expected to improve farm management, crop production, and product quality, fostering sustainable growth and high-value development within PNG’s cocoa industry.
[This activity is the result of a BDT project. You can find more details of them here]
Emergency telecommunications: Asia and the Pacific
As part of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society collaborated with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to organize a simulation exercise of the National Early Action Protocol for Cyclone in Badurtala village of Patharghata Upazila, Bangladesh.
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in collaboration with Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and mobile network operators, supported the exercise by ensuring warnings are disseminated through multi channels, such as SMS, voice as well as flags, hand mics, sirens and alarm to reach the community.
In addition, the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific successfully organized the National Consultative Workshop on Early Warning Dissemination and Communication in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The event was supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and organized in collaboration with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority and the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office (UNRCO) in Bangladesh.
Stakeholders evaluated the draft national assessment presented by ITU on Pillar 3 of the Early Warnings for All initiative and agreed on a set of essential activities to be implemented in Bangladesh for effective dissemination and communication of early warnings to all at-risk communities. Along with other EW4All pillar leads UNDRR, WMO, IFRC, and UN resident agencies coordinated through UNRC, ITU will support the government of Bangladesh in addressing the gaps.
Environment: Asia and the Pacific
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in collaboration with Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and Pollution Control Department, and with support from the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA), hosted a Private Sector Stakeholder Consultation Workshop on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Electronic Waste in Thailand. The event concluded with interactive breakout sessions where participants explored various Producer Responsibility Organization models and financial mechanisms. This workshop represents another significant milestone in BDT’s ongoing efforts to support Thailand in developing an effective and sustainable regulatory framework for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).
Policy and regulation: Asia and the Pacific
The ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific participated in a webinar on Developing Sustainable Agri-food Systems by Utilizing Innovative Digital Technology: "Sharing Digital Innovation Technology Examples and Discussing the Way to Achieve Food Security Roadmap Toward 2030". It was organized by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Policy Partnership on Food Security and hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The webinar focused on leveraging digital and AI innovations to enhance agricultural practices and build a resilient food supply chain in the APEC region. The Office delivered a keynote on inclusive and sustainable digital transformation for climate change and food security, showcasing initiatives in the region. Participants shared technologies, policies, and best practices, strengthening public-private partnerships to improve digital capacity among diverse stakeholders and contributing to the development of resilient and inclusive agri-food policies across APEC economies.