The Subregional workshop for Europe was held from 11 to 13 June 2025 in Istanbul (Türkiye) and provided an occasion to examine the concept of universal and meaningful connectivity (UMC) and how to streamline it in national digital policies, how to improve the statistical capacity of countries in the region to produce and disseminate relevant statistical data, and how to use the data to identify good practices and policy recommendations.

It was organized in collaboration with the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) of Türkiye, with the financial support from the European Union.

Target audience

This workshop brought together policymakers in charge of national policies and strategies for digital connectivity, and statisticians responsible for the measurement of telecom/ICT development from ministries, national statistics offices (NSOs), regulators, telecom operators, research institutions, and other relevant organizations from the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine.

Participants from national statistical offices and other institutions that collect data on ICT were requested to complete the two following free, self-paced courses available through the ITU Academy, prior to the workshop:

Measuring digital development: ICT access and use by households and individuals
Measuring digital development: Telecommunication / ICT indicators

Objectives of the workshop

The workshop covered the following topics:

Embracing universal and meaningful connectivity: The new policy imperative (day 1)
Data-driven decision making: Enhancing statistician-policymaker collaboration (day 2)
Tracking UMC: Strategies for overcoming measurement challenges (day 3)

Registration to the workshop

Registration to the workshop was mandatory for both participants and speakers. The deadline to register was 4 June 2025 via the ITU registration platform.

Fellowships

Limited fellowships were offered to support in-person participation from developing countries, with up to two fellowships per country covering travel and daily subsistence. The deadline for fellowship applications was 7 May 2025.

Documents

Invitation letter
Provisional programme

Practical information for participants and speakers

Practical information

Presentations

Background of the project

With the financial support from the European Union, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is organising a series of regional and subregional workshops. These workshops will convene policymakers and statisticians to deliberate on metrics for gauging progress towards Universal and Meaningful Connectivity (UMC), analyse the persistent socio-economic and geographical divides, and harness data effectively to refine, monitor, and assess digital policies.

Contacts