ITU WTDC Regional Preparatory Meeting - Europe
19 January, 2020
Closing Remarks
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau
Excellency,
Distinguished colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are wrapping up the end of two very productive days at this vitally important preparatory meeting for the Europe region, which has been the first in what I hope will be an equally successful series of preparatory meetings spanning all six ITU regions, in the lead up to WTDC-21.
Let me thank our very effective Chair and Vice-Chair for their skill and efficiency in getting us through a long agenda, and our 40 documents.
And let me also thank all of you, our delegates, for your engagement, dedication and patience with any technical hiccups.
The importance of the upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference is reflected in the engagement of more than 160 stakeholders from over 60 countries in the different sessions of this meeting.
We are concluding this meeting not just with a better understanding of the issues and areas which still require more work to build regional consensus positions, but with a series of concrete results:
You have come together and identified a set of regional priorities on digital infrastructure development; digital transformation for resilience; digital inclusion and skills development; trust and confidence in the use of digital technologies, and digital innovation ecosystems.
I am pleased that you found our new Digital Trends series useful with our first report focusing on Europe, providing an up-to-date overview of trends and developments in digital infrastructure, access and use across a region comprising 46 Member States and 686 million people.
We were also pleased to share the advanced version of the Regional WSIS Stocktaking Report for Europe 2019-2020, which details a significant number of projects, initiatives and partnerships across the region, and which will serve as an important resource and inspiration for all those working in field of ICT4D.
We were also pleased to share our Centres of Excellence Catalogue 2021, providing an overview of more than 20 exciting training opportunities in the fields of broadband, cybersecurity and digital services.
Earlier today, we launched the Network of Women for the ITU Development Sector, which will allow us to rapidly build a community to support current and future female delegates, helping them expand their network, advocate, and share experiences and knowledge.
NoW will help promote the more active participation of women in other ITU activities, and in the technology sector in general.
I hope that, like me, you found our European Youth Group Declaration to be one of the highlights of this RPM.
I found it incredible how they could crowdsource such a forward looking declaration over the course of a few weeks recognizing the essential role of meaningful connectivity for digital development, and calling for specific actions in Europe in the areas of capacity development, policy and regulation, cybersecurity, environment and digital inclusion.
And I am pleased that this RPM Europe considered and incorporated several proposals in the new set of regional priorities for Europe which seek to ensure meaningful engagement of youth in the WTDC preparatory process.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Before I close, let me extend a special thank you to the CEPT for its continued cooperation.
I am looking forward to continuing our joint efforts as we work on the next steps in Europe's WTDC preparations, as well as the region's contribution to the three upcoming Interregional Preparatory Meetings and, of course, WTDC-21 itself.
In closing I do hope to see you all on Thursday for the TDAG Working Group on Resolutions, Declaration and Thematic Priorities.
Stay safe, stay healthy and please do stay in touch.
Thank you.
