Highlights – July 2022
25 - 29 July
Capacity development: Asia and Pacific
ITU co-organized a CoE training on Spectrum Management and Spectrum Engineering Technique with SRMC, China, under the auspices of CoE spectrum management programme in Asia and the Pacific. A total of 238 participants have registered for this training to learn and discuss the core functions of spectrum engineering including emerging radiocommunication technologies, spectrum efficiency, coordination procedure, and frequency management regulation among others.
Digital inclusion: Global
On 21 July, Generation Connect held a roundtable to connect virtually with the Generation Connect Youth Envoys. Most of them had participated physically at the Generation Connect Global Youth Summit. At the roundtable, they had the opportunity to share their reflections and feedback on the Youth Summit, and ITU shared upcoming engagement opportunities with all of them. Currently there are 170 youth envoys from 98 countries.
Digital inclusion: Africa
On 26-27 July, 26 young women entrepreneurs from the agricultural sector participated in a training on Digital Marketing in Bujumbura. Powered by EQUALS and organized by ITU and EIF in collaboration with BUJA HUB, the training focused on how to develop one's presence in the digital world, as well as understand digital channels and know how to make the best use of them for business.
Digital inclusion: Asia and Pacific
ITU together with the Autoridade Nacional De Comunicacoes de Timor-Leste (ANC), National University of Timor-Leste, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) organised the first Girls in ICT Day Timor-Leste with support from Telemor and Timor Telecom. This one-day national seminar was officially launched by H.E. Mr. José Agustinho da Silva, Minister of Transport and Communications Timor-Leste with participation of H. E. Mr. Abel Pires da Silva, Minister of Public Works Timor-Leste to deliver his special remarks. More than 60 female students from 12 different schools were invited to participate in this seminar. They interacted with inspiring female ICT experts in Timor-Leste through panel discussions, Q&A sessions, and Kahood competition. ITU was invited by the ANC to deliver public lectures on 'Digital skills training programme for girls and young women' and 'Child Online Protection' on 27-28 July in Kristal School and Dili International School with the participation of nearly 150 female and male students. These presentations were also given during the Girls in ICT Timor-Leste opening ceremony.
Policy and regulation and Giga: Asia and Pacific
The ITU-FCDO High-Level roundtable was successfully held in Jakarta Indonesia on 25 July in partnership with Indonesia, Indonesia-ITU, Concern Forum (IICF), SEAMEO Regional Open Learning Center (SEAMOLEC), and the Ministry of Communication and Information (KOMINFO). The roundtable presented the ITU-FCDO project findings, achievements, and recommendations for improving school connectivity and broader digital inclusion. Around 60 participants, including representatives from 13 different ministries, International Organisations, the private sector, and civil society attended and discussed the way forward for promoting effective regulation, greater investment and innovative models for school connectivity in under-served areas. A translated version of ITU guidelines on Child Online Protection (CoP) was also presented to the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection and the ID-CoP network of Indonesia.
Giga: Europe
ITU and UNICEF met in Barcelona on 18 July with representatives of the Government of Spain, the Catalonia Regional Government, and the City of Barcelona to further develop plans to establish the new Giga Technology Centre in Barcelona. The center will advance the work of Giga - the UNICEF and ITU initiative to connect every school to the internet. It will drive efforts to equip learners with information, opportunity, and choice through research and product development to increase digital connectivity in schools. The center will lead on experimenting and creating new connectivity solutions through blockchain, satellite imagery analysis, and AI technologies – all entirely open-source. It will also provide a space for Giga, technology companies, regulators and policymakers to collaborate on digital policies in support of universal school connectivity. It will position Giga as the preeminent global resource for the network operations data and open-source technology required to sustainably connect all schools to the internet by, using AI and satellite imagery to map school locations; blockchain technology to monitor real-time connectivity status; and infrastructure and policy data to model optimal connectivity solutions.
Policy and regulation and Giga: Asia and Pacific
The ITU-FCDO High-Level roundtable was successfully held in Jakarta Indonesia on 25 July in partnership with Indonesia, Indonesia-ITU, Concern Forum (IICF), SEAMEO Regional Open Learning Center (SEAMOLEC), and the Ministry of Communication and Information (KOMINFO). The roundtable presented the ITU-FCDO project findings, achievements, and recommendations for improving school connectivity and broader digital inclusion. Around 60 participants, including representatives from 13 different ministries, International Organisations, the private sector, and civil society attended and discussed the way forward for promoting effective regulation, greater investment and innovative models for school connectivity in under-served areas. A translated version of ITU guidelines on Child Online Protection (CoP) was also presented to the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection and the ID-CoP network of Indonesia.
Digital inclusion: Global
Generation Connect is pleased to announce that it will bring a Youth Delegation to YOUNGA 2022. YOUNGA is the largest global virtual festival for impact, where young people are connected with international leaders through emerging technologies. The goal is to ideate forward-thinking solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable world.
I-CoDI: Global
ITU's International Center of Digital Innovation (I-CoDI), is helping the ITU Transformation Team co-design an ITU Leadership Accelerator. The first hybrid workshop with ITU staff took place on the 6 – 7 July. The second hybrid workshop of the series, this time with senior managers, will take place on 25 August 14h00 -17h00, and 26 August, 09h30-12h30. The ITU Leadership Accelerator is part of the ITU Transformation Programme which provides a structured 'One ITU' approach to leadership development that supports managers and staff in development of their personal leadership and managerial capacity and is meant to close the soft skill gaps of ITU leaders and managers, as identified through an impartial and data-driven organizational assessment. Places are limited to thirty people and interested managers can express their interest to participate at: culture@itu.int by Friday, 19 August, COB.
18 - 22 July
Capacity development: Asia and Pacific
ITU co-organized a CoE training on Digital Transformation, 'Enhancing IoT-driven Solutions for Smart Islands' with IoT Academy, under the auspices of CoE Internet of Things programme in the Asia and the Pacific from 18 -31 July. A total of 40 participants have registered for this training to learn and discuss an innovative approach to deliver connectivity, and scalable and sustainable services to disadvantaged island communities.
Digital inclusion: Asia and Pacific
On 22 July, ITU participated in the APEC Women Connect Virtual Workshop 2022 and delivered keynote remarks on global and regional insights, including women’s digital inclusion in the new normal, facts and figures on the gender digital divide in the region and the work of ITU in empowering girls and young women to explore their academic and professional career in the ICT sector. The Network of Women for ITU-D, Girls in ICT, and Child Online Protection were introduced in bridging the digital gender gap in the Asia and the Pacific region.
Environment: Africa
Under the framework of the joint ITU-UNEP project on “Implementing the EPR Concept in Policies and Regulations for the Sound Management of E-waste', the BDT team facilitated the stakeholders’ consultation workshop on EPR implementation in Rwanda. Extended Producer Responsibility is a common approach in e-waste management legal frameworks. The workshop was not only attended by many key stakeholders from across different sectors in Rwanda, but also by stakeholders from other countries in the region, including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, who brought their experience and lessons learned in relation to e-waste and EPR applications. The workshop was held in Kigali, with both in person and online participation. ITU deployed three consultants to facilitate and deliver presentations, as well as conducted bilateral meetings with key stakeholders. The experts will provide support on 3 main aspects of EPR and e-waste management in the country: the financing modalities of EPR, a guideline for the implementation of EPR and harmonization of current regulations, as well as e-registration procedure for local producers and importers of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE).
Environment: Global
On 21 July, the Environment team participated in the Third Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During the panel on Overcoming barriers: Financing, technology and innovation, the team highlighted not only the role of ICTs to address climate change but also the importance of better data regulation, and standards to understand and address the climate crisis. During the intervention the team shared ITU’s work on the environment, including the key findings of the recently launched Greening Digital Companies report. The conference was co-convened by the UNDESA and the UNFCCC and hosted by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan in partnership with the United Nations University and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. The panel highlighted the fact that climate change is increasingly recognized as the most systemic risk for the future and that climate action and investment produces net benefits.
Policy and regulation: Asia and Pacific
The third G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting under Indonesia’s presidency was held on 20-21 July in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. The representatives of the G20 members as well as global knowledge partners attended the meeting. The Minister of Communications and Informatics, His Excellency, Johnny G. Plate, gave the opening remarks and highlighted ITU data. During the first day, the DEWG meeting focused on Priority Issue 2: Digital Skills and Digital Literacy. ITU made a presentation under Priority 2, specifically on the compendium of frameworks on best practices and regulations on advanced digital skills and digital literacy. The presentation was successfully received by all delegates and participants and they re-affirmed their commitment to advance digital skills and literacy to close the digital divide.
11- 15 July
Other
On 12 July, BDT presented at the seventh annual meeting of the UN Senior Leadership Group on DRR for Resilience (UN SLG). The meeting discussed how the UN system can accelerate the humanitarian-development-peace collaboration to prevent and reduce emerging and existing risks; reviewed progress in 2021 towards the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience; and endorsed a set of recommendations to maximize the UN support to countries in implementing Sendai Framework.
Cybersecurity
The 'Women in Cyber Mentorship' programme continues its INSPIRE series showcasing women trailblazers in cybersecurity. On 12 July, the programme delivered an inspirational keynote session entitled “Taking your career to the next level” with Rebecca Hughes, Director at EY Ireland. The event, attended by programme participants, member states and the general public, equipped aspiring women cybersecurity professionals with strategies and tools to assess their current career status and help discover their ideal career path in the world of cybersecurity. The session focused on the importance of developing leadership skills to advance to the next level.
Capacity development: Asia and Pacific
ITU co-organized a CoE training on Next Generation Broadband: Standards and Applications with ALTTC, India, under the auspices of the CoE wireless and fixed broadband programme in Asia and the Pacific from 11-22 July. A total of 20 participants have registered for this training to learn and discuss the key technologies behind next-generation broadband.
Capacity development: Asia and Pacific
ITU organized the seventh Steering Committee Meeting of the Centres of Excellence Network for Asia and the Pacific Region on 12 July. ITU CoE ASP reported their respective training implementation status for 2022. ITU took the opportunity to present a brief of the outcomes of WTDC, specifically on Resolution 73, the CoE Strategic Review and an overview of the ITU Academy Training Centre. A total of 29 participants attended this final meeting for the 2019-2022 cycle.
Cybersecurity: Asia and Pacific
From 11-14 July ITU organized a four-day 2022 ITU-Bhutan joint CyberDrill attracting around 200 participants. Day 1 featured a keynote and panel discussion on the state of cybersecurity in Bhutan, and also included a closed-door executive session for high-level government representatives to candidly discuss cybersecurity in Bhutan. Day 2 featured capacity building sessions on CIRTs, Incident Response/Handling, and on Critical National Information Infrastructure Protection. Finally, Days 3-4 incorporated scenario-based exercises where nominated individuals honed their technical skills through responding to cyber threats in a simulated environment.
Digital inclusion: Americas
ITU launched the application for the fourth edition of the online training course on ‘Female Leadership in the telecommunication and ICT sector'. This course is offered in Spanish for the benefit of women representing entities from the sector, preferably from ITU Member Administrations.
Digital inclusion
On Thursday, 7 July Generation Connect held an internal wrap-up meeting to share lessons and reflections from the organization and execution of the Generation Connect Global Youth Summit. Meeting participants also brainstormed next steps towards further mainstreaming youth engagement in ITU’s work.
Emergency telecommunications
BDT presented at the National ICT Working Group meeting in Madagascar on 5 July, highlighting ITU’s work in emergency telecommunications in disaster preparedness and response, and sharing emergency telecom resources and guidelines for Madagascar. This meeting was hosted by the National Disaster Management Agency of Madagascar (BNGRC), in collaboration with the WFP-led Emergency Telecoms Cluster (ETC) and the WFP Country Office in Antananarivo.
Emergency telecommunications
BDT participated in the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Editor Design workshop on 11-12 July, organized by IFRC, delivering a presentation on how ITU is promoting the CAP, the key standard for emergency alerting, to expand the reach of reliable, fast, and actionable early warning messages to people at risk.
Environment: Africa
On 14 July, the EACO e-waste data harmonization project team hosted a webinar with 15 focal points from the Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and Rwanda national statistical offices and the East Africa Communications Organisation to update participants on the piloting of household and business surveys in Kenya and Burundi. This survey work will be implemented over the next 3 months, where data will be collected from 850 households and 400 businesses. Focal points were also set tasks to collect complementary e-waste data to bring to a planned data validation workshop in October, and which will be included in a regional e-waste quantification study.
Policy and regulation: Americas
A meeting with the St. Lucia Administration took place on 11 July where ITU shared the status of the National ICT Plan Project. Other projects for possible collaboration were discussed, such as: youth Innovation, NETP implementation, cybersecurity, COP and development of the Ministry’s ICT organization structure. St. Lucia discussed ICT-related matters like broadband penetration levels and prices, also expressed special interest in skills development to combat cybercrime, COP strategy and the studies on bandwidth needs to support schooling.
Giga: Global
Giga can help students pursue their dreams to become a doctor, a journalist or a computer hardware engineer in the digital world. Today half of the schools in the world are not connected. Watch this video and find out how the joint ITU and UNICEF initiative is helping to connect every school in the world to the internet by 2030. Giga uses satellite imagery to map school locations and Internet access, providing a real-time display of opportunities for funders and governments. It then helps governments to design the right connectivity solutions, establish enabling policies, create models for innovative financing, and contract for connectivity.
Other: Africa
The ITU Regional Office for Africa organized and participated in the seventh Steering Committee Meeting of the Centres of Excellence (CoE) Network for the Africa region held on 13 July with the support of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), Nigeria. The main objective of the steering committee is to govern and provide oversight to the CoE network functioning and operations. The steering committee meeting provides the Centres of Excellence the opportunity to present and discuss their activities, exchange experiences, learn from each other and strengthen their collaboration. During the virtual meeting, the Centres of Excellence reported on the implementation of training sessions for the year 2022, and ITU presented the activities for the end of the CoE cycle 2019-2022. CoEs shared their lessons learnt and experience during the cycle.
4- 8 July
Digital inclusion: Asia and Pacific
On 6 July, the Office of the NBTC, MDES, UNRCO in Thailand, and ITU co-organized a fully physical event, the Closing Ceremony of the 'Girls in ICT Day 2022' programme at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. The event was held in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Embassy of the United States of America, USAID RDMA, the Embassy of Canada, UNESCAP, UNESCO, UNICEF, APT, AIBD, NBT Thailand, Wikimedia Thailand, Digital Council of Thailand (DCT), and the Centre of Digital Technology and Society of Thammasat University. There were 77 attendees at the closing ceremony. More than 40 girls, boys, and young women shared their insights on the Girls in ICT programme this year and on expanding the 'Girls in ICT' online community in Thailand. More than 300 girls have been trained in the areas of leadership, digital literacy, women’s empowerment in the ICT sector and advocacy, media literacy and disinformation, and ICT for migrant girls, from April to July 2022. In concluding the event, the Office of the NBTC delivered closing remarks and committed to collaborate and support the 'Girls in ICT Day 2023'.