High-Level Dialogue: Connecting Communities, Unlocking Futures: Strengthening Digital Connectivity for Refugees and Host Communities


ITU/GSMA/UNHCR

Session 466

Wednesday, 8 July 2026 16:00–17:00 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Room C, Palexpo High-Level Dialogue
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Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation


For people forced to flee, and the communities that host them, connectivity is a lifeline. Meaningful connectivity enables access to education, health services, livelihoods, protection, and participation in society, while also providing life-saving information, including early warnings in times of emergencies. However, forcibly displaced populations face significant barriers to accessing digital infrastructure and services.

The Connectivity for Refugees (CfR) initiative, launched in December 2023 at the Global Refugee Forum aims to bridge connectivity and infrastructure gaps that limit access to the digital world for refugees and host communities. By strengthening digital connectivity, the initiative enables access to essential services, digital skills development, and economic opportunities, supporting inclusive and sustainable growth for displaced populations and their hosts.

Session Objectives

  • Highlight the strategic importance of meaningful connectivity for refugees and host communities as an enabler of protection, inclusion, resilience, and sustainable development.
  • Showcase the Connectivity for Refugees (CfR) initiative as a collaborative platform to advance inclusive digital connectivity in displacement contexts.
  • Foster high-level dialogue on the policy, regulatory, financial, and partnership conditions needed to scale sustainable connectivity solutions.
  • Encourage stronger multi-stakeholder cooperation and shared commitment to advancing digital inclusion for forcibly displaced populations and host communities.
Panellists
Ms. Dominique Hyde
Ms. Dominique Hyde Director of External Relations United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Switzeland Moderator

Ms. Dominique Hyde is the Director of External Relations at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She is responsible for partnerships with governments, civil society, UN agencies, and the private sector, as well as communications and advocacy, in support of the UN Refugee Agency’s protection and assistance programmes. Dominique began her career working for the Canadian Government (Senate, House of Commons and Ministry of Foreign Affairs). She later joined the International Organization for Migration in Haiti. From 1997 to 2010, she worked for the United Nations World Food Programme where she held different positions in Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Iraq, Italy and Nepal. In September 2010, Dominique joined UNICEF as Representative for Jordan and in late 2013, she moved to New York as the Deputy Director of the Public Partnership Division. In 2017, she joined the World Health Organization as the Director for Strategic Engagement at their HQ in Switzerland, before joining UNHCR as the Director of External Relations in January 2019. Dominique has an M.A. in International Relations from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, Master Courses in Economics at the London School of Economics, and a B.A. in Communications from the University of Ottawa, Canada.


Dr. Cosmas Zavazava
Dr. Cosmas Zavazava Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) International Te lecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva, Switzerland

Dr. Paula Ingabire
Ms. Paula Ingabire (TBC) Minister of ICT and Innovation Government of Rwanda

Paula Ingabire is a Rwandan technology enthusiast who serves as the Minister of ICT and Innovation in the Government of Rwanda.

Prior to her appointment as Minister, she served as Head of the Information Technology at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) where she led the implementation of National ICT programs, notably on eGovernment and cybersecurity, as well as the coordination of the Kigali Innovation City project, a flagship program of the Government designed to nurture and strengthen a pan-african innovation eco-system in Rwanda. She also coordinated the creation of Smart Africa, an initiative that seeks to leverage broadband infrastructure as a driver for Africa’s socioeconomic growth. 

Paula Ingabire is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) School of Engineering & of the MIT Sloan School of Management, in the System Design and Management program. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and Information Technology from the University of Rwanda.

Paula Ingabire is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum (WEF). She is also a member of the WEF Cyber Security Board, the WEF Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Global Network Advisory Board, and a founding board member of the EDISON Alliance. She was also a WEF Young Global Leader (YGL).

Paula is a Member of the International Advisory Board of the Global Finance & Technology Network and used to serve on the Global Council of the World Summit Award Board of Directors.

She was named among the world's 100 leading public servants on AI adoption (2025) and among the world's 20 most influential people in digital government (2020) by Apolitical.


Mr. Max Lamesch
Mr. Max Lamesch Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs

Dr. John Giusti
Dr. John Giusti President of the Mobile for Development Foundation GSMA, London, United Kingdom

As Chief Regulatory Officer for the GSMA, John Giusti is responsible for leading the organisation’s public policy and industry advocacy agenda with governments, regulators and international institutions, as well as overseeing the work of the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation and engaging with key development organisations worldwide.

Prior to joining the GSMA in 2011, John spent 17 years at the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), working in a variety of capacities. Most recently, he served as chief of staff and senior policy advisor to Commissioner Michael Copps, where he provided legal, strategic and policy support to the Commissioner on all major agency actions, including the implementation of the National Broadband Plan.

He also previously ran the FCC’s International Bureau, where he managed the agency’s relationships with its foreign counterparts and served as its chief negotiator at meetings of the International Telecommunication Union, the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission and other multilateral organisations.

John was educated in the United States, earning a Juris Doctorate from Boston University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications from the University of Florida. He has been a member of the Massachusetts bar since 1994.

 


Topics
Digital Divide Digital Economy Digital Inclusion Infrastructure
WSIS Action Lines
  • AL C1 logo C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
  • AL C2 logo C2. Information and communication infrastructure
  • AL C3 logo C3. Access to information and knowledge
  • AL C11 logo C11. International and regional cooperation

This session is directly linked to the selected WSIS Action Lines as it focuses on strengthening meaningful digital connectivity for refugees and host communities. It supports C1 by promoting cooperation among governments, international organizations, the private sector, humanitarian actors and affected communities. It contributes to C2 by addressing connectivity and infrastructure gaps in displacement contexts, and to C3 by enabling access to information, education, health services, livelihoods, protection and life-saving information. Finally, the session contributes to C11 by encouraging international and regional cooperation through the Connectivity for Refugees initiative and broader multi-stakeholder collaboration. 

Sustainable Development Goals
  • 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

This session contributes to the selected Sustainable Development Goals by promoting meaningful digital connectivity for refugees and host communities as a foundation for inclusion, resilience and sustainable development. It is strongly linked to Goal 9 because the session addresses connectivity and infrastructure gaps and explores sustainable solutions for resilient digital infrastructure in displacement contexts. It supports Goal 10 by helping reduce digital inequalities faced by forcibly displaced populations and host communities, ensuring they are not left behind in the digital transformation. The session also contributes to Goal 17 by promoting multi-stakeholder partnerships among governments, international organizations, the private sector, humanitarian actors and affected communities through the Connectivity for Refugees initiative.

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