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Blueprints for building digital skills

International Telecommunication Union

Session 501

Wednesday, 9 July 2025 14:00–15:00 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) participation only WSIS+20 Open Space, Palexpo Digital Skills Interactive Session

Are you a practitioner and/or expert involved in digital skills, or simply interested in contributing to advancing ICT skills for all? Dive into an exciting journey of capacity development programmes and engage in discussions with ITU and its partners to share experiences and impact on the ground, spotlighting underserved communities and those often left at the margins of the digital economy and society. 

Through powerful initiatives—including the ITU Academy, the ITU-Cisco Digital Transformation Centres Initiative, and the ST Foundation’s Digital Unify Program, we will explore real-world successes in building digital skills from the ground up. More than a showcase, the session is a call to action and collaboration: Join us to identify new partnerships, mobilize resources, and expand the global network supporting digital capacity-building. 

Together, we can shape a future where everyone has the tools to thrive in the digital world.  

Session objectives:

  • Raise awareness on the importance of bridging the digital skills divide and bringing underserved communities into the digital world.
  • Present cases from successful initiatives and programmes such as ITU Academy, ITU Digital Transformation Centres Initiative, and ST Foundation Digital Unify Program, etc).
  • Identify potential capacity development partners that could be engaged further to address a range of actions.
  • Share information and perspectives from practitioners/experts involved in developing tailored programmes and deploying capacity development interventions for underserved groups (persons with visual impairment, etc). 

This interactive session will be facilitated by ITU specialists on capacity and digital skills development, with interventions by experts from ITU partner organisations.

Panellists
Ms. Giovanna Bottani
Ms. Giovanna Bottani Director of Operations ST Foundation

Giovanna Bottani brings over 20 years of experience in philanthropy, business ethics, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Her career began in 2003 as a CSR specialist at STMicroelectronics, followed by a role as Deputy Director of Operations at Fondazione ST in 2006. She then served as Head of External Communication at the Italian Centre for Social Responsibility (I-CSR) under the Ministry of Labour and collaborated with various consulting agencies specializing in sustainability. 

Giovanna holds a political science and international politics degree from the University of Milan. Driven by her natural curiosity and eagerness to learn, she furthered her education with a master’s degree in Corporate Social Responsibility from the University of Pisa, a master’s in integrated communication from the Business School Sole 24 Ore, and a master’s in business process innovation from Milan Polytechnic. In 2016, she earned a Diploma of advanced studies in management of non-profit organizations from the University of Geneva. 

In 2012, the STMicroelectronics Foundation appointed Giovanna as the Director of Operations. Since then, she has significantly contributed to the organization’s growth, reporting directly to the President and coordinating the organization’s educational projects across all countries of intervention. 

Prof. Cristian Bernareggi
Prof. Cristian Bernareggi Researcher in digital accessibility University of Turin (Italy)

Prof. Cristian Bernareggi is a researcher in digital accessibility at the University of Turin and a strategic consultant on digital inclusion for companies and public institutions. Since 2023, he has been advising the Italian Government Agency for Digitalization (AgID), contributing his expertise to national strategies on accessibility and inclusion.

With a strong academic background in computer science (MSc 2002, PhD 2006) and a postgraduate diploma in e-learning (2009), Cristian has been active in research on assistive technologies, human-computer interaction, and digital accessibility since 2004. Between 2004 and 2009, he focused on making science accessible within the European projects LAMBDA and @Science.

From 2011 to 2018, he co-founded and helped grow EveryWare Technologies, a university spin-off dedicated to developing mobile assistive technologies. Since 2018, he has been collaborating with the Polin Laboratory at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Turin, specializing in accessibility to mathematics and science for people with disabilities.

Cristian also plays a key role in the ST Foundation’s “Train the Trainer” programs, serving since 2018 as a trainer and instructional designer for digital literacy courses tailored to visually impaired learners in developing countries.

Topics
Capacity Building Digital Divide Digital Economy Digital Inclusion Digital Skills Digital Transformation Education Emerging Technologies
WSIS Action Lines
  • AL C4 logo C4. Capacity building
Sustainable Development Goals
  • Goal 4 logo Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
  • Goal 5 logo Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
  • Goal 8 logo Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
  • Goal 9 logo Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
  • Goal 10 logo Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
  • Goal 17 logo Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
GDC Objectives
  • Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
  • Objective 2: Expand inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all
  • Objective 3: Foster an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights