ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau
22 June 2021
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, and welcome to Lead2Connect: Redefining Leadership and its role in connecting the unconnected, our next stop on the Road to Addis.
Looking back through history, great leadership has emerged to address a pressing social need. Leaders have often had a defining quality in common – the ability to identify a problem, and mobilize communities to work with them in creating solutions.
We again find ourselves at the cusp of such a situation.
Digital connectivity has become an unquestionable prerequisite for fully-fledged participation in economies and societies.
Yet, 3.7 billion people are left without this vital resource.
In our journey towards a landmark WTDC, we have identified ''leadership'' as a key component in our efforts to bring this vital resource to the reach of everyone, everywhere.
We look towards leaders – from all walks of life – to provide the vision and guidance that will mobilize global will and direct action towards achieving meaningful, universal connectivity.
Leaders represent the will of the people. So my question, and indeed my challenge, to all of you today is this: how can effective leadership bring us closer and faster to our collective vision of a connected and sustainable planet that presents equal opportunities for all?
In this session, part of ITU's Global Symposium of Regulators 2021 programme, we will discuss what constitutes a great leader and what skills might be required from tomorrow's leaders.
A good starting point would be UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' second oath of office last week, when he promised ''to inspire hope that we can turn things around, that the impossible might be possible. The attitude is never to give up.''
We certainly will need to channel that never-give-up attitude as we strive to connect the unconnected.
As the Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, I am committed to leading change, and joining forces with other leaders.
Now, like many of you, I am ready to get inspired by the exemplary and demonstrated leadership qualities of our distinguished guests.
Thank you and back to you David.
