To celebrate the World Cities Day 2021 and as part of the WSIS TalkX, ITU and Geneva Cities Hub are organizing a webinar dedicated to supporting cities to use digital transformation to improve adaptation actions and achieve urban resilience. For example, the Internet of Things are enabling cities to collect climate data for better monitoring of the climate and response to different hazardous situations. Digital twins are powerful assets that cities are using to carry out high-precision simulations on climate events and formulate adaptation actions accordingly. The objective of this webinar is to raise awareness on the significant role that digital transformation can play for enhancing climate adaptation actions and urban resilience. The webinar will look at specific use cases of how digital technologies, including AI, IoTs, digital twins, are helping cities to become more climate resilient and to implement ambitious climate targets such as the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

This WSIS TalkX webinar will take place on Thursday, 28 October 2021, 14:00–15:30 CEST. Stakeholders are invited to register to participate.

The Arab High-Level Forum and Conference (AHLF&C) on Digital Development and Digital Cooperation, scheduled to take place from 13 to 23 December 2021 through a virtual format is organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) and its distinguished set of partners, which include the League of Arab States, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The AHLF&C revolves around the WSIS process at large in relationship to the 2030 Agenda process at large. It includes the 3rd Arab WSIS Forum and the 6th Arab IGF each with its distinct character but in a synergetic approach. The AHLF&C builds on the outcomes of three consecutive Regional Consultative Meetings that UN-ESCWA organized in cooperation with LAS respectively on 11 August 2020, 3 December 2020 and 27 April 2021 as well as on consecutive related follow-up inter-organizational meetings, during which participants from the WSIS, the IGF and the technical community, shared their views and endorsed the idea of consolidating existing regional policy dialogue platforms into the envisaged AHLF&C. The AHLF&C is designed as an inclusive multi-segment and multi-track composite mega-event, with more than 30 sessions encompassing several tracks, high-level segments, diverse thematic sessions and side-events. It will bring together relevant stakeholders representing the public and private sectors, the technical community, academia, civil society, youth, and international organizations.

Open Call for submission of Session Proposals

All Global and Arab WSIS stakeholders who would like to share their digital development experiences or engage in the discussions around their Arab WSIS-related thematic work, or policy-aspects pertaining to digital development and/or digital cooperation as a mean to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, are encouraged to participate by submitting proposals for special sessions using the online form available here.

*Please note that related session spots are limited and will be provided on a first come first served basis

The open call for submissions of session proposals is open until October 31st.

Closing off this year’s edition of the Global CyberDrill, ITU is pleased to present the second webinar of the SHARE series titled Women in Cyber: A year later. The event will bring the global cybersecurity community together to promote knowledge sharing through cross-cutting dialogues. This second webinar aims to highlight the impact of the first edition of the Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme.

The webinar will feature:

• The assessment of the 2021 edition of the Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme,
• A workforce and gender gap in cybersecurity: What can we do as a community to help bridge it?
• Next steps for global initiatives for women in cybersecurity,
• Call for action: How can Member States support such initiatives, and how to best contribute?

The online event, The Contribution of Digital Literacy for Older Persons to the Decade of Healthy Ageing, will take place on Friday, 29th of October, at 09:00 EDT (15:00 CEST) in the frames of the Global Media and Information Literacy Week (October 24-31, 2021).

This event is being organized in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and will aim to explore the ways in which the Information and Communication Technologies can contribute to the implementation of the Decade of Healthy ageing, when it comes to ensuring the development of digitally inclusive communities that contribute to the wellbeing of all in all stages of life.

In this regard, this event aims to discuss two of the global megatrends that are interrelated to each other: the emergence of digital technologies, and ageing populations. Both of which are predicted to bring about important socio-economic changes worldwide. Hence, in the context of the digital transformation and shifting needs of older persons, the implementation of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing is important to ensure that older persons are not left behind, but rather be empowered as active participants and contributors to their societies.

WSIS stakeholders who would like to support WSIS Forum 2022 are invited to partner with us.

To learn more about our Partnership Opportunities:
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